Effective giving in Belgium: combining impact and tax deductibility
Photo by Christian Dubovan on Unsplash
Donating to impactful charities is a powerful way to address some of the world’s most pressing problems. Effective altruism encourages donations that are not only well-intentioned but also supported by robust evidence of impact. This article explores how to choose which organisations to support and how tax deductibility in Belgium can amplify the value of your contributions.
What is effective giving?
Effective altruism is about doing the most good by focusing on the world’s most urgent problems. For many people, this means not only contributing their time and skills but also making financial contributions to charities that create a significant positive impact. Effective giving directs resources to organisations tackling these critical issues in a highly cost-effective manner, guided by rigorous empirical evidence. While the global challenges we face are vast and varied, the Effective Altruism community primarily focuses on funding charities working on these key cause areas:
- Animal welfare: Addressing factory farming and developing alternative proteins to reduce reliance on animal agriculture.
- Global health and wellbeing: Supporting efforts to alleviate poverty, prevent diseases, and improve living conditions in the world’s poorest communities.
- Climate change: Financing initiatives to reduce carbon emissions, develop sustainable energy sources, and mitigate climate-related risks.
- Reducing global catastrophic risks: Investing in research and projects to safeguard humanity from existential threats, such as AI safety, biosecurity, and nuclear weapons.
Deciding where to donate
Deciding where to donate can be challenging, but independent evaluators like GiveWell (focusing on global health and development) Animal Charity Evaluators (specialising in animal welfare) and Founders Pledge make the process easier. These organisations conducted thousands of hours of rigorous research to identify the charities with the highest impact, offering well-founded recommendations that guide donors towards the most effective organisations.
Alternatively, you can contribute to funds like Let’s Fund, Effective Altruism Funds or Giving What We Can, which allocate money to important global issues. These funds are designed to make it easier for individuals to support a range of impactful causes.
Tax benefits versus impact
It is understandable to prefer making tax-deductible donations given that donations above 40€ are eligible for a 45% tax reduction, which essentially almost doubles the impact of your contribution. However, there is often a challenge: the most effective charities do not always have a tax-deductible status in Belgium, as many of them do not operate directly within the country.
But perhaps tax deductibility shouldn’t be the primary focus here. Research shows that the impact of charities can vary significantly. Charities recommended by GiveWell, for instance, are estimated to be up to 100 times more effective than the average charity. This suggests that even without tax deductions, donations to top international charities can often achieve much greater impact than larger, tax-deductible contributions to less effective local organisations. That being said, fortunately, there is a way to support some highly impactful international charities while still benefiting from tax deductibility.
Research shows that charities can vastly varies in terms of cost-effectiveness Source: Giving What We Can
How to give to impactful charities with tax deductibility
One way to make cross-border donations that are tax-deductible is through Transnational Giving Europe (TGE), a network that facilitates tax-efficient donations across European borders. In Belgium, this service is operated through the King Baudouin Foundation.
Using TGE, you can donate to several highly recommended international charities. While many top-rated organisations are based in the United States, some have a European presence, often in the UK, making them accessible for Belgian donors through TGE. Please note that a 5% contribution is deducted from the donation to support TGE’s operating costs. However, given the 45% tax deduction available, the overall benefit still makes it a highly worthwhile option.
Impactful charities you can support via TGE
- Against Malaria Foundation (AMF): Recommended by GiveWell, AMF provides insecticide-treated bed nets to prevent malaria, one of the deadliest diseases in low-income countries. AMF is known for its transparency and its cost-effectiveness, saving lives at a relatively low cost.
- GiveDirectly: GiveDirectly is a charity that provides unconditional cash transfers to those living in extreme poverty. By giving people the freedom to spend money according to their needs, GiveDirectly empowers recipients and has shown a wide range of positive effects, including improvements in health, education, and household stability.
- Unlimit Health: Formerly known as the Schistosomiasis Control Initiative, Unlimit Health fights parasitic infections such as schistosomiasis and soil-transmitted helminths in low-income countries. By delivering treatments to millions, particularly children, it significantly enhances health, boosts school attendance, and supports economic productivity. Renowned for its cost-effectiveness, Unlimit Health was previously one of GiveWell’s top-rated charities. Note: GiveWell’s decision to no longer recommend this programme reflects a change in its top charity criteria, not a reassessment of the programme’s effectiveness. (See more about GiveWell’s decision.)
How to donate via TGE
To donate via TGE, simply make a bank transfer to the King Baudouin Foundation, including the name of your chosen charity in the transfer reference message:
Name: Fondation Koning Boudewijnstichting, Brederodestraat 21 -- 1000 Brussel
IBAN : BE10 0000 0000 0404
BIC : GEBABEBB
With the following reference:
| Charity | Reference |
|---|---|
| Against Malaria Foundation | TGE — UK — Against Malaria Foundation |
| GiveDirectly | TGE — UK — GiveDirectly |
| Unlimit Health | TGE — UK — Unlimit Health |
For Unlimit Health, you can also support them by donating through TGE’s online platform.
The King Baudouin Foundation will send you a tax statement each February detailing the total amount of your donation from the previous year. You may include your email address at the end of the payment reference so the Foundation can contact you if they need your address to deliver the tax certificate. By default, the certificate will be sent to your residential address as it appears in the national register.
For further information, please contact the King Baudouin Foundation at tge@kbs-frb.be or check out this page.
Promising high-impact Belgian charities
While many of the most effective charities are international, Belgium is also home to several promising charities that align with effective altruist principles. These organisations may not be formally evaluated by independent bodies like GiveWell or Animal Charity Evaluators, but their approaches are similarly evidence-based and promising. As they are based in Belgium, donations to these organisations are also tax-deductible.
- Eight: Eight is a Belgian charity providing unconditional cash transfers, similar to GiveDirectly. Operating in the Democratic Republic of Congo and Uganda, Eight has published promising results from pilot studies, showing significant positive impacts on recipients’ well-being, economic stability, and community resilience.
- ProVeg Belgium: Formerly known as EVA, ProVeg Belgium is now part of the ProVeg International group, which promotes plant-based diets. ProVeg Belgium engages in policy advocacy, corporate engagement, community building and public awareness campaigns to encourage dietary shifts towards more sustainable, plant-based eating. By reducing reliance on industrial meat production, ProVeg Belgium helps alleviate animal suffering and decrease the environmental impacts of the food chain.
ProVeg is the organisation behind the Veggie Challenge, an annual initiative where participants commit to reducing or entirely avoiding animal products for a month. To date, over 600,000 people have taken on this challenge.
You can make a difference
Effective giving empowers each of us to contribute meaningfully to solving global issues, regardless of the size of our donations. By carefully selecting high-impact charities and taking advantage of Belgium’s tax-deductibility benefits, we can maximise the reach and effectiveness of our contributions. Every donation, no matter the amount, has the potential to drive significant change when directed thoughtfully.
For those looking to commit to long-term impact, consider taking the 🔸10% pledge from Giving What We Can. This initiative encourages individuals to pledge at least 10% of their income to the world’s most effective charities, creating a lasting commitment to help solve critical global challenges. By embracing effective giving, whether through one-time contributions or long-term pledges, we can all play a part in building a better, more compassionate world.
