“My First Pledge Anniversary: Thoughts of an Average Joe” by Christoph Eggert🔸

I donate money each month. The money is gone. The end.
While this is essentially what the 10% Pledge boils down to, it's been a surprisingly intense and exciting journey psychologically. As I just had my first anniversary, it seemed appropriate to think back and re-evaluate. I always love reading about the experiences of other pledgers, so I thought I might as well share some of my thoughts.

The Pledge's Influence

It's hard to admit, but: I am not a generous person, especially not with my time. You would never see me volunteering at a soup kitchen. I don't offer help or proactively engage with people on the street that seem to be struggling. Altruism never had much relevance in my life, nor is it ever a topic in my interactions with people. A chain of independent events led me to donate some amount of my income several years [...]

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Outline:

(00:37) The Pledges Influence

(02:00) Spoilt for Choice - Where to Donate?

(03:49) Never Doing Enough

(05:26) The Ivory Tower

(06:13) Being Vocal

(06:56) Conclusion

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First published:

July 27th, 2025

Source:

https://forum.effectivealtruism.org/posts/yPkjMCp4uxXkDQxva/my-first-pledge-anniversary-thoughts-of-an-average-joe

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Narrated by TYPE III AUDIO.