Great post Syd, this is something I think about a lot, and I have a few more things to add.
Making visible donations is a good way to boost (even if only slightly) the culture of giving and make it seem more normal, encouraging others to do so as well. Also, not getting many donations can be discouraging to someone raising money for a cause, especially if they have put a lot of effort into an activity and it is their first time. It may even discourage them from doing so again.
I also like to think about the converse—by not donating, are you really doing any better a job at convincing people to donate to more effective charities? Probably not much, I would say.
I would exercise caution with this though. You’ve mentioned this but I would not donate to charities that I think are highly ineffective. If pressed, I couldn’t give you a cut off point, but for example if asked to do the ice bucket challenge knowing how ineffective that cause was at doing good, I would refuse, or make a statement about the effectiveness of charities.
In answer to your question, I once made a donation to a medical research foundation working on a cause that my girlfriend was really passionate about for her birthday. This made her more happy than anything else I got her would have, and came out of my budget for presents, not donations.
I have participated in Movember for the last 2 years and raised quite a bit of money, and last year I convinced some friends to join me in a team. Since then I have doubled down on my EA-ness quite a bit, and now a friend has asked me if I wanted to start a team again this year. I’m stuck, my primary concern being that, as the head of an EA chapter, it might look hypocritical to talk about donating to effective charities while raising money for a less effective charity. I suppose, if I take my own advice, there wouldn’t be much cannibalism of donations to more effective charities, but I am more concerned about the statement. If anyone has any response to this I would love to hear it.
I would love to know if you decided to go forward with Movember this year. I would also be really torn about this. On one hand making a visual statement about being philanthropic helps destigmatize talking about where you donate and why. This is good if your long term goal is to create a large culture shift more towards EA values. The downside being that it takes a long time and a ton of effort and may mean people donate sub-optimally. I think you are right that this is very unlikely to pull any money from highly effective causes since this strategy is aimed at signally groups and people outside of EA.
However Inside EA and as an organizer it can feel hypocritical, I totally understand/agree. It can feel like not ‘walking the walk’ so to speak. I think there could be a number of solutions. One could be participating in Movember but fundraising for an EA charity—you get the benefits mentioned above but get to give money to an EA cause. The other could be to find the most effective men’s health organization you can and donate to them instead. In both of these cases I think the key would be to talk a lot about why.
Great post Syd, this is something I think about a lot, and I have a few more things to add.
Making visible donations is a good way to boost (even if only slightly) the culture of giving and make it seem more normal, encouraging others to do so as well. Also, not getting many donations can be discouraging to someone raising money for a cause, especially if they have put a lot of effort into an activity and it is their first time. It may even discourage them from doing so again.
I also like to think about the converse—by not donating, are you really doing any better a job at convincing people to donate to more effective charities? Probably not much, I would say.
I would exercise caution with this though. You’ve mentioned this but I would not donate to charities that I think are highly ineffective. If pressed, I couldn’t give you a cut off point, but for example if asked to do the ice bucket challenge knowing how ineffective that cause was at doing good, I would refuse, or make a statement about the effectiveness of charities.
In answer to your question, I once made a donation to a medical research foundation working on a cause that my girlfriend was really passionate about for her birthday. This made her more happy than anything else I got her would have, and came out of my budget for presents, not donations.
I have participated in Movember for the last 2 years and raised quite a bit of money, and last year I convinced some friends to join me in a team. Since then I have doubled down on my EA-ness quite a bit, and now a friend has asked me if I wanted to start a team again this year. I’m stuck, my primary concern being that, as the head of an EA chapter, it might look hypocritical to talk about donating to effective charities while raising money for a less effective charity. I suppose, if I take my own advice, there wouldn’t be much cannibalism of donations to more effective charities, but I am more concerned about the statement. If anyone has any response to this I would love to hear it.
I would love to know if you decided to go forward with Movember this year. I would also be really torn about this. On one hand making a visual statement about being philanthropic helps destigmatize talking about where you donate and why. This is good if your long term goal is to create a large culture shift more towards EA values. The downside being that it takes a long time and a ton of effort and may mean people donate sub-optimally. I think you are right that this is very unlikely to pull any money from highly effective causes since this strategy is aimed at signally groups and people outside of EA.
However Inside EA and as an organizer it can feel hypocritical, I totally understand/agree. It can feel like not ‘walking the walk’ so to speak. I think there could be a number of solutions. One could be participating in Movember but fundraising for an EA charity—you get the benefits mentioned above but get to give money to an EA cause. The other could be to find the most effective men’s health organization you can and donate to them instead. In both of these cases I think the key would be to talk a lot about why.