Help me run faster and double our target donation!
No, I don't like running. Yes, I've committed to running 10 km in under an hour. And yes, if I succeed, we spend €2000,-.
On what? You might wonder. Who in their right mind would run faster to spend more money? It's me, hi 🤭 I'm running 10 km on October 3rd with the goal to make a big donation to something that is very close to my heart: animal welfare for livestock. So yes, I'm running faster to spend more money and help more animals.
With 1 euro, we can better the lives of about 2 cattle, 10 pigs, 13 chickens or 36 fish. Just imagine the good we can do together with €4000,-. Will you help us help the animals?
You're either talented and capable, or you're not.
I guess I (sub)consciously believed that for most of my life. And I was fairly sure which side I was on.
Yorick, my fiancée, disagrees. He thinks if you put time and effort into something you want, you can achieve it. And he has tried to make me see that this is not only applicable to others, but also to me. Somehow, the last time he told me the above, something clicked. So …
Challenge accepted. I will prove to myself that I – too – can achieve things with training and persistence, by setting a goal: starting from zero to running 10 km during the Pieken en Dalen Festival in Doorn on October 3rd. I hate running, so don’t ask me why I chose this goal. But I asked Yorick to help me and we seem to be succeeding! Let me tell you how.
Oh and by the way, my name is Anne :)
THE CONTRACT
Yorick helped me in his own way, based on the book Atomic Habits. Which means he made me sign a contract. By formulating a goal and applying both rewards and a penalty for not showing up, he has me under contract now and there is no way that I’m not running that race. Because if I don’t, he will make me donate €500,- to my least favorite political party… After reading this page, you might have an idea of which party that is ;)
So what do I get when I do finish the race? I get to help 4.000 to 72.000 (!!) animals in the livestock industry. By donating €2000,- to Doneer Effectief. At least, if I finish the race un under an hour. If I don’t, it’ll be €1500,-. Call me crazy (people have, believe me), but spending more money motivates me BIG TIME. In this case at least 😉
Every year, 80 billion land animals and billions of farmed fish are slaughtered. Most of these animals live in terrible conditions within the factory farming industry. Given the huge number of animals involved, Doneer Effectief can achieve a great deal through interventions that improve animal welfare or reduce the consumption of animal products, such as the development of plant-based alternatives and cultivated meat.
Doneer Effectief bases their recommendations on the findings of independent research institute Animal Charity Evaluators. This organisation assesses which charities help animals the most per euro donated. Their evaluations show that some charities are up to a hundred or even a thousand times more effective than others.
Doneer Effectief maximizes the impact of your donations by using three selection criteria for the charities they pick: the three O’s.
Omvangrijk (extensive): The greater the problem, the greater the impact. The more individuals affected by a problem and the greater the suffering, the more of a difference your donated euro makes. Just in The Netherlands, these animals are slaughtered annually (numbers are from 2025, by CBS):
1.9 million cows
14.1 million pigs
515.300 sheep
205.200 goats
518 million chickens (read: 43.2 million per month)
It would be an understatement to say that this is extensive.
Onderbelicht (overlooked): Popular, high-profile charities receive large amounts of donations, whereas lesser-known causes receive little support. It is estimated that 0.1% of all charitable giving goes to animals. Of that 0.1%, well over 95% goes to charismatic animals (such as pets and wildlife; source: Bram Schaper - Director of Doneer Effectief - in the #96 Studio Plantaardig podcast). So, at most, about €50,- out of every €1 million donated to charity, goes to livestock and laboratory animals combined.
Oplosbaarheid (solvability): The problem must be solvable or at least improvable, taking into account how much progress can be achieved per euro donated. For farmed animals, per euro donated you can better the lives of 2 to as much as 36 animals.
You can make a huge impact for these beings. Will you help us help them?
