Toby Ord: Why I'm giving 1m to charity

2010-12-14 13:36:05

By Tom Geoghegan BBC News Magazine

Toby Ord is a university researcher earning not much more than the average

salary. So why is he giving away 1m over his lifetime to help address global

poverty?

When Facebook founder and billionaire Mark Zuckerberg pledged to give away most

of his wealth during his lifetime, some British commentators bemoaned the lack

of philanthropy on this side of the Atlantic.

But an academic at Oxford University is living off little more than 300 a

month in an act of charity-giving that is arguably more impressive than those

of Zuckerberg, Gates, Buffett and co.

Toby Ord, 31, has in the past year given more than a third of his earnings,

10,000, to charities working in the poorest countries. He also gave away

15,000 of savings, as the start of his pledge to give away 1m over his

lifetime.

Toby Ord's lifestyle

Toby Ord

holidays

And he's started a campaign to recruit, Bill Gates-style, other people to give

up at least 10% of their lifetime's earnings in the same way. A year on, 64

people have joined his movement Giving What We Can and pledged 14m.

Given his personal sacrifice, it's difficult not to feel rather intrigued about

the kind of lifestyle he can maintain while so much of his earnings is going

elsewhere.

And heading to Oxford to find out, there's a fleeting thought that we'll be

sharing tea bags in a caravan parked on the banks of the Thames.

Instead, the Ord household inhabits a rented one-bedroom flat in a beautiful

sandstone house in the heart of the city. But the interior is as modest as the

exterior is glorious, furnished sparingly in a style reminiscent of student

digs. There is no television, through choice rather than hardship, but plenty

of books and DVDs.

The only signs of indulgence are the two Mac computers, for Ord and his wife,

although as he points out, they are used so much that the cost works out at a

few pence per hour. And he has an iPhone, which also helps him work.

Giving away a tenth of one's earnings is something most people in the UK can

achieve without having to make much of a sacrifice, says Ord, who was born and

raised in Melbourne, Australia.

Graphic showing his monthly spending

"That's probably surprising because if you did a survey of 100 people, 99 would

say they couldn't.

"When I was earning 14,000 as a student, I found I was in the richest 4% in

the world, even adjusting for how much further money goes in developing

countries.

"Giving away 10% of that, I found that I would still be in the top 5%. So while

it can seem impossible to live on less, if your employer was to suddenly pay

you less, you would get by somehow."

Ord gives away much more than a tenth. A year ago, he vowed to give away

everything he earned above 20,000 and his wife, Bernadette Young, a medical

doctor in the NHS, set a target of 25,000. After his first year, he has

lowered his personal allowance to 18,000.

Ultimately, there weren't any big sacrifices, he says, and they still maintain

a reasonable middle-class existence.

"What's really important in our lives is spending time together, chatting with

our close friends and reading beautiful books and listening to beautiful music,

and we're really lucky to live in a beautiful place and there are lots of

stimulating cultural activities around. With all that you can't really ask for

much more.

"I've also changed the way I look at the world. I don't want more stuff. If

someone said to me 'Here's one thousand pounds' and I had to spend it on myself

I would feel anxious about that because I just want to help people more and it

would be a very frustrating time."

Toby Ord's house Ord lives in a rented flat in Oxford

He goes out for dinner about once a fortnight and for coffee about once a week.

In the past year he spent 5,000 on rent to his employer and landlord, Balliol

College. He kept 4,000 to live on and pay the bills, while still having enough

to spend on a week's holiday in France and Italy, and put some away to buy a

house.

Incidentally, in 10 years, Ord and his wife, who have no children, will have

given away a sum that equals the average price of a house in the UK, just at a

time when they will hope to have bought one themselves.

"When it began, I would be down in the supermarket agonising about whether to

buy a more expensive cereal or not but I realise that's a road to a nervous

breakdown and that it was much more sensible to work out at the start what you

can live on [give away the rest in a lump sum] and then after a year readjust -

can I live on less, am I pushing it too hard - instead of perpetually agonising

about it."

It was while he was studying for a masters degree in philosophy that Ord came

across the idea of sacrificing luxuries in order to save a life. He estimated

that over his own lifetime he would need about 500,000 to live comfortably,

and would therefore be able to give away 1m to those people in most need. But

who are they?

What charities does Ord give to?

"Some people think that the most important thing is to help the people who are

the worst off. I think that's not always the case. What's really important is

to help people as well as you can and often the people the worst off are easier

to help, but not always.

"For example, someone in the UK suffering from severe depression has possibly a

worse life than people I help in Africa or South Asia but it turns out that

it's really difficult to help that person, but much easier to help the person

abroad.

"I'm not as focused on where people are, as how much I can help them. A lot of

people can switch off when they hear 'cost-effectiveness' but if you only have

a certain amount of money then the real question is how much you can do with

it."

Using the methodology of the World Health Organisation in calculating how much

a sum of money can "buy" in terms of extending the lives of those in need, he

says medical interventions in developing countries can be 10,000 times more

cost-effective than those in the UK. And he carefully researches which

charities he thinks make the most difference.

