Share what GWWC and 10% Pledge has meant to you

An idea that has always motivated me is the idea of the veil of ignorance — the basic concept being, how would you want society to be if you did not know who you would be in it? A world where people in the top 25% donate significantly to those less well off has always appealed to me and felt right. The GWWC pledge was one of the first long-term charitable actions I took in this direction. I remember signing my paper copy of the pledge with four other friends, two of us taking the further pledge and the others taking the 10%. It felt both important and significant to our group and carried real weight.

For me the 🔸10% pledge is all about social justice and equality. I am in the position of real luxury and ease, mainly by luck of birth. Others around the globe suffer a great deal - equally as a function of their luck (or lack thereof). My 10% pledge is about doing something to balance that unfair inequality. 

I have written a couple of times about my feelings about taking the GWWC pledge. (I don't believe I'm signed up on the website, but I in fact have given 10% for my entire working life, except two years that were particularly bad financially.) I think the essence, for me, is a sense of empowerment. 

The world is full of enormous problems that I can't do anything about. I often feel weak and powerless and helpless. GWWC says to me that I do have power to positively affect the world, and always will. I don't have to be exceptional: as long as I have money, I can donate to highly effective charities and save lives. I don't have to worry about dying and leaving the world the same as it was when I entered it. Though I will never know their names, there are people who would be dead if not for me, and who are alive. And that means so much. 

To me, the 10% Pledge was a commitment to being the kind of person I really wanted to be. Someone who took the inequality and suffering in the world seriously, and did not turn away from it. 

Since pledging, I only feel more motivated to help others and do good.

Working at GWWC gives me a unique window into all the motivations people share when pledging, as well as interacting with the community every day - and that in itself continues to inspire me.

I truly hope that GWWC continues to grow strongly for many more years and is successful in our mission of making giving effectively and significantly a cultural norm.

I was mentioned in a newspaper article this summer regarding this exact topic (with a typo in my name, oops!). Here is the translation:

CB is convinced of the potential of this. Just a few years ago, his job as an IT engineer earned him an annual salary of 32,000 euros. After two years, he realizes that he can give a lot of this money away, without sacrificing his happiness or quality of life. "Of course, you have to be able to secure a minimum threshold of material conditions," anticipates the 29-year-old, who made the pledge in 2019. But generally, people increase their standard of living after their studies, or after a raise: bigger houses or cars, more spending on certain items... But we get used to these expenses very quickly, and research shows that they don't bring significant additional happiness."

The psychology of happiness is quite clear on this point: the accumulation of material possessions does not make us much happier. Once the peak of satisfaction has passed, our level of happiness returns to its initial, pre-purchase level - a phenomenon known as hedonic adaptation (or "hedonic treadmill", to mean that our level of happiness tends to return to the same reference point). CB quickly gave up this headlong rush. The Lyonnais doesn't own a car, and is satisfied with the basic, such as the Interrail Pass and youth hostels for his vacations. From the very first year of his involvement, he set himself the goal of donating anything above the minimum wage. Today, he donates 30 to 40% of his income to organizations carefully selected for their effectiveness - although he admits he would probably go back to a lower percentage if he had children.

For these donors, the satisfaction that comes with acting altruistically far outweighs any sense of sacrifice. CB has long defined himself as a passive person, skeptical about making a difference in the world. "I don't have the network or the resources to influence laws and change public policy, even though it's essential to act in favor of the climate, for example." His discovery of effective altruism changed all that. "I discovered the existence of organizations specializing in the rigorous evaluation of associations, which define which interventions work well and which don't. And that made a huge difference to me. That reassured me enormously. If there are experts, I can support them with a donation. It's within my reach, and it can have a gigantic impact. It's kind of a division of labor."

Full article: https://www.ladn.eu/nouveaux-usages/donner-10-de-ses-revenus-pour-ameliorer-le-monde-cest-de-la-division-du-travail/