As far as I know, the “tradition of just making a fixed donation to a specific charity in someone else’s name” isn’t a thing in the EA community. Rather it is something that I’ve heard of ordinary folks doing during the holidays as an alternative to a physical gift. Along the lines of “You like animals, so I donated to the local animal shelter on your behalf—here is a little brochure/receipt about it.” It strikes me as weird too, which is why I like the idea of giving people lots of choice so they have more say in “their” donation.
I also agree that it would be weird for already-committed EAs to get into the habit of gifting eachother a bunch of regranting funds. (There’s enough of that craziness going on already!) But like I said, I think EA gift cards could make for a great way to introduce new people to the movement.
As far as I know, the “tradition of just making a fixed donation to a specific charity in someone else’s name” isn’t a thing in the EA community. Rather it is something that I’ve heard of ordinary folks doing during the holidays as an alternative to a physical gift. Along the lines of “You like animals, so I donated to the local animal shelter on your behalf—here is a little brochure/receipt about it.” It strikes me as weird too, which is why I like the idea of giving people lots of choice so they have more say in “their” donation.
I also agree that it would be weird for already-committed EAs to get into the habit of gifting eachother a bunch of regranting funds. (There’s enough of that craziness going on already!) But like I said, I think EA gift cards could make for a great way to introduce new people to the movement.