Earning to Give

Written October 29 2024

Est. 4 minute read

This article draws heavily from Probably Good (see their up-to-date entry here).

Earning To Give is the name of a career strategy of pursuing a high-earning career (or higher-earning than one would otherwise pursue) with the deliberate goal of donating a substantial portion of one’s earned income.

[Dusty road, Samaritan kneeling beside the wounded traveler, tending to his injuries with care]

Higher income for higher donations

Earning To Give (sometimes referred to by the shorthand “E2G”) includes a wide range of career plans that focus on earning higher income, and donating significant portions of it to charities. Since the world’s most effective charities are incredibly efficient at using money to save lives (or help in other ways), earning to give can have a larger impact than many careers that help others directly.

For example, the average annual income of a person living in the United States is about $60,000. By donating 10% of their income to effective charities such as the Against Malaria Foundation, the average American could save dozens of lives over the course of their career. This is like the story of the Good Samaritan (Luke 10:25-37) - the Samaritan uses his resources to care for someone in need. Those with especially high earning potential could do much more—saving many hundreds of lives, or supporting even more ambitious goals. In simple terms, if you have a lot of money you can do a lot of important stuff.

Extra considerations

There are other considerations that make earning to give an impactful career path worth considering. It’s an approach that is relevant to a wide range of people with vastly different skill sets. Its value is not likely to meaningfully drop as more people pursue it, since a lot of different effective organizations need more funding, and this approach gives you the flexibility to give to any problem area. It is also easy to know your contributions make a real counterfactual difference since it is unlikely that the next best candidate for the job would have donated large portions of their income to effective charities. In some cases it also makes it easier to estimate your impact, at least in fields like global health where impact is more measurable.

While earning to give can allow for flexibility and high counterfactual impact, it’s imperative that, even as one aims to generate considerable wealth for altruistic endeavors, one doesn’t inadvertently cause serious harm through their chosen vocation.

Risks and downsides

While earning to give can provide flexibility and allow for high impact, there are some potential downsides to consider:

  • Value drift: Over time, there’s a risk that you may lose interest in donating, especially if you’re immersed in a non-altruistic work environment.

  • Missing direct impact: Some people may find less motivation or joy in earning to give compared to direct work that helps others. Being removed from the day-to-day outcomes of your donations could reduce the sense of fulfillment that comes with making a difference.

  • Cause constraints: In areas that are more talent-constrained than funding-constrained (such as AI risk and possibly climate change), earning to give may not be as impactful as working directly in the field.

It’s important to avoid causing harm while pursuing high-income careers. Thankfully, many lucrative careers either have a neutral impact or even a positive societal impact. That said, high-income roles often come with responsibilities that carry influence and risks, such as managing large organizations or significant financial capital. As Christians, being aware of the unintended consequences of our work aligns with the biblical principle of stewardship, reminding us to use our influence wisely and with care.

Getting started

There are several organizations and communities that help those who want to donate significant portions of their income. For example, Giving What We Can supports a community of people who have pledged to donate 10% of their salaries, and Founders Pledge supports founders who wish to donate a significant portion of their profits in an IPO or exit. You can also read more about effective giving here.

Summing Up

  • Earning to give refers to pursuing high-earning careers to donate a significant portion to effective charities.

  • Donating just 10% of a $60,000 salary can save dozens of lives, demonstrating the potential of this approach.

  • There are risks such as value drift.

  • Organizations like Giving What We Can provide support for those committed to substantial charitable donations.

Need help discerning your career? Sign up for our free one-on-one impact mentorship here.

To read more about it click here.

Do you have any career uncertainties? Click here to read our article on three big career uncertainties you can trust God with.