Charity Elections
What they are, how they work, and how you can get sponsored up to $2,000 to run your own.
Kevin Dahle, Northfield HS
Maggie Muth Lucia Willkomm
What is a charity election?
A school-wide event in which high schoolers vote among three charities to decide which will receive up to $2,000 of sponsored funds
Viewing: Promo video created by a high school volunteer
“Early voting”
Benefits of Mock Elections
“Youth who reported having been either encouraged to vote or taught how to register to vote in high school are more likely to vote and participate in other civic activities, more knowledgeable about voting processes, and more invested in and attentive to the 2020 election than �other youth.”6
(2) Critical Thinking Skills
(3) Efficacy
Question
Myth
Fact
Question
Myth
Fact
Question
Myth
Fact
Donating to charity doesn’t make a difference.
How much good can you accomplish with $50?
A $50 donation can restore eyesight for a person with curable blindness who cannot afford surgery.1
What percentage of the world lives on less than $1.90 per day? How has this changed over time?
It is impossible to make life better for people living in extreme poverty (less than $1.90 per day).
From 2008 to 2018, the percentage of the world living in extreme poverty dropped from 18.1% to 8.6%.2
How much good can the best charities do, compared with typical charities?
All charities do roughly the same amount of good.
Experts estimate that the best charities are 10 to 100 times more effective than typical charities.3
Effective giving
Myth: All charities do roughly the same amount of good.
How much good can the best charities do, compared with typical charities?
Viewing: Beth Barnes’s TEDx Talk on the basics of effective giving.
Background
Straightforward Process
Three possible allocations
Student leaders
Benefits include…
More benefits…
Sample charities
These are a few years old; new charities are selected each year.
2022-23 charity
Here’s a charity featured this year…
Mission: To provide unconditional cash transfers to the world's poorest households, empowering people to choose for themselves how best to improve their lives
Sample charities
(If time)
Mission: To improve the health of the most marginalised people by developing sustainable, cost-effective programmes against parasitic worm infections
Sample charities
(If time)
Mission: To safeguard against the worst impacts of climate change by pushing the technologies and policies needed to get to a zero-emissions, high-energy planet at an affordable cost
What makes a charity effective...
What makes a charity effective...
What makes a charity effective...
(1) Cost-effectiveness
(2) Strong evidence
(1) Cost-effectiveness
(2) Strong evidence
(1) Cost-effectiveness
(2) Strong evidence
Definition...
The donation does a lot of good per dollar
For example...
A $50 donation to the SCI Foundation can protect 116 children from schistosomiasis.4
For example...
A $50 donation to the SCI Foundation can protect 116 children from schistosomiasis.4
Definition…
The charity is supported by research and evidence
For example...
CATF has an outstanding track record in conducting high-quality research and analysis, achieving policy change, and catalyzing the global development of climate-protecting technologies.5
Research and discussion
How would you rate the (1) cost-effectiveness and (2) evidence base of the three charities?
Results at Northfield HS 2022
$1,164 -- 302 votes
$332 -- 270 votes
$166 -- 259 votes
Results in 2022
The $1,164 gift to the winning charity can deliver treatments to protect 2,920 children from schistosomiasis.
Results in 2022
Students overwhelmingly indicated they voted for a cause they believed in and made a positive impact for others
Results in 2022
From before to after the event, students showed an increase in all four measured values, including being compassionate and making the world a better place
Results in 2022
Results in 2022
Anonymous student testimonials…
“We are thinking about something bigger than ourselves and voting for a change.”
“Now I know if we get enough people together, we can truly make an amazing difference for the world.”
“I think this event is an amazing way to kickstart people giving to charity and expanding their horizons of help people.”
“It makes me step back and think deeper on world problems.”
“It shows the power behind a lot of people doing as much as
they can for others.”
Sponsorship and the school
charityelections@givingwhatwecan.org
adam.steinberg@givingwhatwecan.org� (communications lead)
How to apply
Please load up and fill in this “voter registration” form, adapted from the one students will complete as part of their charity election.
This should take about 3:00. Thank you!
Charity Elections
Questions?
This presentation and all contents including images is ©2022 Charity Elections. All rights reserved. Do not use without permission.�For permission to use it for noncommercial purposes, please write us at charityelections@givingwhatwecan.org.
“Living your beliefs is the most rewarding choice anyone can make.”
- Student testimonial
Works Cited
1 “Seva.” The Life You Can Save, https://www.thelifeyoucansave.org/best-charities/seva/.
2 Piper, Kelsey. “The Best 10-Year Challenge Yet Belongs to Humanity.” Vox, 18 Jan. 2019, www.vox.com/future-perfect/2019/1/18/18188511/10-year-challenge-global-poverty-good-news.
3 Ord, Toby. “The Moral Imperative toward Cost-Effectiveness in Global Health.” Effective Altruism, 2019, pp. 29–36, https://doi.org/10.1093/oso/9780198841364.003.0002.
4 “Impact Calculator.” The Life You Can Save, https://www.thelifeyoucansave.org/impact-calculator/.
5 “Clean Air Task Force.” The Life You Can Save, https://www.thelifeyoucansave.org/best-charities/clean-air-task-force/.
6 Andes, Sarah, et al. 2020, Youth Who Learned about Voting in High School More Likely to Become Informed and Engaged Voters, https://circle.tufts.edu/latest-research/youth-who-learned-about-voting-high-school-more-likely-become-informed-and-engaged. Accessed 15 Oct. 2022.