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Some charities
are 100× more1
effective than others.
Evidence helps identify the best donation opportunities.
Independent research can help donors figure out which of the world's many important problems are most in need of support.
Effective giving helps each donation do as much good as possible.
Combining generosity with careful reasoning and evidence enables donors to make the same amount of money go much farther.
Where you give matters
Effective giving framework
Both of the above interventions help others. But if you're looking to do the most good with your donation, effective giving offers a framework to help guide your reflection.
Cost-effectiveness of the intervention
The second option is significantly more cost-effective, reaching 10 children rather than one.
Importance of the problem
Unsafe water(↗) is an important global problem that causes over a million deaths annually.
Room for more funding
Some charities already have all the funding they can use well, whereas others could do much more with additional support.
Since your money can save someone's life, it's worth thinking carefully about where you donate it.
How do I know where to give?
Most of us do not have the time to research every problem in the world and identify the best solutions. Impact-focused research organizations and evaluators can help.
70,000+ hours per year
GiveWell(↗), for example, spends 70,000+ hours a year reviewing academic evidence to identify the top global health interventions. Rather than rank thousands of charities(↗) based on metrics like administrative costs, GiveWell thoroughly vets and recommends a few exceptional charities that save or improve the most lives per dollar.
For other important problems, impact is much harder to measure. Donors who want to support AI safety and similar types of work often rely on careful reasoning guided by the thoughtful analysis and judgment of experts.
Explore effective giving options
The basic premise of effective giving is simple, but implementing it is more complex. Independent evaluators can help. They research different problems, recommend high-impact charities, and often run funds you can give through.
01. Impact-focused evaluators
Independent research into where your donations can do the most good. These organizations investigate a range of pressing global problems, identifying and directing funding to the most cost-effective solutions.
02. Giving funds
Giving funds allow people to pool their donations with others and then defer to evaluators or other independent experts to allocate the money where they believe it can do the most good. Several organizations in the effective altruism movement operate giving funds.
Pool your donations to increase your impact
One example of an expert-managed giving fund is Effective Altruism Funds (EA Funds), created by the Centre for Effective Altruism. EA Funds lets you pool your donations with others across important and often overlooked cause areas where progress is possible.
Find effective giving organizations in your country
Learn about effective giving and tax-deductible donation opportunities in your own language and context
Find your country
Frequently asked questions
Still deciding whether a career change is right for you? Read answers to the questions people ask most about high-impact careers, and the common misconceptions.
Read the full FAQs page
