Ask HN: What is the most efficient way to do good?

9 points by pololeono 3 years ago | 20 comments

Is the most efficient way really to have a high paying job in the west and donate as much as possible to Malaria projects (as givewell.org suggests)?

Or are there some less known niches to do good, where my money or personal projects would have an even larger impact?

(Please do not discuss here the tradeoffs between helping people suffering now or preventing that people suffer in the (far) future. I want to focus on short term altruism)

Bhurn00985 3 years ago |

Start by not contributing to the mess, so do no harm principles are important in one's personal life. Yes that includes being careful with natural resources.

After that, consider that very large charities might have considerable overheard and their practical aid on the ground very limited, or very politicized.

Local community organizations might have higher needs, have and allow you to make more more impact, though they will not have the marketing and outreach capabilities of a large organization. But...finding those might take a little more work on your side. As you want to do good in the short term, and I assume you wouldn't mind a local focus and getting the feeling you're contributing something, you could get in touch with e.g. a city social services department, they probably know which organizations exist close to you which could use some help.

bedbot 3 years ago |

https://80000hours.org/ (conceptually related to GiveWell) can help you figure out ways to use your career to do good, aside from simply earning a lot and donating. They also do free 1:1 coaching along these lines.

chad_strategic 3 years ago |

When you are walking down the street and you see some parking meters and you have coins in your pocket. Drop them in the meter and keep walking and tell no one ever.

Oh also... Work really really hard at being nice person to everybody you meet. From the janitor to the CEO.

Anybody can donate money.

tsingy 3 years ago |

Share knowledge as much as you can, it's lifesaving for folks like me who are from poor countries. It's not as direct as giving money to buy food/shelter, but in the long run it pays. I'm learning computer science, for example. Just from internet and course that people put up on there to be accessible from anywhere, that is still something that blows my mind. What poor people lack is access to "good" education. It's not restricted to tech only, it can be about anything that's worth studying. More knowledge = more open mind = more free to think.

kosasbest 3 years ago |

Do your research on charities. Does the CEO have an extortionate salary? Look in your local area. Donate to food banks if available. They will help people. Personally attend the depot where people gather items from food banks to see first-hand how helpful it is, if you don't believe your contribution is helpful. In my area, everything gets cleared each week.

taxcoder 3 years ago | |

Along with that, ask the charity what percentage of donated funds go to the cause or what percentage is used for overhead.

warrenm 3 years ago |

Engineers love to overengineer everything in their lives

Stop worrying about "the most efficient" everything

Just go DO it - what's "efficient" (whatever that means) for you may or may not be "efficient (again, whatever that means) for me

nonameiguess 3 years ago |

This is impossible to answer and a seemingly constantly moving target. The truth of the premise relies upon a bunch of assumptions, including that other people are staffing the aid agencies, manning the ships that send supplies, directly providing aid in the field wherever it is needed, founding, running, and investing in companies that can pay you a high salary. That specific strategy might work perfectly well for the average marginal person searching the Internet from the US to figure out what they should do, but it can't be universalized, because if everyone tried to do it, the entire system would collapse on itself.

Just do whatever good you can do. If you're in a position where a high-paying job in the west is something you're likely to slip into anyway and none of the other roles you'd be relying on seem appealing or likely, then sure, donate some of that high salary. But we can't possibly recommend unqualified that everyone should do that.

fnordpiglet 3 years ago |

Be aware of the world around you and do things to make it better. Close bugs in open source projects you use and understand. Help someone solve a problem you know how to solve and they don’t. Do what makes you happy and use that happiness to help you see more clearly than those around you who aren’t happy and can’t see clearly. Learn to meditate to silence your mind so you can be present enough to see when you can be most effective in helping do good. After you do these things, look at your excess and your experiences and you’ll know where to put your money to do the most good.

ZeroGravitas 3 years ago |

I'm surprised we don't see much more discussion about B corps or other "ethical capitalism" type things.

The idea of earning money doing X and giving it away seems popular, and most startups claim they are "going to change the world" (presumably for the better) but you don't see as much about creating/running businesses that have a positive impact on society and/or the planet.

Do people just not believe that is even possible? Or is there too much risk of failure?

mwest 3 years ago |

You have ~80,000 hours in your career. Make them count. :-)

https://80000hours.org/

hkxer 3 years ago | |

Especially in this next generation, an increasing number of people are not planning to work for 40 years. Personally, I’m on a path to retire by 36 (16 years of work). Many of my friends and colleagues are on the same path.

mwest 3 years ago | | |

I too am a fan of FIRE. :-)

I think most folks will still want something to do - and a purpose - post-retirement, especially if it's early. It would be nice to live to work, rather than work to live...

Good luck with your target!

mikewarot 3 years ago |

I believe that local community networking is the best place to start making the world a better place.

I believe that knowing how the world actually functions is best for avoiding harm in both the long and short term.

rawgabbit 3 years ago |

Find out the needs of your local schools. Help them get it. This could be money, school supplies, used computer equipment. You will impact a lot of young people's lives.

andrei_says_ 3 years ago |

Have five solid friends, stay in touch with weekly calls, hear about their struggles, support them in their endeavors, know their hearts and let them know yours.

mytailorisrich 3 years ago |

I think the "most efficient" and effective way to do good is to look around near you, i.e. to see first-hand the issues and the effect of your actions.

simpixelated 3 years ago | |

I agree with this and similar posts suggesting they find local non-profits. There's probably no perfect answer to what's most "efficient" and I think that's probably the wrong way to look at it. As a single, non-billionaire, there's only so much you can do to help others. But, you will get much more satisfaction from seeing "first-hand" the "effect of your actions". Sending your money to some faceless global charity is not going to be as rewarding and will make it a lot easier to stop doing.

warrenm 3 years ago | | |

Even a single billionaire can only do a very tiny amount

There're [nominally] 8 billion people on the planet

A billion bucks is only twelve cents per person

mikecoles 3 years ago |

Volunteer your time locally. Working hands can be worth more than money.