How I Was Convinced to Pledge

Hey 👋 

If you’re reading this page, or if you’ve made it this far, you’re probably curious about the idea of making a meaningful difference with your resources through something like the 10% Pledge and I just wanted to write a few notes on my own journey.

Over the past several years, I’ve spent a lot of time thinking about what it truly means to do good with what I have. For a long time, it seemed obvious that donating to charities as/when I felt inspired seemed like a good thing to do because I assumed that all charitable giving was more or less the same. But then I discovered something that completely changed my perspective: not all charities are equally effective. In fact, the best charities can be up to 100 times more impactful than others.

This realisation led me to discovering Giving What We Can – a non-profit who focus on effective giving. The principle is simple: by directing our donations to the most effective charities, we can do dramatically more good with the same resources. For example, it can cost around $5,000 to save a life through a highly effective health charity.

But what is an effective charity? Well, just like there are some businesses that are better, or more effective than others, there are also some charities that are more effective than others. As it says on GWWC’s website:

“Many people lump charities into one “doing good” bucket. Others are sceptical that donating works at all. The reality is that not all charities are equal. Most do good, but the difference between good and great can be substantial. Some charities are significantly more impactful than others”.

But this realisation also brought with it a sense of responsibility and, to be honest, discomfort. Once you know that some charities can be so much more effective than others, it’s hard not to wonder what your own obligations are – how much you should give, and whether you’re really doing enough.

It was during this period of questioning that I came across a thought experiment from philosopher Peter Singer that I often reflect on: if you saw a child drowning in a pond, would you jump in to save them, even if it meant ruining your expensive suit? Of course you would. But what if the child was in another country, or you couldn’t see them, but you knew you could save their life by donating to an effective charity? Would you still act?

For a while, I struggled with this. I agreed with the logic, but I worried that unless I gave away everything I had, I wasn’t doing enough. That feeling of “never enough” can be paralysing. But then I discovered the 10% Pledge – a commitment to give 10% of my income each year to these effective charities. And this approach felt both meaningful and sustainable.

When I first took the pledge in 2019, I was working as a doctor in the NHS. Even on a typical doctor’s salary, I realised that by giving 10% to effective charities, I could save more lives than I might in my entire medical career. That was a profound insight.

And last year, we decided to take the pledge as a business too so we’ll be donating 10% of our profits to effective charities every single year.

Knowing that, for every $5,000 we give, we’re quite literally saving a life, is both humbling and motivating and gives our work a deeper sense of purpose, and reminds me that the community we’ve built can have a real and lasting impact.

I created this page to share this approach with others who might be interested in making their giving as effective as possible. If this resonates with you, I encourage you to explore the research, learn more about the Pledge, and consider joining our community of donors. Together, we can make a remarkable difference.

Thank you for reading, and for being part of this journey 🙏

Ali