Effective Altruism

January 14, 2021 • Nicole Kemper

More and more, young and socially conscious professionals feel growing guilt from working traditional jobs where they may feel their efforts are not directly impacting the social causes they care about most. However, there is a productive way to make an impact no matter what role you work in. The trend of effective altruism is quickly growing and becoming a trending topic in the non profit space, and we are excited to introduce it to you in this blog post.

Effective Altruism Explained

To define effective altruism, we must first examine what altruism is. Altruism is the act of promoting the welfare of someone else, even if the action poses a risk or cost to oneself. It is the idea that selfless and genuine acts that concern the well-being of specific others will contribute to raising the quality of life for the whole world. Building on this, effective altruism focuses on the impacts of an individual’s resources, time and money, when given in a certain way.

By definition, effective altruism is the attempt to create as much impact as possible with each dollar. It concerns itself with the maximization of an individual’s resources that can be used for selfless acts and contribute to the betterment of others around them. Effective altruism focuses on an action’s broader effects on the world and choosing the route that will make the most impact in the long run, even if it does not reap immediate rewards. Many young professionals who feel unfulfilled in their work choose to employ effective altruism to support social change and more directly and profoundly impact the world.

Tips for Getting Involved

• Do Research: It is essential to fully understand what you are committing to and how it will work in your life. There are countless resources online to help explain the technicalities of effective altruism if you decide that it is for you, but you must understand the lifestyle changes that will come along with the level of effective altruism you take on. Furthermore, to make the greatest positive impact per dollar contributed, it is critical to research which causes are the best to support within your means.

• Join Facebook Groups: Social media groups are a great resource for communicating with and asking questions to people who already carry out this lifestyle. Moreover, it can increase your exposure to new causes to support or altruism techniques that may not have been previously known. As the community evolves, it is important to keep your knowledge current. 

• Embrace Discomfort: It is not easy to be open to unconventional things, but it is essential to do so when employing effective altruism. As with anything, discomfort brings the most growth and change, so embracing it will help you to reach your highest potential. The previous two suggestions, getting involved and doing research, can help with the unease that comes from supporting a new cause and lack of knowledge.

Effective altruism is an amazing and effective way to bridge the gap between a career with fewer direct social impacts and fulfilling the need to do more. It is a way to support change and work towards making the world a better place. There are endless opportunities to make a difference in the community, and this is just one of them. Is this the impact you want to make?