Effective giving | Effektiver Altruismus

Do charities differ significantly in their effectiveness? “No”, most people believe – according to a study by Oxford University. However, the differences are actually very large. The best projects sometimes achieve 100 times more with the same resources than average organisations.

Money vs. good: How much can a charity achieve with each euro?

Various institutes have been set up to answer this question over the last 15 years. Using scientific methods, they identify those initiatives that work particularly effectively. Unlike conventional donation seals, the aim is not to comply with certain minimum standards, but to determine how much of a positive impact each euro can have in the long term in an international comparison. The metrics are, for example

How much suffering can be avoided?
How many deaths can be prevented?
How many fewer greenhouse gases are released into the atmosphere?

What do I give – and what is received?

“I get what I pay for. And if the product is too expensive or the service is inadequate, I might go to the competition.”

This is what we are used to in the profit-orientated economy. In the donation market, however, this feedback mechanism does not come into effect: the person who “pays” cannot usually judge how good the help provided is in relation to the costs. But how do we know how good an organisation’s “value for money” is? Until a few years ago, anyone who wanted to make a financial commitment to a better world had to rely on the information provided by the respective organisation – or on an existing donation seal.

What does a donation seal mean?

For various reasons, existing donation seals offer only limited guidance:

They only consider organisations that are registered in the respective country.
They merely certify that specific requirements are met (e.g. low administrative costs).
However, They do not compare the organisations with each other.

There is much to suggest that the level of administrative costs in particular does not say much about how cost-effectively an organisation works. This is why they do not play a role in evaluating goods outside the donation market.

Subscribe to our monthly English Newsletter

Information about our privacy practices can be found here. We use Mailchimp as our marketing platform. When you sign up for our newsletter, you consent to your data being transmitted to Mailchimp for processing.

I want to give effectively – but where?

Global poverty and health

The gross domestic product per capita in particularly poor countries is sometimes 100 times lower than in Germany, Austria or Switzerland. Basic problems such as malnutrition, parasitic worms or tropical diseases such as malaria make life difficult for many people. It is these direct and indirect consequences of extreme poverty that cost the lives of millions of people, especially children, every year. Compared to rich countries, much less money is needed in this environment to improve or prolong the lives of many people significantly. The GiveWell research institute estimates that the world’s most effective aid organisations only need around US$ 5,000 to save the life of a small child.

Do you want to donate effectively in the area of global poverty and health? Here you can support our recommendations tax-privileged through our partner organisation Effektiv Spenden (if you pay taxes in Switzerland, donate here).

Animal welfare

When animals suffer at the hands of humans, it is usually due to factory farming. Every year, mankind breeds and slaughters more than 70 billion land animals – often under agonising conditions. Several hundred billion fish grow up in captivity – and the number is constantly increasing. In comparison, the number of animals living in animal shelters is negligible. Their protection and care are also very expensive, sometimes costing more than 1,000 euros annually. Therefore, the institute Animal Charity Evaluators focuses on evaluating animal welfare organisations that are active in industrial animal breeding.

Do you want to donate effectively to animal welfare? Here you can support our recommendations tax-privileged through our partner organisation Effektiv Spenden (if you pay taxes in Switzerland, donate here).

Long-term future

According to current estimates, more than 100 billion people have lived on Earth, including almost 8 billion in 2020. That’s a lot – but it is highly likely that most of humanity is yet to come.

The prerequisite for this is that there is no extinction of all humans or other dystopian scenarios. Therefore, our task is to minimise certain risks, including global pandemics, extreme global warming, nuclear disasters and dangers from new technological developments (e.g. advanced artificial intelligence).

An investment in this area is associated with more uncertainty, partly because the focus is sometimes extremely long-term. Despite this – or precisely for this reason – organisations such as Longview Philanthropy, Founders Pledge and the Center on Long-Term Risk believe they can achieve a particularly large impact.

You want to donate effectively in the area of long-term future? Here you can support our recommendations tax-privileged through our partner organisation Effektiv Spenden (if you pay taxes in Switzerland, donate here).

Effective Altruism

Over the past decade, various organisations have emerged worldwide that aim to develop effective altruism further – or help others get involved. Examples include

If they are successful, such initiatives can achieve even more despite – or precisely because of – their indirect approach: because they act as a multiplier. In this way, a single person can not only influence their own career but also help many talented people make positive career decisions.

Would you like to donate to the development of Effective Altruism? Here you can support our recommendations tax-privileged through our partner organisation Effektiv Spenden (if you pay taxes in Switzerland, donate here). If you want to give directly to us, Effektiver Altruismus Deutschland e.V., you can do so here; your donation helps us cover expenses for our offers.

Donation advice

The organisation Effektiv Spenden has set itself the goal of making highly effective donations in Germany and Switzerland as easy as possible. In addition to general donation recommendations, Effektiv Spenden also offers personalised donation advice.

Another effective giving option: Take the 10% Pledge

The sheer scale of global inequality means that an “ordinary” person living in a high-income country falls somewhere between the top 1 – 5% of income earners worldwide, which means you’re probably on the global rich list. This means that donating is one of the most effective ways to do good in the world.

If you earn about $60,000 per year post-tax, you are in the top 1% globally.

As an official partner, we (Effektiver Altruismus Deutschland e.V.) work with the organisation Giving What We Can to encourage people to donate a portion of their income to particularly effective organisations – e.g. with the 10% Pledge or the Trial Pledge.

Think you can’t make a difference?
You have more power than you think!

The🔸10% Pledge is a commitment to give at least 10% of your income to the organisations you believe can most effectively use your money to improve the lives of others. With your Pledge, you become part of a global community of people working to make the world a better place.

Not ready for 10%?

If you’re not ready to fully commit, you can try the🔹Trial Pledge which allows you to try giving any percentage for a custom duration – you decide!