We believe that 10% is a good balance of significant and achievable: it is both a significant proportion of one's income, in recognition of the importance of the world’s problems and the need to take real action, while also remaining within reach of most people in wealthy countries. 10% removes the uncertainty around the question of how to much we should donate to charity?

The social custom of donating anonymously can limit our impact. We can achieve much more if we overcome this custom and donate publicly. After all, we are social creatures who are guided and inspired by others when deciding what to do.

Anyone and everyone who feels connected to or inspired by the Financial Independence movement can take The Pledge! You can be at any stage of the FI journey: just starting out, Coast FI, Full FI, or semi-retired. You don’t need to be a part of any other FI community or groups.

The FI-lanthropy Pledge acknowledges that members of the FI community have a unique responsibility to give back because we have gained the freedom to live life on our own terms. With FI comes privilege, power, and the ability to shape the world beyond mere survival. As a community we should be arguing that fulfillment isn’t just about achieving FI, it's about using that freedom to contribute to the greater good, build meaningful connections, and create positive change in society. You can read more about our vision here.

We recommend donating to charities that are both highly effective and well researched. It's for this reason we point you to the charity recommendations from our partner organization Giving What We Can. Other charity evaluators that are dedicated to promoting evidenced-based giving include GiveWell, The Life You Can Save (with whom we also partner), Animal Charity Evaluators (ACE), and Giving Green.

It's important to note that these evaluators can't assess every charity in existence, so their recommendations reflect the best estimates they have today. There may be other high-impact charities doing valuable work.

Ultimately, we value your commitment to making a positive difference. We welcome you to take The Pledge, whether you choose to support these recommended charities or other causes you care deeply about.

Giving What We Can (GWWC) is the organization that launched the 🔸10% Pledge and continues to manage the global community of signatories. Since 2024, several organizations, including Yield & Spread, have collaborated with GWWC to promote the pledge to unique audiences. Yield & Spread is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit that aims to use finance as a force for good. We provide a number of personal finance educational resources to help aspiring philanthropists give back. The FI-lanthropy Pledge is part of Yield & Spread's mission to do that. When you sign The FI-lanthhropy Pledge on Yield & Spread’s website, you also become part of the global community managed by GWWC and your name will appear on the global list of signatories.

If you have already signed the pledge with Giving What We Can but want to take part in The FI-lanthropy Pledge as well, you can add us a pledge partner. To do this, sign into your pledge dashboard, click pledge partners (shortcut link here), then scroll down and click "Join Yield & Spread".

It’s the 🔸10% Pledge symbol! You can help by adding the orange diamond 🔸 emoji to your social profiles if you’ve taken the 10% Pledge! (or a small blue diamond 🔹 emoji if you’ve taken the Trial Pledge). When you take the pledge, we’ll send you resources to help guide you in sharing your pledge publicly.

Here's a great example of adding the diamond and the 🔸10% Pledge line in bio:

No. A pledge is a voluntarily commitment and enforced solely by your own conscience. In some circumstances, it may be best to resign from your pledge by filling in our depledging form.

Yes! If you have any questions about the pledge, please reach out to us here. Or if you are looking for guidance with your multi-year giving strategy, please consider applying to our FREE 1:1 coaching program for aspiring philanthropists.