| We hope you’ll find today’s updates useful whether or not you’re planning on donating with RC Forward this holiday season. In our last 2023 newsletter, you can find: Deadlines for 2023 donations Common questions about past donations Common questions about making new donations High-impact projects you can support this giving season News and opportunities for Canadians interested in impactful giving The fundraising project that would later become RC Forward was launched late 2017. RC Forward has gone through significant changes over the years, and has been the recipient of almost $24 million in donations supporting high-impact projects thanks to the generosity of people across Canada (in every province and territory!). SK and I are honoured to be stewarding RC Forward through its 6th year, which has offered us challenges and opportunities to learn. Thank you for being a part of our community in 2023. Email: [email protected] (or just reply to this email) Book a call: link |
| Deadlines for 2023 donations |
| If you’d like a receipt to claim credits when filing your 2023 taxes, your gift needs to be received by RC Forward in 2023. With that in mind, here are donation deadlines by payment method: Mailing a cheque: Please mail your cheques as soon as possible. The envelope with your cheque needs to have a postmark date of 2023–but it’s okay if it reaches us in January. Email us if you need instructions for cheque donations. Donating online with a bank account, or sending a wire or e-transfer: Donate no later than Wednesday, Dec 27 (it can take 1-2 business days for banks to release funds, and there are fewer business days at year-end). Donating online by credit card: Donate no later than Sunday, Dec 31 (but preferably earlier!). Using Charitable Impact, Benevity, YourCause, CanadaHelps etc: Please refer to their websites. With these donation platforms, your gift is received by the aforementioned charities and it’s them that issue your receipt. |
| Common questions about past donations |
| We answer common questions you’ve asked about previous donations affected by the operational changes we shared in July (latest update in our November newsletter). The key takeaway is that many donations made from October 2022 onwards have been delayed and we are working to resolve the situation. Has my donation been directed? Please refer to this public spreadsheet to see the status of your donations based on your particular recommendations, or just reply to this email to ask us about your donations–we’re happy to help however we can. How much longer will the delays be? It depends on the preferences of each of our partner charities, as well as the pace of our operational changes. We’re actively working on our operational changes and currently have a completion timeline of the first half of 2024, though we have some uncertainty about this. Can I reallocate my donation? Yes. Please keep in mind we have notified each organization of the amount of planned gifts and have shared opt-in donor information. However, you can definitely adjust your allocations, just email us. The projects we can support more immediately are those listed on our Donate Page (with the exception of the Global Health Fund). Why are these delays happening? The grant facilitator we had worked with unexpectedly ceased operations, and we immediately stopped working with them. This change left us without a way to direct gifts on our normal quarterly schedule. The change also led to our current focus on strengthening our operations and partnerships. |
| Common questions about making new donations |
| We answer common questions from folks deciding to make a donation this giving season, in light of our operational changes. What charitable projects can I support with RC Forward right now? There are 9 projects and 2 Funds currently available on our Donate Page, offering you opportunities to support impactful projects in global health, animal welfare, or climate change. These projects are implemented by organizations chosen based on the recommendations of impact-focused charity evaluators: GiveWell, Animal Charity Evaluators, The Life You Can Save, Giving Green, or Founders Pledge. When will new donations be directed? The projects on our Donate Page are those we currently support on our normal quarterly schedule. If you donate before year-end, your gift will be directed in early 2024, likely February. Our Animal Welfare Fund is also operating on a normal quarterly schedule, but our Global Health Fund is currently delayed. You can find much more information on our Donate Page. Why should I donate at all, in light of your operational changes? Your donation will make a meaningful difference. The projects on our Donate Page are high-impact and evidence-based, and we can support them on our normal quarterly schedule. We share a lot more information on our Donate Page about the specifics of each project, which charity evaluators recommend them, and our schedule for directing your gifts. |
| Projects you can support with RC Forward now |
| Projects that improve global health and wellbeing |
 Fund bed nets to prevent malaria to save lives and increase economic output in sub-Saharan African communities. This work is implemented by the Against Malaria Foundation, named a Top Charity by GiveWell. |
 Send cash transfers directly to people experiencing extreme poverty, to improve the lives of recipients, their families and communities. This is a project of CAF Canada that is implemented by GiveDirectly, named a Best Charity by The Life You Can Save. |
 Support mass deworming programs to protect people, typically school-age children, from parasitic worm infections, to avert child development issues and improve school attendance. This is a project of CAF Canada that is implemented by Unlimit Health, named a Best Charity by The Life You Can Save. |
 Support work to reduce iodine deficiency globally, to help protect children’s brain development through salt iodization. This work is implemented by Iodine Global Network, named a Best Charity by The Life You Can Save. |
| Projects that improve animal welfare |
