Celebrate 10 years of Giving What We Can!

Giving What We Can is 10 years old! Let’s celebrate around the world.

Planned events:

Berkeley, California, US

Monday, November 25

Join other Giving What We Can members at the office of the Centre for Effective Altruism! Have some pizza (vegan pizza included), meet other members, and hear about what the team at CEA is up to. Please RSVP on the Facebook event.

Contact community@givingwhatwecan.org for more event details.

Somerville, Massachusetts, US

Saturday, December 14th

2 - 4 pm

Please RSVP on the Facebook event or to julia.d.wise@gmail.com.

We'll gather for hot cider, cookies, and casual discussion about what the pledge means to you and where you're thinking of donating this year.

Don’t see an event near you? Why not host one? Here are some ideas, from simple to elaborate. Contact us at community@givingwhatwecan.org if you'd like help with contacting local members for an event!

Simple restaurant meetup

• Pick a date and time to meet.
• Pick a restaurant or cafe.
• Contact us at community@givingwhatwecan.org and ask us to send an email announcement to local members.
• Make a reservation once you know roughly how many people to expect.
• Show up and enjoy each other's company!

That's the recipe Julia and Wanyi used to set up a dinner for Giving What We Can members in Singapore last month:

Possible discussion topics to get things started:

• Sometimes motivation has its ups and downs. Have you noticed things that have made you feel more or less motivated about giving?
• What questions are on your mind these days about where to give?
• What resources have you found most helpful in making decisions about giving?
• Do you have questions or things you’ve learned about taxes, timing your donations, employer donation matching, or other ways to make the most of your giving?

Giving game

Use a format like "everyone puts $25 into a donation pool." A few people could also pool some money for the whole group to donate.

See these materials from The Life You Can Save for more resources.

In one group or several groups (depending on the number of people), decide where to donate the money. If you're expecting a group that's newer to donation (for example, students), select around 3 organizations for the groups to chose from. If you're expecting a group that's more familiar with donating, let group members propose organizations they're familiar with.

Possible discussion prompts:

• What sources of information do you find helpful in comparing cause areas or interventions?
• How do you feel about risk? Would you rather go with a charity that might have either high impact or no impact, or one that's more of a safe bet?
• Would you rather choose an intervention that has a strong evidence base already, or one that's promising but untested?

Allow the group(s) to discuss for 20-40 minutes, decide where to give (either by majority vote or some other method), and report their decision(s). Then, make the donations!

Lightning talks

Invite people to prepare and give 2-5 minute talks on topics like:

• When and why they took the pledge
• How their donations have changed in the last X years
• Things that might make them change their mind about where to donate in the future
• Little-known projects they donate to and why

Get to know Giving What We Can (for non-members)

Another event format is aimed not just at existing members, but people who are considering joining Giving What We Can. Have a discussion where members can share their thoughts on topics like:

• How did you decide you were ready to make a pledge instead of simply donating?
• Are there things you wish you had done differently?
• What do you wish you had known about giving earlier? What advice would you give someone who’s starting out with this?

Thanks to Pablo Melchor for his help with writing ideas for events!