Toby Ord Giving away a third of your income doesn't preclude the odd luxury

The 10,000 he gave away last year he says equates to 4,000 extra years of life

at full health for people in those countries where those charities do their

work.

That's all very well and to be applauded but wouldn't it be, well, more

British, to do this quietly? Not if you want to encourage others to do the

same, says Ord.

"It's not that amazing. I'm not that impressed by this, but I'm glad that

people feel it's a good story. The median income is 18,000 so I'm not living

off anything less than the median person in the UK.

"It's quite possible to present this as a very positive thing. You can help

people so much without impacting on your own life. We can still live a

middle-class life on this kind of money."

He's aware of the arguments people have against giving to charities in the

developing world, such as corruption and overpopulation, and he sets out to

address them on a section of his website.

Echoing the philosophy of Bill Gates, who believes going public encourages

other people into acts of generosity, Ord set up Giving What We Can to share

ideas about "good" charities and inspire each other. The figure of a tenth

originates from the Christian tithes, a tradition that many people still follow

today.

Some of his members give more away than that, but Ord insists he never makes

those that don't feel guilty about it.

"There is a strong moral obligation to give some away but I wouldn't like to

say how much. We're not saying that if you don't join up you're a bad person.

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Toby Ord explains why he's giving away his money

"There used to be conflict between what I wanted and what I thought was right

and that was frustrating, but over time it was just what I thought was right."

He used to feel guilty seeing poverty on television but giving away part of his

wealth has liberated him, and he says it gives meaning to his life.

"I've made some simple material sacrifices but sufficiently small that I don't

really care about them. In terms of emotional comfort, you feel more satisfied

with what you're doing with your life."

The promise of a warm glow inside, no matter how many lives saved, may be a

hard sell at a time of such belt-tightening and cuts, but Ord responds that the

UK remains a very wealthy country, compared with many others.

And his own budget-trimming doesn't extend to Christmas spending. He did his

shopping early and posted the presents to relatives in Australia, which he

plans to visit next year.

A far greater gift awaits thousands of others.

Send us your comments using the form below

I don't want to belittle what is clearly a very significant and generous

gesture but this couple's combined income AFTER charity giving is significantly

more than my household income with three children to raise

Nick, Yorkshire

Fantastic! What an inspiring article...I manage to give about 10% but wish it

could be more (on a single, not-particularly-high-income it's not easy right

now, but I'm going to look at it in the new year) I hope more people follow Mr.

Ord's example - I have found giving, even when I have to badger myself into

doing it, to be so rewarding. Giving money away somehow makes what I'm left

with feel like riches; generosity begets gratitude.

Rachel, West Midlands

Interestingly, If they were to take the same amount of money and invest it

wisely, (shares, real-estate etc) I strongly suspect that once growth kicks in

they could give away far more total money over their lifetime, whilst also

building up a stock of assets that will provide for them into retirement. These

assets could then be given to chosen charities as a bequest when no longer

needed. I'm not criticising the sentiment or the action - just the method.

Mike, Bolton

All good and well, but what some charities need is your time. So if you have no

spare cash then give a couple of hours a week..... you may like it.

Shelly, Birmingham

Sad thing is when he is old and low on money because he has given his wealth

away then he will find that nobody is willing to help him. For sure he will

find that he has given away far too much. Giving what you can afford is one

thing but he is giving away far more than he can afford for sure.

Dai Jones, Swansea

Very generous on his part but it's not for me. I work long and hard for my

money and have two children to provide for. I have a retirement to plan for and

want to be in a position to enjoy it. I still do my bit for charity and I am

happy with that. I do note that his wife has a very well paid job and they have

no children to provide for. It's easier to be generous when not worrying about

shoes, school trips etc.

Dave Griffiths, Pershore, Worcs

A commendable act. While not for everybody, still an inspiration and an

encouragement to all to recognise how well off they are and how much they can

do to help other. Really disappointing to see people using having children as

an excuse for not giving to charity! For a start - having kids is your choice!

Secondly, Ord's point is that while you may feel poor you are doubtless, by

world standards, fairly well off. Lastly - how disappointing that the very fact

that you have children has not led you to want to a: set an example to them and

encourage them to help others through charitable giving, and b: feel more for

children who are perhaps not as lucky as your own.

Zoe, Devon

Great example of human kindness, if we had more of this in the world we would

experience the shift we all hope to see one day.

Ian, London

What an interesting cross section of comments here. So many opinions and

criticisms on such a beautiful act. While I understand that Mr. Ord's income is

on the higher side of middle class and his wife earns an even higher income,

that's not exactly the point. I think today's society (on both sides of the

Atlantic) tends to value frivolous wealth, celebrity, material status symbols,

etc. Mr. Ord isn't asking people to match his monthly donation. He's pointing

out that most of us do engage in some small level of luxury that is not

essential to a fulfilling life. Even if you can only spare $5 a week, put it in

a jar and at the end of the year you've got well over $200 to donate.

Carolyn, Rochester NY, US