Attorney Gemma with her Doberman.

Gemma with Louis, one of three Dobermanns.

As a civil justice lawyer, I came to this profession to “help.”

But I admit I’ve struggled sometimes to figure out what that looks like. First, there’s only so much time in the day. Second, there are far more worthwhile causes than time in the day. And third, burnout is real. I want to help. But I want to help in ways that effectively use my skillsets and my assets.

Enter Effective Altruism.

Effective Altruism centers on helping others “as much as you can.” And thinking empirically about what that looks like, rather than emotionally. This way, with limited resources, which most of us have, we can maximize our chances of achieving great impact.

The basic concepts of effective altruism are to focus on problems that are:

  1. Important

  2. Neglected

  3. Changeable

Rather than simply focusing on what is most important or most accessible to us. For example, if you “love animals” you might donate to an animal shelter that saves pets. Meanwhile, thousands of farm animals died for your meal. Thus, supporting a cause that ends factory farming saves more animals. An interesting concept that begs a fascinating question: Do you want to do more good in the world overall, or good that is more compelling to you, yourself? Is the latter pure altruism?

Engaging in effective altruism can be as simple as looking up the efficacy of a charity before donating. Websites such as GiveWell provide data on charities that make the best use of each donated dollar. And then you donate based on effectiveness rather than the cause.

Or if you have a cause in mind, there are resources aimed at helping you best support that cause. For example, Open Philanthropy works in partnership with funders to direct their dollars most effectively toward a variety of social causes, including criminal justice reform, an issue we legal professionals have been scratching at for decades.

Or considering the good we can do through our careers- the workplace being the place most of us spend most of our time. In fact, the EA movement considers career choice to be a key moral decision for us all. But that “moral” decision doesn’t lead to one “right” career choice. Perhaps you choose a career that earns a lot of money- that you can then use to donate to effective charities. Perhaps you choose a career with a wide social or moral or policy reach.

Well-reasoned, organized use of the good in human nature- perhaps we can change the world.