The 50/50 Pledge

Giving smart and from the heart

Pledge to give half or more of the amount you donate each year to the world’s most effective charities. Keep the rest for the causes you love.

A joyful commitment to boosting your impact

Most people ask: How much should I give? But how you give may be much more important. The most impactful charities can be 100x more effectiveCaviola, L., et al. (2020). Donors vastly underestimate differences in charities' effectiveness. Judgment and Decision Making, 15(4), 509–516. Read paper than typical charities at saving lives and alleviating suffering. We can make our giving far more impactful without giving more.

Of course, you also care about supporting your community and other personally meaningful causes.

The 50/50 Pledge strikes a balance: give half (or more) toward the charities that do the most good per dollar, and the rest toward whichever causes mean the most to you.

If this resonates, then our 50/50 Pledge is for you.

Why a pledge?
Because whatever you do, if you care about results, it helps to have a clear goal.

watch video

Take the pledge

“I pledge to allocate at least 50% of my total donations each year to highly effective charities.”

After taking the pledge, you’ll receive a confirmation email with your pledge certificate and be asked to complete a short survey. We’ll then follow up annually to check in — that’s it.

“50% of my total donations” = Half your annual amount donated

“Each year” = Lifelong, but not binding

“Highly effective charities” = Expert-recommended charities with the highest expected impact per dollar (see our guide below)

Your pledge is private. We will never share your information.

Questions? See our FAQ.

Why 50/50?

When we donate, we tend to support causes closest to our hearts. Donating should feel good. But the “feel good” and “do good” of charitable giving don’t always fit perfectly together.

We recommend allocating 50% (or more) to highly effective charities because it strikes a fair balance: enough to make your giving dramatically more impactful, while leaving room for the causes that you care about most.

Unlike traditional giving pledges, the 50/50 Pledge is about where you give—not how much. Whether you give $100 or $100,000, the pledge works the same way.

Infographic showing how the 50/50 Pledge splits your charitable giving between your favorite charities and super-effective charities

Example: If you donate $500 per year, allocating at least $250 to highly effective charities will honor your pledge. The remainder can go to any charities you choose.

Pledge calculator

%
of my
$
in planned annual donations
$250 /year to highly effective charities
That's $21/month

What are highly effective charities?

We define “highly effective charities” as charities endorsed by expert evaluators based on the best available evidence. Supporting these organizations can help maximize the impact of your donations.

Highly effective charities tend to address big, solvable, and neglected global problems. These include global health & poverty, animal welfare, and reducing catastrophic risks. Learn more.

Based on expert evaluations, we recommend the following highly effective charities and maximum impact funds:

While we encourage pledgers to follow these recommendations, there may be other highly effective charities not included here, and you are free to decide for yourself which count toward your pledge.

Recommendations are reviewed regularly — please revisit for the latest. For a more expansive list, see recommendations from Giving What We Can, Animal Charity Evaluators, The Life You Can Save, and Giving Green.

Animal Welfare

Reducing suffering for the most neglected animals

Expert evaluator: Animal Charity Evaluators

Global Health & Poverty

Saving lives and reducing extreme poverty through proven, cost-effective health interventions

Expert evaluator: GiveWell

Reducing Global Risks

Safeguarding humanity's long-term future

Expert evaluator: Founders Pledge

Frequently asked questions

Other questions? Email us: info@givingmultiplier.org

Giving Multiplier is an award-winning donation platform founded in 2020 by academic researchers at Harvard University with the mission of making charitable giving as impactful as possible. We've helped thousands of donors resolve the "heart vs. head" dilemma in charitable giving: the tension between supporting causes personally meaningful to you and super-effective charities as identified by leading experts.

To do so, we add matching funds when you split your donation between a favorite charity and one of our expert-recommended, high-impact charities.

Just donate on your own as you normally would, aiming to allocate at least 50% to highly effective charities each year. We'll send an annual check-in email to hear how your giving is going — that's it.
No, it is a lifetime pledge but it is not binding.
No, your information is private. In the future, we may give you the opportunity to share some information about your giving publicly if you would like to, but we will never share any information about your giving without your permission.

No. Giving Multiplier is a useful tool for 50/50 Pledgers because it makes bundled donations easy and provides matching funds, but you are free to use other platforms or donate directly to your chosen charities to fulfill your 50/50 Pledge.

(Note: Matching funds added to your donation do not count toward your pledged 50%.)

We recommend the highly effective charities listed on this page, based on expert evaluations. That said, you are free to decide for yourself which charities count, even if they aren't on our list.
Yes. The ultimate goal of the 50/50 Pledge is to direct more funds to highly effective charities. As long as your pledges don't conflict, you can take more than one. For example, if you previously pledged 5% of your income to charity, you can fulfill both pledges by donating at least half of that 5% to highly effective charities.

If you use Giving Multiplier, you can set up monthly donations allocating funds to both your personal favorite charities and highly effective charities from our list. Giving Multiplier adds matching funds on top of your donations. To automate your giving, simply select "Monthly" when you initiate a donation on the home page.

(Note: Matching funds added to your donation do not count toward your pledged 50%.)

No, you can take the pledge no matter where you live.
If you would like to do so, please email us at info@givingmultiplier.org.