All of jonathancourtney's Comments + Replies

Just wanted to chime in and say I think this is a really great idea!  Looking forward to seeing the program grow in the years to come!

Hey Jeffhe- the position you put forward looks structurally really similar to elements of Scanlon's, and you discuss a dillema that is often discussed in the context of his work (the lifeboat/the rocks example)- It also seems like given your reply to objection 3 you might really like it's approach (if you are not familiar with it already). Subsection 7 of this SEP article (https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/contractualism/) gives a good overview of the case that is tied to the one you discuss. The idea of the separateness of persons, and the idea that o... (read more)

Hey Richard,

Thanks for the comment- I might just field my best reply to these points and let Michelle chime in if I get any of it wrong!

I can totally understand your confusion- Giving What We Can does, in a great deal of its research, and its promotional material, focus on the project of eliminating extreme poverty. This is because we believe that projects that focus on the elimination of extreme poverty (the provision of bednets, or drugs for Schistosomiasis, ect) are one of the ways we can do the most good with our time and money. As you can imagine, i... (read more)

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:D

Awesome- thanks for clarifying! Looking forward to listening to the recording.

This looks really great! I was wondering is there any chance that the conference call will be recorded? 7PM PST is a bit late for those of us in GMT, and I would be super keen to hear more about what you and your team have been up to!

Also I am probably just wrong about this, but isn't there a fairly strong correlative link between higher IQ and higher income? Shouldn't we expect that the IQ benefits of salt iodization would lead to increased economic outcomes given the correlation between these two traits? Or is the rough idea that we shouldn't expect to see that correlation in the context of the developing world?

Looking forward to hearing more about this at EA Global Oxford!

I just wanted to +1 this post! In general I agree there needs to be more opportunity for open communications with new EAs! This is why I think developing new local presences/chapters for EA is so important (cue, shameless plug of what I am working on!).

I should also note that all of us at Giving What We Can are always happy to chat with new people in the movement! Alison Woodman (alison.woodman@givingwhatwecan.org) is a great first point of contact, and I am also always happy to chat! (jonathan.courtney@givingwhatwecan.org)

An idea that just sprung to mi... (read more)

You can also join the Giving What We Can Mailing list at the bottom of any of the main pages of the website:

https://www.givingwhatwecan.org/

I have also made a quick video explaining the project- check it out here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3boEcNVFw_U

Thanks for this Alex- a really great post for EA chapters who are just starting out!

Thanks for the great post Peter! As Michelle mentioned I am spending most of my time focusing on chapter growth, and helping to support established and emerging chapters. I completely agree with everything you said about the importance of local groups- in particular I think you are right that we need to be spending more time on supporting new EA meet-ups once they have started up. More generally i think local meet-ups and chapters have a really important role to play in the 'EA funnel'. They serve as a natural 'next-step' after people have heard about ... (read more)

A good point- making your giving public is a really great way for getting other people involved!

If you want to make your MyGiving page public, you can find a link to do so under the 'edit' tab.

If you want to check out my giving history, feel free to look at the link here:

https://www.givingwhatwecan.org/igivedisplay?publicid=993&publicauth=684959826

A good point! The 3-5 number averages over a number of chapters, many of whom have been running for several years and are well established, and so is likely on the optimistic side.

I absolutely agree with your point that if your chapter produces 1 pledge, that is an amazing achievement that should be congratulated! That said, I don't think it is right to say that the median chapter produces 0 pledges a year- most chapters which start up and run a successful first year on average result in at least one or two pledges. I should also note that my analysis... (read more)

Agreed- part of valuing the pledge at $20,000US (rather than the $150,000US that the median earner would donate over their life time) is an attempt to capture this sort of counter-factual concern.

I also totally agree about your point about personal connections- I think many people find that they do a lot to motivate them to do more for EA- just another way that chapters are awesome!

Thanks for the feedback- I will be sure to simplify the script and use room tone in the next video!

Do you have any suggestions for blogs/guides I can read up on for other tips?

Cheers!

Hey Tom, not sure about TLYCS's study, but we plan to make ours public (and I imagine they will too!)

Hey Jonathon, this is a really great initiative! Giving What We Can is currently in the process of designing an experiment to test the effectiveness of our pamphlets. We were hoping to run it in London some time late January, early February. We should coordinate on our experiment design [I will post more details on the forum once we have firmed up details about the experiment design].

I would be happy to be on the list as well! My email is: jonathan.courtney@givingwhatwecan.org Cheers!

Also, if you are interested in getting in contact with Giving What We Can members/chapters/meet-ups please feel free to email me!

jonathan.courtney@givingwhatwecan.org

(I am the current Director of Community for Giving What We Can)