Thanks for the write-up! This is a very useful post. 

I have been wondering though, since the shift in strategy, is EA outreach still a priority? Such as YouTube channels, podcasts, other online media,... targeting a broader audience. And if not, why? 

Even though I have a personal vested interest in this topic (running a YouTube channel previously funded by EAIF), I do believe that projects like these could be highly effective and worth funding, regardless of my own involvement.

My main point of criticism, that I didn't see anyone else mention in the top-level comments, is that the pledge just seems too vague and broad. A 10 percent pledge is very concrete and measurable. Of course there is a difference in opinion in terms of what charities count as impactful, just like with careers. But with careers the difference in opinion is too broad for this pledge to be useful. Some could just interpret this pledge as "I'll become a doctor or work for an ngo" without giving much extra thought. While with the 10% pledge there is a clear significant minimum commitment. I don't think it solves the issue of value drift either. I imagine that in reality, when value drift happens, the individual won't be quick to admit their values have drifted even if they aren't actively looking for the most impactful career opportunities anymore. And there is also a higher chance people will just forget about the pledge and ignore any reminders. You could try and make the pledge more measurable, but then I think you'll quickly run into Goodhart's Law. I'm skeptical there is a way to have a career pledge and avoid these issues. I could be wrong, and I do welcome trying out new things like this!

I'm finishing up a video covering NAO and wastewater monitoring, though not based on this specific talk.

Thanks for pointing this out! I wasn't really sure where my question fell on the axis of "general EA animal welfare knowledge" (ex. prioritizing chickens > cows) to "specific detail about how ACE evaluates charities". By posting a quick take on the forum, I was hoping it was closer to the former, that I was just missing something obvious and that ACE wouldn't even have to be bothered. I shouldn't have overlooked the possibility that it might be more complicated!

Thank you so much for this elaborate and insightful response, Max! I understand the argument much better now.

I was going through Animal Charity Evaluators' reasoning behind which countries to prioritize (https://animalcharityevaluators.org/charity-review/the-humane-league/#prioritizing-countries) and I notice they judge countries with a higher GNI per capita as more tractable. This goes against my intuition, because my guess is your money goes further in countries that are poorer. And also because I've heard animal rights work in Latin America and Asia is more cost-effective nowadays. Does anyone have any hypotheses/arguments? This quick take isn't meant as criticism, I'm just informing myself as I'm trying to choose an animal welfare org to fundraise for this week (small, low stakes).

When I have more time I'd be happy to do more research and contact ACE myself with these questions, but right now I'm just looking for some quick thoughts.

Giving What We Can has grown tremendously over the past couple of years under your leadership. It’s been inspiring to witness how the organization has flourished! The redesign, the video content, the doubling in pledges, the fundraising feature, the donation platform, all the new research,... these are real milestones to be proud of. Thank you so much for the important work you've done! I am confident that Sjir and the rest of the team will continue building on the strong foundation you’ve created. I’m excited to see what you’ll do next, but make sure to take the well-earned rest you deserve!

I can't figure out how to change it on the EA Forum. Perhaps because I've already changed my name once before and there's a limit?

But I understand that there are many people who take the pledge but don't feel comfortable sharing it publicly. I think different circles and different cultures look differently towards "bragging" about donating. I know I don't feel comfortable doing it on LinkedIn or Instagram. Mostly out of fear or judgement I guess, so my mind could easily change.

Unfortunately, it looks like even in bio it's not possible! It says: 

Account update failed: Description can't include "🔹".

It's not the biggest deal, the orange one is cooler anyway, so it's an extra reason to take the 10% pledge! 😉 In the meantime I'll use the blue one on swapcard. 

Unfortunately the 🔹 emoji doesn't work on Twitter, I assume so it wouldn't be confused with the verification badge.