🌍 Impact-Based Giving vs. Interest-Based Giving 💡

How do we balance personal interests with the larger goal of creating lasting change?

Two approaches come to mind: Impact-Based Giving and Interest-Based Giving. Both have their merits, but they take different routes in determining where your contributions might do the most good.

1. Impact-Based Giving

Impact-Based Giving, made popular by the research of Effective Altruism, is rooted in the idea of maximizing the positive impact of your resources (time, money, skills) by using evidence and reason to guide your decisions. It focuses on:

Data-backed high-impact causes: Such as global health, poverty alleviation, animal welfare, and preventing existential risks.
Cost-effectiveness: Supporting interventions that deliver the most significant benefits relative to their cost.
Long-term impact: Prioritizing solutions that provide lasting, scalable change.

🔑 Potential Pro: This approach ensures that your donations have the largest, most measurable impact on the world. If more people give in this way, we can address the largest threats to our global community faster.

❓ Potential Con: It can feel less personal, as it often asks us to prioritize global issues over causes that resonate more or directly improve our community. It also may lead to a lack of creative solutions as everyone is focused on a fewer number of causes.

2. Interest-Based Giving

On the other hand, donating based on your personal interests tends to focus on causes you feel passionate about—whether that’s supporting local animal shelters, cultural initiatives, or educational programs. This approach emphasizes:

Personal connection: Giving to causes that align with your values or direct experiences.
Satisfaction and motivation: The emotional fulfillment that comes from supporting a cause you deeply care about.

Local Impact: Impact-maximizing practices focus heavily on global issues, where-as interest-based giving can have a greater impact in your direct community

🔑 Potential Pro: It feels more personal and fulfilling and can improve your personal community. With more people identifying cause areas to different solutions, there’s a chance for collaboration or support to be found in unexpected areas.

❓ Potential Con: While these causes might be meaningful, they may not always have the highest impact on a global scale.