Effective Altruism

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Learn

I want to understand effective altruism

Read a brief 5-minute explainer of the effective altruism movement.

Careers

I want to use my career to help

Find resources and search for high-impact job opportunities.

Giving

I want to use my donations to help

Explore high-impact giving and how your donations can go farther.

Events & groups

I want to connect with others

Join virtual and in-person gatherings for people interested in finding more effective ways of helping others.

Not sure where to start?

Stories

Meet people applying effective altruism ideas

From engineers and entrepreneurs to artists and academics, the effective altruism movement has inspired people around the world. See how people are using these ideas in their lives and careers.

Watch their stories

Hearing that your dollar could go 100 times further overseas really struck me. Of course, if I could help a hundred times more people, I wanted to do ...

Grace Adams

Management consultant turned champion for effective giving

We should expand our conception of who deserves moral consideration, respect, and compassion.

Jeff Sebo

Philosophy PhD turned advocate for nonhuman minds

People involved in effective altruism tend to be especially earnest. They're not here to comment on the world or have ironic distance from the world. ...

Arden Koehler

Philosophy PhD turned editorial lead helping people do more good with their careers

Seeing the intellectual humility of people really trying to interrogate whether or not they are in fact doing the right thing — that wasn't something ...

Zachary Robinson

Management consultant turned nonprofit CEO

Effective altruism gave me a sense of hope for the world and an avenue through which I could actually have an impact.

Kearney Capuano

Neuroscience student turned EA community builder

I think it is achievable to get to where stealth pandemics are not a feasible way to attack humanity.

Jeff Kaufman

Software engineer turned biosurveillance program lead

Follow your heart, use your head, and then go make a difference.

Michael Thatcher

Professional musician turned charity evaluator CEO

Effective altruism has been a source of meaning and joy in my life. For me, it's a win-win for my personal wellbeing and impact in the world.

Sjir Hoeijmakers

Researcher turned movement builder

Even when you work with very smart and talented and driven people who share a commitment to doing the most good possible, it can be unclear what to do...

Will MacAskill

Philosophy student turned founder of the effective altruism movement

We're often the first organization to enter these overlooked spaces, trying not only to solve immediate problems but also to marshal interest into iss...

Devon Fritz

Software engineer turned charity incubator COO

Very few things are as meaningful as saving someone else's life.

Marcus Davis

Volunteer turned thinktank CEO

Two principles really resonated with me: taking seriously the interests of people and animals geographically distant from you, and approaching charity...

Lewis Bollard

Lawyer turned animal welfare grantmaker

I found other people who deeply cared about making a positive difference in the world, and really wanted to use all the tools that they could to find ...

Julia Wise

Social worker turned community health lead

My advice to someone who wants to make an impact: consider for-profit entrepreneurship. It's not for everyone, but if you have a vision of a better wo...

Lincoln Quirk

Tech founder turned financial inclusion pioneer

Before I discovered EA, I was wrestling with a common question: how can I use my time and my career in a way that's actually useful for the world?

Melanie Brennan

English teacher turned community builder

The financial sacrifice of moving from a job in finance to the animal NGO space was a challenge, but the promise of meaning outweighed the costs for m...

Andrés Jiménez Zorrilla

Morgan Stanley investor turned animal welfare advocate

We can be more than we often make ourselves out to be, especially morally speaking. We can do more, we can be more.

Cecil Abungu

Law student turned AI safety researcher

To me, effective altruism means thinking deeply and putting care into using our resources — thoughtfully and impartially to best improve the lives of ...

Sam Anschell

Poker dealer turned global aid grantmaker

One of the best skills EA has given me is the ability to prioritize. I don't know if all philosophy students are prone to analysis paralysis, but that...

James Herbert

Consultant turned community leader

These ideas, along with other influences, helped me identify farmed animal welfare, wild animal welfare, invertebrate welfare, and AI welfare as areas...

Jeff Sebo

Philosophy PhD turned author and NYU professor

I studied arts management with dreams of organizing festivals and concerts, but when I actually tried it, I realized it didn't give me a sense of purp...

Sarah Tegeler

Arts management student turned nonprofit director

I was really unsure how my life was going to unfold, but I knew that I wanted to make a difference and live a life in service to others.

Lucas Moore

English tutor turned partnerships manager

I value the combination of moral seriousness, scope sensitivity, and being agentic that effective altruism inspires. There's something powerful about ...

Elliot Teperman

Psychology student turned donor advisor

Hearing that your dollar could go 100 times further overseas really struck me. Of course, if I could help a hundred times more people, I wanted to do ...

Grace Adams

Management consultant turned champion for effective giving

We should expand our conception of who deserves moral consideration, respect, and compassion.

Jeff Sebo

Philosophy PhD turned advocate for nonhuman minds

People involved in effective altruism tend to be especially earnest. They're not here to comment on the world or have ironic distance from the world. ...

