Matt Coleman

New research from Janek Kretschmer & Paul Smeets: separating donation decisions into two stages (1. how much to give, 2. which charity to support) increases charitable impact.

Paper: papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers....

A hen spends her life in a cage no bigger than an iPad, unable to spread her wings.

This #WorldFarmAnimalsDay, let's change that. For less than a dollar, you can help free a hen, and your donation gets a 50% boost all week long. With your help, we can free 100,000 hens.

How ‘Proportion Dominance’ Gets in the Way of Effective Giving - by Matthew Coleman - Behavioral Scientist When it comes to helping others, it’s important to remember that it’s the size of the drop that matters, not the size of the bucket.

New article I wrote at Behavioral Scientist (@behscientist.bsky.social): I share the psychological research on "drop-in-the-bucket" thinking, how this tendency shows up when trying to make an impact, and what we can do about it.

Article: behavioralscientist.org/how-proporti...

ICYMI: Three weeks ago, we were featured on the "Trolleyology" episode of @ologies.bsky.social.

Since then, hundreds of Ologites have collectively directed an astounding $445,000 toward combating extreme poverty and climate change, supporting 230+ of their favorite nonprofits, and much more. Bravo!

Nice review of recent research showing that younger children start out with a more expansive moral circle than older children and adults
@juliamarshall.bsky.social, @mattiwilks.bsky.social, @karrineldner.bsky.social

www.nature.com/articles/s41...

Wow! Huge congrats, Dave!

Fantastic new episode of @ologies.bsky.social! An insightful (and often hilarious) discussion on navigating difficult moral decisions and Josh's applied research projects for expanding the circle of "us".

Podcast: pod.link/1278815517/e...

♻️ Giving Multiplier powers a virtuous circle of giving.

Matching funds inspire donations to highly effective charities. In turn, those donations encourage others to provide more matching funds.

This "supply-and-demand" cycle creates impact today, while sustaining our platform for the future.

People in rich countries often underestimate how wealthy they are globally.

A new study finds that a simple nudge correcting this misperception increases generosity:

escholarship.org/uc/item/0wm7...

🌍 Featured super-effective charity: Clean Air Task Force (@cleanaircatf.bsky.social)

CATF works in 40+ countries driving tech & policy solutions to fight climate change, including advanced nuclear energy and next-gen geothermal.

🔗 Read their mid-year impact report: catf.us/2025/06/2025...

People see giving time (volunteering) as more impactful than giving money (donating), in part because it feels more personal and connected to the self.

New paper by Samantha Kassirer and Maferima Touré-Tillery: link.springer.com/article/10.1...

When development constricts our moral circle While we often assume that growing up makes us more morally inclusive, our research suggests that young children may start out with broader concern—and become more selective with age.

"Maybe we are born with a surprisingly inclusive capacity to care, and over time, we learn to direct that concern more selectively."

New research on moral development, summarized on Substack by Lucius Caviola:

YouTube video by Peter Singer Josh Greene on Good Reasoning

I’ve long believed that good reasoning can lead to better behaviour. But as Josh Greene and I discuss in this episode of “Lives Well Lived”, reason alone is often not enough.

Josh describes how his thinking has evolved from the hope that moral philosophy informed by psychology could change...

Really cool new preprint: charity effectiveness information can boost donations. But framing matters.

When cost-effectiveness falls below expectations, it can backfire and actually reduce giving.

📃 papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers....

Important new paper for charitable giving: the preference for charities with lower overhead ratios (i.e., "overhead aversion") can be reduced when both: a) explaining the importance of overhead and b) prompting the donor to deliberate about their choice

🎉 New feature alert: monthly donations are here!

You asked, we listened.

With recurring donations on #GivingMultiplier, you can earn matching funds each month to both your favorite charity and a super-effective charity.

👉 Set up your monthly donation: GivingMultiplier.org

"Saving a child’s life is certainly something that everybody can be extremely proud of. Guided by research on differences in cost-effectiveness, many people can do this."

ourworldindata.org/cost-effecti...

(@ourworldindata.org)

Very cool new paper: simply providing multiple donation options (vs. just one) increases charitable giving by ~20%, without reducing the number of donors.

📰 doi.org/10.1037/xap0...

Supporting Children's Health with Vitamin A in Senegal Vitamin A strengthens vision, prevents blindness, and builds children's immune systems to fight off illness. In Senegal, vitamin A deficiency is incredibly high. Helen Keller Intl has been working to deliver this lifesaving micronutrient to young children, allowing them to grow healthy, strong, and reach their true potential

Featured super-effective charity: @helenkellerintl.org 💊

For under $2, their Vitamin A program can avert blindness, prevent malnutrition, & reduce mortality. Last year, Helen Keller Intl provided life-changing supplements to 43 million children in sub-Saharan Africa.

#GlobalHealth #ImpactfulGiving

Our Winter newsletter is out! ❄️

In this edition, we feature one of our super-effective charities (@helenkellerintl.bsky.social), one of our trusted expert charity evaluators (@animalcharityev.bsky.social), and provide engaging resources for learning more about high-impact charitable giving.

Very proud of @givingmultiplier.bsky.social's impact last year!

Many of us can save a child’s life, if we rely on the best data There are many ways to improve the world, but their cost-effectiveness varies immensely. You can achieve a lot more if you rely on the best data on where to donate.

What is an important fact about the world that you wish more people would know?

Here is my answer: If we rely on the best data, many of us can save a child's life.

And here is my article about it.
ourworldindata.org/cost-effecti...

Giving is now a deep source of meaning in my life. It’s never been easier in human history to help others most in need around the world. What an amazing opportunity for enriching both our own and others’ lives!

I felt empowered that I could so easily make an outsized difference for other people living thousands of miles away—providing life-saving nutrients, preventing deadly infectious diseases, and removing debilitating parasitic worms.

By relying on experts, I could do exactly that, without much sacrifice or effort—just a few button clicks from the comfort of my home.

As a new graduate student, I didn’t feel comfortable giving much, nor did I want to spend much time researching where to donate. I just wanted to feel confident that my small contributions made a real difference.

That is, until about four years ago, when I stumbled across an astonishing fact: donating just $10 to an expert-recommended charity can have as much impact as $1,000 donated elsewhere.

𝐌𝐲 𝐩𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐨𝐧𝐚𝐥 𝐣𝐨𝐮𝐫𝐧𝐞𝐲 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐜𝐡𝐚𝐫𝐢𝐭𝐚𝐛𝐥𝐞 𝐠𝐢𝐯𝐢𝐧𝐠:

Ever since I was a teenager, I’ve felt exceedingly fortunate for the security of having my basic needs met, allowing me to freely pursue my interests. But I never really turned that gratitude into action.

Episode 159: Giving Multiplier (w/ Dr. Matt Coleman) Podcast Episode · Psychology and Stuff · 12/15/2024 · 35m

Thanks to Dr. Alison Jane Martingano for having me on the Psychology and Stuff podcast! I had a lot of fun talking about
@givingmultiplier.bsky.social and the psychology of charitable giving.

Listen here: podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/e...

This giving season, give with your heart and your head - The Boston Globe There’s no right way to give to charities, but there’s a better way.

New column out today in @bostonglobe.com's "Ideas" section!

Prof. Joshua Greene and I make the case for applying a balanced approach to charitable giving, backed by recent research:

www.bostonglobe.com/2024/12/18/o...