Toby Ord Impact Evaluation

A structured review based on philosopher Toby Ord effective giving review principles to maximize charity donation impact.

5 time blocks, 70 minutes in total.

Time blocks

Income and Pledge Baseline: 15 min
Calculate annual income and set your donation pledge percentage
Charity Evaluator Research: 20 min
Read updated cost effectiveness research from top charity evaluators
Cost Effectiveness Audit: 15 min
Assess estimated lives saved or health benefits per dollar donated
Allocation and Transfer Setup: 10 min
Distribute funds to top charities and schedule automated transfers
Giving Ledger Update: 10 min
Log donations in your personal tracker or public pledge ledger

About this routine

Oxford philosopher Toby Ord co founded Giving What We Can in 2009 to help people donate as effectively as possible. His Toby Ord effective giving review focuses on evidence based altruism, directing money where independent researchers find the highest positive impact per dollar. Ord famously pledged to donate all earnings above a modest living allowance, channeling the remainder to high impact global health and development interventions.

The evaluation process starts by establishing a clear percentage baseline against annual income. Independent evaluators like GiveWell and Giving What We Can provide rigorously vetted lists of top performing charities. Reviewers compare cost effectiveness metrics, such as dollars required to save a life or prevent severe disease, to ensure donations achieve maximum real world good.

By shifting from emotional giving to systematic evaluation, donors ensure every dollar creates measurable progress. Setting up recurring transfers and logging commitments in a personal ledger maintains long term consistency while eliminating mid year decision fatigue.

Why this routine works

Maximizes the measurable real world impact of every dollar donated
Removes guesswork by relying on independent charity evaluators
Prevents donor fatigue through structured income percentage pledges
Maintains long term accountability with a clear giving ledger

FAQ

What is Toby Ord's effective giving review?

It is an evaluation process based on effective altruism principles to calculate income pledges and direct donations to rigorously researched charities.

How much does Toby Ord donate?

Toby Ord pledged to donate everything he earned above a fixed living threshold, which initially sat at 20,000 British pounds per year.

How do you evaluate charity cost effectiveness?

You review independent evaluators like GiveWell to assess concrete metrics such as dollars per life saved or quality adjusted life years gained.

Sources

Giving What We Can, Toby Ord Pledge
The Precipice and Personal Essays, Toby Ord