why I stopped donating
and when I plan to start again
I’m a longtime supporter of the Against Malaria Foundation. I consider my donations to them to be one of the most important things I’ve done in my life.
But in late 20221, I stopped donating.
My husband and I bought and started renovating a house around that time. We were short on cash, and it would have been much more expensive overall to delay some of the renovations. I stopped donating to free up some money, and I haven’t restarted yet as we rebuild our savings while I’m home on maternity leave.
I’m planning to “backpay” about 10% of my take-home pay from this time period in a year or two. Bunching all of our charitable donations into one year could potentially help us optimize our taxes.
I think what I’m doing makes sense, but I’m still a little uneasy with it - surely the people I’m giving to would also prefer the money sooner? But it’s what I’m doing.
or possibly early 2023 - embarrassingly I can’t remember the month
FWIW, this is perfectly in keeping with the GWWC pledge. The GWWC Pledge is 10% over your post-pledge working lifetime, not 10% of every paycheck at the time of each paycheck. If you intend and have a credible plan to still hit the 10% lifetime pledge, nothing to sweat about!
I know this can feel weird and not great. You are still well loved, and a charming person (so it seems from our brief Twitter interactions). You and your new family are delights and deserve all the love and assurances you can offer. Stay well.