Your career is one path to impact.
Your giving is another.
There are many ways to create positive change. Choosing an impactful career is one. Effective giving is another. By applying evidence and reasoning to your donations, you can direct your resources where they can do the most good.
Pledge a percentage of your income to highly effective charities.
Join a growing movement of ~20,000 effective givers with the
🔸 10% Pledge or 🔹 Trial Pledge (starting at 1%).
Decades of progress in global health are now at risk.
After three decades of historic progress, the fight against extreme poverty is losing momentum. The number of people in extreme poverty is forecast to rise after 2030, but developing health aid budgets have started to fall.
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Nearly 1.5 billion people have escaped extreme poverty in recent decades — but unless the poorest economies start growing, that era of progress is ending. The number of people in extreme poverty is projected to fall only until 2030, from 831 million to 793 million, before rising again.
That reversal is being accelerated by collapsing aid. Development Assistance for Health peaked at $80.3 billion during the pandemic and is projected to fall to $36.2 billion by 2030. The US alone cut its health aid by an estimated 67% in 2025, and development assistance for health to Sub-Saharan Africa — where there are some of the highest rates of preventable disease — dropped 25% in a single year.
Without additional support, more than 4.5 million children under five could die by 2030 because of US aid cuts. As governments step back, private giving has never mattered more.
The number of people in extreme poverty — including projections to 2030. Source: Our World in Data
The best charities do far more good per dollar than average ones.
Most charitable giving is driven by good intentions rather than strong evidence. Yet, just as medicine relies on clinical trials to identify the most effective treatments, we can use research to identify the most effective ways to help others.
Experts agree that not all charities achieve the same impact. Some interventions improve—or even save—many more lives for the same cost.
Effective giving asks a simple question: where can each dollar help the most?
A useful way to answer that question is the SOS framework, which evaluates causes based on how sizeable, overlooked, and solvable they are.
Not all causes are equally impactful. The Sizeable, Overlooked, Solvable (SOS) framework helps prioritize where time and money can do the most good by considering three factors.
01Sizeable
The extent of the positive outcome an intervention can bring about: how many people or beings it affects, how severe that impact is, and how urgently action is needed.
02Overlooked
How much attention and funding is there already? When a cause area is overlooked, funding is likely to be more impactful compared to a cause area that is well-funded.
03Solvable
How easy is it to make a difference? If a problem has no workable interventions, extra funding won’t help.
Doing the most good
A few examples of charities that have been rigorously evaluated by independent third-party researchers and recommended for their exceptional cost-effectiveness.
Malaria kills ~600,000 people per year. Most are children under 5.
$6 buys a net for 2 people for 2 years.
Support this charity
Vaccines save millions of lives each year, including a large share of deaths in children under 5.
$146 provides a child with all routine vaccinations.
Support this charity
Despite being easily preventable, vitamin A deficiency is a major contributor to childhood mortality in the developing world.
$2 provides a year's worth of Vitamin A.
Support this charity
Malaria kills ~600,000 people per year. Most are children under 5.
$7 protects a child through the malaria season.
Support this charity
Giving via a fund can often be more impactful than donating directly to individual charities.
Support high-priority funding needs in global health.
Support this charityDozens more top-rated organizations span cause areas including global health and wellbeing, animal welfare, and existential risk.
Could you live on 99% of your income?
If that 1% could transform someone else's life, many people find the answer is yes.
Wherever you are in your career, effective giving can be a powerful way to create impact. As a healthcare professional or medical student, you may already be among the world's highest earners—or on your way there, depending on where you live.
than you think.
See how your income compares worldwide, adjusted for the cost of living where you live.
See where you rank globally →
“I see health inequity every day. Pledging 10% is how I do something about it — every single month.”
You don't have to choose between your career and giving.
Building a high-impact career can take months or even years. Effective giving lets you create impact today, while you work toward your longer-term goals. Your career and your giving don't have to compete, they can work together to create more impact.
Join a growing movement of ~20,000 effective givers. Start where you're comfortable with the 🔸 10% Pledge or 🔹 Trial Pledge (starting at 1%).
People like you have pledged
“I feel so much more in control of my philanthropy, by donating at a time of reducing international aid budgets when money is needed more than ever, guided by evidence and less by emotion, and by finally aligning the financial part of my life with my core values.
This choice has been one of the most meaningful decisions to me in my life.”
Hi-Med Executive Director, Canada
“I donated $27,910.79 to charity this past financial year. If that sounds generous, consider that I kept 84% of my income for myself.
I approach giving the same way I approach medicine: by looking at evidence and prioritizing where help is needed most.
For me, it's a no-brainer: these donations allow me to create far more impact than I could through my own work alone.”
Doctor, Australia
“Instead of doom scrolling and feeling powerless, I can use a small amount of money to make a real difference.
It's tempting to wait until we're more financially secure, but there may never be a better time for our money to have greater impact than it does today.
In pediatric oncology, seeing a child suffer is something you never forget. What's extraordinary is that we can help prevent suffering for others—with just a few clicks and a small donation to effective charities.”
Haematology-Oncology doctor, USA
Join a global community of effective givers.
High Impact Medicine has partnered with Giving What We Can to inspire healthcare professionals and medical students to pledge a percentage of their income to the charities that can do the most good.
A pledge is a personal commitment to donate a portion of your income to high-impact charities. Whether you're ready to make a long-term commitment or want to start small, there's an option for you.
Commit to donating at least 10% of your income.
Start with a percentage that feels right for you—from 1% upwards—for a period you choose. Nothing to lose: you set the terms, and you can stop anytime.
Giving What We Can communityIn their own words
The Giving Pledge FAQs
What is a pledge?
Is the 10% a yearly requirement?
What is the Trial Pledge?
How do you know a charity is actually effective?
Is it legally binding?
I'm worried about my finances.
What if I'm a student or not yet earning?
Better to give later, once I've built wealth?
Can I choose which charity?
Full details & FAQs: givingwhatwecan.org/pledge
About the community
A better way to make a better world. Giving What We Can is a community of effective givers. We inspire people to give more, and give more effectively.
Whether you're ready to take a pledge or just exploring what effective giving looks like, you're welcome here.
Pledge to give → 🔸 10% Pledge · 🔹 Trial Pledge — start where you're comfortable. Join a growing movement of ~20,000 effective givers.Book a free 1:1 advisory call about effective giving — no pressure, no commitment.
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