Local groups should do more fundraising

By Jonas Søvik 🔹 @ 2025-05-14T10:36 (+17)

Especially if they are relatively low investment.

I can think of several reasons why:

1. I think it's actually an effective way of making members more highly engaged
   1. Members are often looking for real impact things they can do. And many probably have ideas or would like to do things - and will, if they are supported.
2. It creates general outreach for the EA movement.
3. It has direct impact. Might not be huge but there are lots of high-reward low-cost things we can do.^[1]
4. It creates more group cohesion. Projects are a great way for people to come together for something meaningful, and feel like they achieved something after. You don't get that same reward for either completing or running a reading group.
5. It creates more bias towards action in the community.

This is something organizers could do to directly activate their members.

Some fundraising ideas:

(this is just inspiration to get you started, in loose order of my guesstimates for impact)

• Get people/group members to take the Trial Pledge (or even better, 10% Pledge. Just more difficult)
• Reach out to companies
  • To donate more effectively
    • They sometimes fx donate to things already
    • Or perhaps during Christmas they have either a fundraiser, or give employees orgs they can donate through
  • Give their employees chance to donate
    • fx pledging or the max tax-deductible amount they can give
• Fundraising events - fx a charity run^[2]
  • GWWC has a fundraiser page you can use
  • Your country-specific effective donation org (Effektiv Spenden, Doneer Effectief, Giv Effektivt etc.) might also have ressources - or want to help you set it up
• Help people write birthday fundraiser posts
  • Or an alternative post, like asking friends to consider high impact careers

For all these, it's even better if you can create templates/ressources for other groups to use, so the bar is lowered & more can get going!

Please share if you have more good suggestions!

I will add them to the list.

And if you're interested in other low-investment projects, there's

A list/database

And  a post about it: https://forum.effectivealtruism.org/posts/eQgKyCQW4u5CCWHXt/idea-curated-database-of-quick-win-tangible-attributable 

1. ^{^}

   There's a list of them here

2. ^{^}

   A great model for this is to get the runners to ask their family & friends to donate on their behalf pr. km they run