 Support an animal charity evaluations program to identify outstanding opportunities for donors and advocates to effectively help animals. This is a project of CAF Canada that is implemented by Animal Charity Evaluators. |
 Support the research and publication of public reports to hold global companies accountable to their cage-free commitments to billions of egg-laying hens. This is a project of CAF Canada that is implemented by The Humane League, named a Recommended Charity by Animal Charity Evaluators. |
 Support work to advance welfare on fish farms in India by improving farming practices, with a goal of helping 1 million fish in 2024. This is a project of CAF Canada that is implemented by Fish Welfare Initiative, named a Recommended Charity by Animal Charity Evaluators. |
| Projects that fight climate change |
 Support open-access research on alternative proteins (plant-based and cultivated meat) to help power the global transition to a sustainable, secure, and just protein supply. This is a project of CAF Canada that is implemented by the Good Food Institute, named a Top Climate Nonprofit by Giving Green and a Recommended Charity by Animal Charity Evaluators. |
 Fund a key new publication to help with transitioning the world’s 2,400 coal plants to clean energy by 2050 to help eliminate carbon emissions and restore natural ecosystems. This is a project of CAF Canada that is implemented by TerraPraxis, an organization that received a recommendation from Founders Pledge in 2022. |
| Cause area Funds |
 The RC Forward Animal Welfare Fund aims to maximize the impact of your donations through directing support to highly promising, evidence-based projects to help as many animals as possible with your gift. Ultimately, we aim to help you meaningfully make a difference in the lives of many animals, be they in factory farms or in the wild, on land or in the sea. The Fund is advised by Animal Charity Evaluators. |
 The RC Forward Global Health Fund aims to maximize the impact of your donations through directing support to cost-effective, evidence-based projects to fight disease and improve health. Ultimately, we aim to help you meaningfully make a difference in the lives of some of the poorest people in the world. The Fund is advised by GiveWell, and we advise that donors read about the Fund’s delays before making a gift. |
| News and opportunities for Canadians interested in impactful giving |
| Celebrating Vancouverites pledging to give 10% to effective charities |
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| Thanks to everyone who made it out to the recent pledge party held by Giving What We Can’s new Vancouver Group! If you’d like to be notified of future events, make sure to sign up. |
| Help grow the Canadian effective giving community to do more good! |
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| Giving What We Can is seeking folks to lead new groups in Canadian cities. This could be a highly impactful volunteer opportunity: If just one additional person starts to donate effectively because of the information and inspiration offered through the group, you could easily double (or more) the impact you create through your own donations. Learn more on Giving What We Can’s Groups page, or email us if you have any questions! |
| Canadian AI safety nonprofit actively seeking support |
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| AIGS is a growing community of Canadians from across academic, industry, public service, and civil society. They care deeply about the risks and opportunities presented by the development of advanced AI systems, and have two core objectives: To establish a shared community for discussion and collaboration; and to provide every major stakeholder with the awareness, connections, and support they need to take effective action. AIGS is funded by individual Canadian donors and is actively seeking support. To learn more about the impact of supporting AIGS, they’d love you to reach out at [email protected]. Relatedly, Ottawa-based AIGS advisor Darren McKee has just published Uncontrollable: The Threat of Artificial Superintelligence and the Race to Save the World. Our team hasn’t read the book yet, but here is its Goodreads page if you’d like to learn more! |
| Grow effective giving globally – training, funding, and support available! |
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| RC Forward is one of many organizations helping people learn about how and why to donate with impact. If more of these organizations exist, more people around the world can maximize their charitable impact–ultimately, benefiting more people and animals. To help more of these organizations exist, Charity Entrepreneurship (in partnership with Giving What We Can) have just launched a new program – Effective Giving Incubation, aimed at launching new Effective Giving Initiatives (EGIs). The program provides: ~100K USD in seed funding to get you started, connections with a high-talent pool of people to match with a cofounder, and two-month fully cost-covered training on how to direct millions in donations to the world’s most cost-effective charities. Apply here by January 14, 2024! If you’re not familiar with Charity Entrepreneurship, Utopia for Realists author Rutger Bregman recently wrote an engaging article about the organization, which he calls “Hogwarts for do-gooders,” (translate in your browser from Dutch). |
| Sign up for updates from Effective Altruism Canada |
| If you’re curious about effective altruism (EA) and would like to learn more about applying these ideas to donations, career choices, volunteering, or building community, we invite you to sign up for the EA Canada newsletter! It shares very occasional updates about news, events, and career and volunteer opportunities, plus updates from Canadian community members. |
| Connect with us |
| Reply to this newsletter anytime to connect, or book a chat with SK, our Co-Executive Director. We’d be grateful to answer your questions and share any info that would be helpful for you. Wishing you a happy and healthy holiday season! Megan and SK |
