My decision to take the Giving What We Can (now the 10%) Pledge in September 2020 was based on the responsibility I felt with my great power, improving my own quality of life and the logic of it all. However, these thoughts were all quite unconscious back then and my decision to take the pledge was immediate as soon as I learned about it.
To celebrate "Why I donate week" I decided to think through my reasoning, which was implicit back then, in more detail:
With great power comes great responsibility
My commitment to donate 10% of my income for life is fundamentally rooted in a strong belief: with great power comes great responsibility. The power I hold is the freedom to choose what I do with a decent portion of my income, a power that countless individuals across the globe simply do not possess as they struggle daily to meet their basic needs. My personal responsibility is to use this power to support those who have not been afforded the same chance in life.
This stems directly from a place of undeniable privilege. Growing up in the United Kingdom, I was raised in a stable family environment where all my financial needs were met. Crucially, I received a high-quality education that essentially set me up for life, guaranteeing a pathway to financial security. This is a privilege I try not to take for granted.
The raw reality of this global inequality was impressed upon me from a young age during annual visits to my birthplace: Mumbai, India. Witnessing the pervasive, inescapable poverty was emotionally draining and deeply frustrating. At the time, I didn't know how to address such overwhelming injustice, but the profound unfairness of the world’s distribution of opportunity has stayed with me for life.
Giving away my money increased my quality of life
Initially, I sought to channel my desire to make the world better through my career. For ten years, I worked in sustainable tourism development, using tourism as a tool for impact. While I did donate to causes I felt were doing good in the countries I lived in for my work, this giving was sporadic, informal, and lacked a deep consideration of the final impact.
As I began to explore ways to maximise my positive influence, I randomly discovered Giving What We Can. Learning about their pledge was a revelation. I made the decision to take the pledge almost immediately, driven by the conviction that it was not only the right thing to do but also because it gifted me a profound sense of freedom.
It may sound paradoxical to associate giving away 10% of one's income with increased freedom, but until that point, I had felt limited and frustrated by the constraints on my ability to effect meaningful change through my career alone. The opportunity to use my earnings as a direct, powerful lever for good was a breath of fresh air. It was a boon to my mental health, providing profound satisfaction that came from doing something much easier than my professional work, yet having a significantly greater positive impact.
Importantly, the pledge has clarified my professional focus. I can continue to pursue an impact-driven career without the pressure that my work must be the sole source of my positive contribution. Giving away some of my disposable income has definitely increased my quality of life rather than detracted from it.
The logic of it all
Another key motivation for taking the pledge was the compelling logic of effective giving. Learning that some charities can be orders of magnitude more effective than others got me extremely excited. I realised that I had stumbled upon an opportunity to achieve an insane return on my donation, an opportunity I could not afford to miss. Much like an investor might regret missing out on early advice about a high-value stock, I knew I would regret not taking advantage of this knowledge as soon as I could.
Moreover, the pledge gives me a crucial platform for discussion. While the good I can do with my own personal donations is limited, I can significantly multiply my impact by openly discussing effective giving and encouraging others to consider their own capacity to give effectively.
For me, the decision to donate and commit to this pledge is a matter of practical and moral sense. Considering the privilege I have been given, it feels like the natural way to live my life. I will be forever thankful to Giving What We Can and their partners for creating this path for me.
"It may sound paradoxical to associate giving away 10% of one's income with increased freedom, but until that point, I had felt limited and frustrated by the constraints on my ability to effect meaningful change through my career alone. The opportunity to use my earnings as a direct, powerful lever for good was a breath of fresh air."
So well put! I felt similarly when I took the Pledge in 2017!