“I’ve had some sleepless nights wondering whether humans should feel required to help others. Assuming those that can help without much sacrifice are obligated—and knowing that poker is a zero sum game—I felt that I should be contributing my time to other activities. I find it encouraging that I can make real, tangible differences with these donations. I’ve heard some cynics argue that donating to charity is like throwing money at a bottomless pit. And while there are some charities that are obviously inefficient, I truly believe that the ones I’ve selected are doing good, important work.”
– Dan Smith, on his motivation for holding his donation drive.
Long-time REG supporter Dan Smith recently announced that he will be matching donations up to $175,000 to nine charities, including the REG-recommended Against Malaria Foundation and GiveDirectly. An anonymous donor has recently told Dan that they will be matching donations for 350.org, Against Malaria Foundation, and GiveDirectly for up to $125,000 if Dan’s initial $170,000 challenge was met, meaning there is up to $300,000 available for matching.
Dan Smith has previously held a successful matching challenge with Dan Colman, which raised $210,854 for the Against Malaria Foundation, Deworm the World, the Massachusetts Bail Fund, and the Machine Intelligence Research Institute. Dan selected these charities after consulting with members of the REG team, Ruairi Donnelly and Adriano Mannino.
How can I get my donation matched?
To have your donation matched, email a donation receipt to receiptsforcharity@gmail.com for any of Dan’s nine selected charities. Dan will update his spreadsheet and match your donation once the donation drive is complete. For any questions about the charity drive, please email Dan at receiptsforcharity@gmail.com, or check out his original post about the charity drive.