1. I give to the poor in my own community, and to other charities working in my own country. May I count this as part of the amount I need to give in order to meet the pledge?

No. When you pledge, you are pledging to help those living in extreme poverty – to save their lives, or the lives of their children, or to make it possible for them to get the basic necessities required for a minimally decent human existence. People living in extreme poverty make less than the purchasing power equivalent of $1.25 per day. If you live in an affluent country, there probably aren’t any people who are this poor. In affluent countries, the poor have access to safe drinking water, and usually to food, whether through social security or to government or private provision of food for the poor. Another consideration is that it will take much more money to help someone who is poor in a rich nation, than it does in a poor nation. In the United States, the poverty line for a family of 4 is $22,000. Obviously it will take at least several thousand dollars to make a significant, long-term difference in the life of someone who already earns that much. Meanwhile, a donation of just a few hundred dollars, if given to the right organization, can make a life-or-death difference to people who are living on less than $500 a year.

2. I don’t understand the meaning of “tax-deductible”.

In many countries, if you earn, say, $50,000, but give away $5,000 to a recognized charity, then you are taxed as if your income were only $45,000. The donation is “tax-deductible,” meaning that you can deduct it from your income for tax purposes. If you are not familiar with this concept, perhaps you live in a country that does not allow its taxpayers to deduct charitable contributions from their income for the purposes of tax assessment.

3. I don’t see the organization I favour on your list of recommended organizations. Does that mean that I should not give money to this organization?

Not necessarily. I only recommend organizations if I have good evidence that they are doing a worthwhile job. Sometimes – as with Oxfam, for example - this evidence comes from my own contacts with the organization over many years. In other cases I rely on reports by those I trust – Village Reach, highly recommended by GiveWell.net, is an example here. The fact that an organization is not listed may just mean that I do not know a lot about it, and that GiveWell.net has not been able to assess it. (There are thousands of charities and so far GiveWell.net has been able to examine only about 300.) Of course, it might also mean that GiveWell did evaluate it, and were unable to conclude that it was doing an effective job. So if you are giving to an organization that is on the list of recommended organizations, you can have more confidence that your donation is doing what you want to do.

4. I work for a charity helping the poor. Doesn’t that count in some way?

Yes, if the charity aids people in extreme poverty it could count. If you are working as a volunteer, you could count the number of hours you volunteer for them, and multiply that by the amount you can earn on an hourly basis. Then that sum could go toward meeting the pledge. If you are employed by a charity working for those in extreme poverty, but you are not paid at anything like the rate at which you would have been paid had you been working in the corporate sector, you could regard the difference as going towards your pledge.

5. I am already sharing my wealth with those in need, and meeting or exceeding the pledge. So this is nothing new for me. Should I pledge nevertheless?

It’s very good that you are already giving, but please do pledge. In The Life You Can Save I describe psychological research demonstrating that people are more likely to help, if they know that others are helping. The more people take the pledge, the more evident it is that others are helping.

6. Why do you set such a low standard? One percent is hardly anything.

One percent is not a lot, and I hope many people will give more than that, but if we are to change the culture of giving, we have to start somewhere. At present very few people give even one percent of their income to help the poor. Better, I think, to start low and have more people giving than to insist on a standard so high that almost everyone will reject it. Besides, one percent is significantly better than nothing. If all the world’s affluent people gave one percent of their income to help the extremely poor, that would be more than twice the amount of official (government) aid that is now given to fight global poverty. And since much government aid does not go to those who are truly poor, if this money went to organizations with a proven record of effectiveness in helping people in extreme poverty, it could do far more good than official aid does now.

7. I'm giving money away, more than the amount you suggest for my income, but it doesn't really seem like much of a sacrifice. Does that mean that I am not doing enough? Should I give until it hurts?

No, the point isn't to hurt yourself, or make a huge sacrifice. Even if you give a lot more, it may still not hurt - many people find that they enjoy life more when they give more. The point is to help those in need. Of course, once you are comfortable meeting the suggested amount for your income group, you can help more people by giving more, and that's a good thing to do. So why not do it? But remember that the public standard - the amount that we are trying to encourage as many people as possible to give - is deliberately set at a realistic level, precisely so that many people will feel able to meet it.

8. I only earn $75,000, but my partner and I have a joint income of $150,000. Is it my own income or our joint income that I should enter when taking the pledge?

It depends on whether you both want to pledge, and on how you manage your finances. If you both want to pledge, then we suggest you take your combined income and enter that. Peter Singer's calculations, in the final chapter of The Life You Can Save, are based on "taxable units" which in the United States means couples, although in many countries, taxable units are individuals, whether married or not. But if only one of you wants to pledge, and you keep your finances separate, then enter your individual income.