More than 10,000 people have pledged to give 10% of their lifetime income to effective charities - and you can too!

Ten THOUSAND People have pledged 10% of their income for effective causes

Last year, Giving What We Can, one of the world’s leading effective charities, and close partners of Effective Giving Ireland, surpassed 10,000 🔸10% pledgers! That is: 10,000 people have now signed up to pledge to donate 10% of their lifetime income to effective charities. As of Jan 1st 2026, the number is now 10,542 - which gives an idea of how fast this is catching on and/or of how slowly the EGI article-writing process moves forward.

At Effective Giving Ireland, several of us have taken their pledge, and we can testify that it is one of the most fulfilling decisions we’ve ever taken. Every day, even on days when we feel listless and unproductive, we know that, thanks to us, somebody’s life is much better than it would have been otherwise. And we know that nothing can ever take that away from us. No hyper-inflation or stock-market crash can ever devalue the impact of what we’ve done.

What an amazing privilege we have, to live in a rich country where we can afford to donate, and to live in a world where there are incredibly dedicated volunteers who will take our donations, however small, and ensure they do as much good as possible. We definitely have the easy part, but even still, it is a vital part - without our donations, the dedicated volunteers cannot do their great work. 

If you are undecided about taking the pledge, or have any questions about it, we would be happy to chat with you about it. If you want to find out more, please go to the Giving What We Can website.

If you are struggling to come up with a new year’s resolution for 2026 that will literally change your life, increase your happiness and make the world better, this is the best idea we know of - and we’re sharing it for free!

Below the announcement from late 2025 when the 10,000 limit was passed: 

What started as two philosophers in a room has grown to an incredible, global movement of people who have stood up to say: We want to help. We want to inspire others to help. And we’re going to act on it. 

Pledgers come from 116 different countries, and support high-impact causes ranging from getting chickens out of battery cages, to protecting vulnerable children and families from deadly diseases, to fuelling efforts that reduce the risks from nuclear war, AI, or the next pandemic. 

Together, they have shown how powerful meaningful generosity can be — paving the way for countless others to follow, and (collectively) improving millions of human and animal lives.

In 2024 alone, pledgers donated more than $50 million, enough to save over human 10,000 lives. If we keep going at this pace, we could prevent a death approximately every hour. That’s an extraordinary thing to be a part of.