I think if people are already here, it’s more than safe to mention matching donation programs. It could actually really help motivate people. I know it helped me a lot in the past.
I once donated $3k (the limit of my previous employer’s matching program) to local service charities in Austin, TX. The only reason I started investigating charitable giving in the first place was because I found the info about the matching program buried in the packet of info I got from HR when I was hired (which I got around to looking through 6 months after starting). My goal at the time was barely altruistic. It was some mix of “Cool, I can get $3,000 in extra money! I just need to find something else besides myself that I care about.” and “Wow, I work for a government defense contractor. I know what they will spend that $3,000 on if I don’t find something better!”.
I don’t think Less Wrong or Give Well existed at the time. My search for a good cause probably ended prematurely, but it still marked the beginning of a search for something outside of myself that I cared about.
Also, even though searching through information about giving to charity and strongly considering giving did almost nothing for me, actually giving that $6,000 changed everything about how I saw myself.
Oh, oops, we were talking about different things. I think you’re right to mention matching donations (especially after hearing your anecdote), but I wonder if there’s room for a warning like, “It’s more important to pick the right charity than to get someone to match your donation. (Do both if you can, of course.)”
I think if people are already here, it’s more than safe to mention matching donation programs. It could actually really help motivate people. I know it helped me a lot in the past.
I once donated $3k (the limit of my previous employer’s matching program) to local service charities in Austin, TX. The only reason I started investigating charitable giving in the first place was because I found the info about the matching program buried in the packet of info I got from HR when I was hired (which I got around to looking through 6 months after starting). My goal at the time was barely altruistic. It was some mix of “Cool, I can get $3,000 in extra money! I just need to find something else besides myself that I care about.” and “Wow, I work for a government defense contractor. I know what they will spend that $3,000 on if I don’t find something better!”.
I don’t think Less Wrong or Give Well existed at the time. My search for a good cause probably ended prematurely, but it still marked the beginning of a search for something outside of myself that I cared about.
Also, even though searching through information about giving to charity and strongly considering giving did almost nothing for me, actually giving that $6,000 changed everything about how I saw myself.
Oh, oops, we were talking about different things. I think you’re right to mention matching donations (especially after hearing your anecdote), but I wonder if there’s room for a warning like, “It’s more important to pick the right charity than to get someone to match your donation. (Do both if you can, of course.)”