Why is The Pledge 10%?

We chose 10% of income for The Giving What We Can Pledge because it strikes a good balance. It is a significant proportion of one's income, in recognition of the importance of world problem’s and the need to take real action. But it is also within reach of most people in the developed world.

There is also a strong historical connection to the idea of tithing, a tradition in Judaism and Christianity of giving 10% of your income to charity or the Church. Islam has a similar practice (zakat) in which those who are able give between 2.5 and 20% to the poor and needy.

If 10% doesn’t seem achievable, many members start with a Trial Pledge instead (starting at 1% of income) and many people just donate to effective charities without taking a pledge.

A pledged amount is of course just a minimum commitment. Some members donate a lot more than their pledged amount, and other members pledge a higher percentage (contact us if you’d like to do this) or even take the Further Pledge.

Learn more about how to decide how much to give in our article: “How much money should we donate to charity?”