British Charity Campaign Attracts $25-Million

A campaign by British scholars to persuade people to give “what you can” has raised charity pledges of $25-million, The Chronicle of Higher Education reports.

The article examines the efforts of Toby Ord, a 31-year-old Australian who earns $52,000 a year as an ethics researcher at Oxford University.

He gained attention in Britain in 2009 when he started Giving What We Can, a campaign that promotes greater giving by people of relatively modest means. Its 80 members pledge to donate at least 10 percent of their pretax income to charity.

Mr. Ord himself expects to donate $1.6-million, about two-thirds of his anticipated lifetime earnings, a figure he says is attainable by living without some luxuries such as a car and frequent meals out.

Three students at Rutgers University in New Jersey recently founded the campaign’s first American chapter, The Chronicle also reports.