http://www.pledgebank.com/justonepercent Comments on 'give 1% of my gross annual salary to charity' en-gb team@pledgebank.com 1901-01-01T00:00+00:00 2 hourly http://www.pledgebank.com/justonepercent#comment_293176 Yes is a fantastic Idea... I always done charity... but never thought to give a percent of all my incomings yearly. Would be a fantastic option doing it... http://www.pledgebank.com/justonepercent#comment_229745 1% is very little IMO. I personally donate 10% to various charities. http://www.pledgebank.com/justonepercent#comment_2108 This is an interesting one but like Hannah says, some of us don't have salaries. I also agree that everyone giving to the same charity is a nice idea, but not everyone thinks certain charities are as worthy as others... I mean, I certainly wouldn't mind if the money went to a musical organisation (several bands and choirs I know are registered charities) but I think you mean something slightly more far-reaching than that? Something to think about anyway. This year I intend to donate something that for me, has always been more precious than money. I volunteer my time to help others. xx http://www.pledgebank.com/justonepercent#comment_2042 If you think about how much we have (clean water, food, shelter) and how many people in the world don't even have these basics, it makes you reconsider how much money you really 'need'. I'm aiming to give 10% of my income as I already give 1%. Obviously not everyone can do this - some people in this country only earn minimum wage, have dependents to support or have large debts because they went to university. I would encourage everyone to think about giving as much as they can afford. I think many charities are effective - but we musnt let this obscure the need for real change from Governments, businesses and ourselves. Giving money can sometimes help soothe our consciences - but changing our lifestyles can actually be more effective - this not only supports good causes directly, but also sends a political message to businesses and governments that we want a more ethical society and economy. For instance, think about buying ethical products such as Fairtrade, recycled goods, organics and locally-sourced fruit and veg. But it's hard to make big changes all at once - so maybe people making this pledge and other pledges should consider this as just one step in a journey - and pledge to do more in the future http://www.pledgebank.com/justonepercent#comment_930 Your pledge, and a lot of people's comments at the mo, seem to be focusing on salary... well im 15 and so have no salary and wont do for some time, but i can still give to charity! i suggest you widen your pledge to be 1% of whatever money you receive, including pocket money etc, because that way kids like me can sign the pledge too :) the earlier you get into the habit of giving, the easier it is and the less you notice the amount you 'lose' so i reckon you should be encouraging younger people to support you as well. btw i went on ur blogspot, i hope u have a fantastic time at glasto! http://www.pledgebank.com/justonepercent#comment_760 BTW, I promise that I will interpret this as 1% on top of whatever I would normally donate. http://www.pledgebank.com/justonepercent#comment_705 Just read about this in the Guardian. Great idea. Just worked out what 1% is and I already give more than that through direct debits but happy to pledge another 1%. As you say it's less than the cost of a night out. Anyone stuck for charity ideas may consider one of these: http://www.re-cycle.org/ ReCycle (Collects unwanted bicycles and ships them to Africa); http://www.sendacow.org.uk/; Send a Cow; http://www.godsgoldenacre.org/uk/index.html (Aids orphanage in South Africa) and http://www.practicalaction.org/ practical answers to poverty. http://www.pledgebank.com/justonepercent#comment_687 I meant, of course, the average proportion of income given to charity was 10%, not the average person, which makes no sense. Obviously if the *average* proportion given to charity was 10%, rich people would have given a much higher proportion than poor people, and poor people were the beneficiaries of charity - schools, hospitals, general welfare. What's the vote got to do with it? http://www.pledgebank.com/justonepercent#comment_553 No fixed income at the moment, but will endeavour to give at least 1% of whatever I get to people I find on justgiving.com http://www.pledgebank.com/justonepercent#comment_449 I've already given more than 1% this year, but when you work out what we spend on beer etc (me anyway :) that's really a pitiful amount, I'm game for another percent. http://www.pledgebank.com/justonepercent#comment_435 Please explain PL. Who do you mean by the average person? Large parts of the population lived on/below the poverty line then - most people didnt even have the vote!. I'd love to be in a position to give 10% and hopefully one day I will. However, I'd like to start small and build up from there! http://www.pledgebank.com/justonepercent#comment_421 In Victorian times the average person gave 10% of their income to charity. http://www.pledgebank.com/justonepercent#comment_396 I've signed up - although as well as giving more than 1% of my gross income to charity, I also work as fundraiser for one, so I have a vested interest... The 'best' way to give is to make a regular gift to a charity by Direct Debit (don't forget to tick the Gift Aid box!). This means the charity has an idea of what income it can expect, and plan its budget in advance, meaning the work it does is much more effective. GAYE is great, especially if your employer which match your gift (don't forget to ask), although if you move jobs or they close the scheme, the gift stops. Cheque/cash are fine, but more of your donation will go in admin, because someone has to be paid to count up all the cheques, put them on the database by hand and take them round the corner to the bank. And if you don't make a Gift Aid declaration (if you pay income tax, it means ticking a box and doesn't cost you anything - so why wouldn't you?!?) or give through a collection box, your charity won't be able to claim the extra 28% it could get back from the Treasury. If that doesn't seem very much, ask yourself how much more you could do with 28% extra income! http://www.pledgebank.com/justonepercent#comment_393 Great idea - I already do this (as does my partner) and if you do it through GAYE and open a CharityCard account it makes life so much easier. Go to www.allaboutgiving.org.uk for more information...we'll be adding another 1% as a result of this pledge. good luck! http://www.pledgebank.com/justonepercent#comment_338 PLEASE do this through your employer and the Give As You Earn scheme (GAYE). That way you get the tax breaks. http://www.pledgebank.com/justonepercent#comment_336 Thanks Sinta. I just hope loads of people sign up! Choose away - I've only mentioned who I'm giving to as I was asked to, but people should give to whoever they feel passionate about! http://www.pledgebank.com/justonepercent#comment_314 Great pledge and a great way for ppl to get started. I already give to charity, but a bit more won't hurt at all. I'd like to choose the charity though. http://www.pledgebank.com/justonepercent#comment_222 Thanks for the comment Jeffrey. I wanted to let people choose their own charities as I think it's up to people where they think it would do the best work. Personally I will be splitting my 1% between Medecins sans frontiers (http://www.msf.org/unitedkingdom/) and Amnesty International (http://www.amnesty.org.uk/). If others would like to do so that's fab - but people should feel free to choose their own charities if they wish. http://www.pledgebank.com/justonepercent#comment_214 Good pledge, but I will not pledge unless Nicola will suggest a single charity to get all the money. Don't really mind which charity - but charity is ineffective if it isn't in bulk. http://www.pledgebank.com/justonepercent#comment_108 'Cola Apologies I've left you a longer comment on your www.justonepercent.blogspot.com site, and I want to retract a little bit of it here. I suggested you would only get sign up if people were allowed to enrole anonymously. And they would be more likely to participate if there were a chance to form a mutually supportive community in the aftermath. I now realise: 1. people CAN register anonymously, and 2. you, as the proposer can contact your acolytes and send messages to us - galvanising just such a community. I still think it's a socially problematic pledge, but the pledgebank technology is groovier than I'd realised. Can I just urge 1 per centers to set up Charity Accounts at CAF (http://www.allaboutgiving.org/) if they want to organise their giving better.