Within Effective Altruism (EA), it’s the idea of effective giving that particularly captivates me. Years before I’d even heard of EA, I stumbled upon GiveWell‘s work. That was a real eureka moment for me, but let’s start from the beginning:

“E” for Effective and “A” for Altruism

My path to EA unfolded in stages. The “A” has been with me for quite some time. My economics degree, which I started in 1998, already focused on international development. The realisation that the “E” matters just as much came during my first job. Starting in 2005, I worked in the evaluation department of KfW Development Bank, where I witnessed firsthand how dramatically aid projects can differ in their effectiveness—even when they look remarkably similar on the surface. As a result, I looked into the DZI charity seal and was deeply disappointed by how superficial their evaluations were.

Inspiration through GiveWell

When I discovered GiveWell in late 2007, it was both exciting and relieving. Finally, someone had fully thought through what had been bouncing around in my own head. GiveWell became the world’s first organisation to evaluate charities not based on compliance with more or less arbitrary minimum standards, but instead tried to answer what I saw as the only relevant question: Which charity creates the most good per dollar?

Even back then, I made some initial, rather half-hearted attempts to bring this concept to German-speaking countries, without success. Fortunately, a few years later I discovered the EA community, initially through the EA Foundation and Peter Singer. Even though it took a long time before I acted on my original vision, the community encouraged me to keep pursuing these ideas. When it became clear that the EA Foundation would be leaving Germany, I was finally ready to fill the emerging gap.

Giving, but Done Right

In 2019, I founded Effektiv Spenden (German for “Effective Giving”). As the name suggests, we’re working to bring the principles of effective giving into the mainstream in German-speaking countries. We recommend scientifically vetted charities. People who want to do good with their donations can learn from us about organisations working in areas like poverty alleviation, climate protection, animal welfare, existential risks (particularly AI), and now also preservation of democracy.

EA’s Potential

EA has also shaped me personally. Not only do I donate more—and differently—than I probably would have otherwise, but I also have a job I likely wouldn’t have had without the community. In both respects, I see great potential in EA: deploying funds as effectively as possible and empowering people to pursue truly impactful careers can make a real difference.