Arden Koehler

Philosophy PhD turned editorial lead helping people do more good with their careers

Seeing the intellectual humility of people really trying to interrogate whether or not they are in fact doing the right thing — that wasn't something ...

Zachary Robinson

Management consultant turned nonprofit CEO

Effective altruism gave me a sense of hope for the world and an avenue through which I could actually have an impact.

Kearney Capuano

Neuroscience student turned EA community builder

I think it is achievable to get to where stealth pandemics are not a feasible way to attack humanity.

Jeff Kaufman

Software engineer turned biosurveillance program lead

Follow your heart, use your head, and then go make a difference.

Michael Thatcher

Professional musician turned charity evaluator CEO

Effective altruism has been a source of meaning and joy in my life. For me, it's a win-win for my personal wellbeing and impact in the world.

Sjir Hoeijmakers

Researcher turned movement builder

Even when you work with very smart and talented and driven people who share a commitment to doing the most good possible, it can be unclear what to do...

Will MacAskill

Philosophy student turned founder of the effective altruism movement

We're often the first organization to enter these overlooked spaces, trying not only to solve immediate problems but also to marshal interest into iss...

Devon Fritz

Software engineer turned charity incubator COO

Very few things are as meaningful as saving someone else's life.

Marcus Davis

Volunteer turned thinktank CEO

Two principles really resonated with me: taking seriously the interests of people and animals geographically distant from you, and approaching charity...

Lewis Bollard

Lawyer turned animal welfare grantmaker

I found other people who deeply cared about making a positive difference in the world, and really wanted to use all the tools that they could to find ...

Julia Wise

Social worker turned community health lead

My advice to someone who wants to make an impact: consider for-profit entrepreneurship. It's not for everyone, but if you have a vision of a better wo...

Lincoln Quirk

Tech founder turned financial inclusion pioneer

Before I discovered EA, I was wrestling with a common question: how can I use my time and my career in a way that's actually useful for the world?

Melanie Brennan

English teacher turned community builder

The financial sacrifice of moving from a job in finance to the animal NGO space was a challenge, but the promise of meaning outweighed the costs for m...

Andrés Jiménez Zorrilla

Morgan Stanley investor turned animal welfare advocate

We can be more than we often make ourselves out to be, especially morally speaking. We can do more, we can be more.

Cecil Abungu

Law student turned AI safety researcher

To me, effective altruism means thinking deeply and putting care into using our resources — thoughtfully and impartially to best improve the lives of ...

Sam Anschell

Poker dealer turned global aid grantmaker

One of the best skills EA has given me is the ability to prioritize. I don't know if all philosophy students are prone to analysis paralysis, but that...

James Herbert

Consultant turned community leader

These ideas, along with other influences, helped me identify farmed animal welfare, wild animal welfare, invertebrate welfare, and AI welfare as areas...

Jeff Sebo

Philosophy PhD turned author and NYU professor

I studied arts management with dreams of organizing festivals and concerts, but when I actually tried it, I realized it didn't give me a sense of purp...

Sarah Tegeler

Arts management student turned nonprofit director

I was really unsure how my life was going to unfold, but I knew that I wanted to make a difference and live a life in service to others.

Lucas Moore

English tutor turned partnerships manager

I value the combination of moral seriousness, scope sensitivity, and being agentic that effective altruism inspires. There's something powerful about ...

Elliot Teperman

Psychology student turned donor advisor

Cause Prioritization

Between humans and other animals, there are trillions of individuals in the world to help. A key idea in effective altruism is prioritizing important and neglected problems where there seems to be a strong potential for real change.

This leads people and organizations across the movement to focus on different areas of impact where they think they can do the most good.

Global Health & Development

Every year, millions of people die of illnesses that could be easily treated or prevented.

Proven interventions exist that can save a life for as low as around $3,500.

Animal Welfare

Most animals raised for food are held in inhumane conditions on factory farms.

Wild animals face unique challenges as well. Given how little funding animal welfare receives, a little extra effort goes a long way in alleviating suffering.

AI Safety

As AI systems grow more capable, so does the risk of serious harm from systems we don't fully understand or control.

The field working to keep AI safe and beneficial is still small relative to the risks.

Pandemic preparedness

A future pandemic could be far more deadly than anything we've seen, yet preparing for that possibility remains neglected and underfunded.

Work here could help protect both current and future lives.

Global catastrophic risks

Risks stemming from climate change, nuclear conflict, and emerging technologies have wide-reaching implications for current and future generations.

More research might help us better understand and navigate these global challenges.

Inspired by the idea of doing more good, hundreds of thousands of people around the world have engaged with the effective altruism movement, with over 11,000 pledging to donate 10% of their income to high-impact charities.

Effective giving has helped save the lives of 340,000+ people, free millions of hens from painful cages, and develop policies to make AI safer.

Explore the impact

Effective Giving