Earning To Give Profile

A career strategy where you pursue higher-paying jobs (more on this below) to make a positive impact by donating a significant portion of your income to effective charities working on pressing global problems. 

Here’s what it typically involves:

• Choosing higher-paying jobs: Earning more than you might otherwise pursue in roles  that are morally neutral or positive.

• Donating a large share of income: Typically giving 20% - 90%+ of total earnings to effective charities.

• Supporting high-impact causes: Prioritising donations to effective, funding-constrained organisations tackling major, neglected global problems.

While you might take this path by founding a company or working in finance to maximise donations, you can seek to do the same in standard professional careers also.

The Bible

Outlines principles of cheerful, radical generosity and careful stewardship:

2 Corinthians 9:7 (Cheerful Giving)

“Each of you should give what you have decided in your heart to give, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver.”

Giving is an important and spiritually rewarding practice that stems out of first acknowledging God’s faithfulness to us.

While scripture doesn’t explicitly command that Christians must seek to gain wealth in order to give it away, Christians like John Wesley, the founder of Methodism, have applied scriptural principles towards earning money in order to give it away.

John Wesley’s Sermon

Wesley argued that earning money is not inherently wrong, but it should be done with integrity in a way that echoes Christ. He believed money is a God-given tool that can be used to meet the needs of others, especially the poor, and to advance God’s work.

His sermon “The Use of Money” sets out a 3-part principle for managing our wealth: earn all you can, save all you can, give all you can.

This approach, combined with an added emphasis on effectiveness, has become known as “earning to give” and was popularized in the 2010s by the effective altruism movement.

The world’s most effective charities are incredibly efficient at using money to save lives (or help in other ways). Donations from residents of developed countries with even ordinary incomes can stretch very far. Thus, many, perhaps even most, of our readers can participate in earning-to-give in some meaningful way.

Example: Earning to give on $300k / year

But imagine you’ve accepted a job in tech and now you’re earning $300,000 per year.

Here’s how much good you could do if you donated $200k to various effective charities:

Based on conservative estimates from various sources

Flexibility

Changing charities: Even if you are unsure today of where to give, you can donate to a donor-advised-fund (DAF) and direct the funding later to a more effective charity.

Changing causes: Over time, you may realize that you begin to prioritise some problem areas over others. Earning-to-give allows you to shift your donations between areas without pivoting your entire career.

Building career capital: Earning to give roles generally build a high amount of transferable career capital. If you’re not sure what you would like to do, you might begin earning-to-give and transition to a more directly impactful path later. It’s generally easier to switch from high-paying for-profit careers to nonprofit careers than the other way around.

Large Impact

Impact-multiplier: By earning more and giving generously, you can sometimes have a greater impact than if you were working directly in the nonprofit sector. For example, a successful career in a high-earning field could allow you to fund your replacement at a nonprofit charity several times over, or support multiple organisations or ministries.

Honor other areas

Balance career with rest of life: If you have an especially good fit in business, tech, or another field, you might actually have better balance and maintain a stronger presence in your family and community by earning-to-give in a conventional path rather than pursuing a higher-risk path.

Influencing wealthy peers

Double your impact by convincing one person to give effectively. In some cases, earning a high salary allows you access to social networks of higher-income individuals who you can influence to give. These might be fellow MBA graduates, donors, office coworkers or clients. The potential for impact can be high — if you convince one person to give as much as you do to effective charities, you can essentially double your impact. It may be easier to influence others as from the position as an insider peer as opposed to an outsider activist.

While earning to give can be an impactful career strategy, there are important disadvantages to consider. Especially as Christians, we need to ensure that we  guard our hearts whilst earning higher salaries. Here are some concerns to take into account:

Risk of Harm in Certain Careers

We recommend avoiding harmful careers. Not all high-earning careers align with Christ-like values or contribute positively to society. It’s crucial to avoid careers that, even with the intention of donating, cause harm. For example, careers in industries with unethical practices or that harm others, like fraud or exploitation, would clearly contradict God’s call on us to love and serve others.

Temptation of Power and Corruption

For the love of money is the root of all evil (1 Tim 6:10). Higher-paying jobs, especially in positions of influence, carry the risk of moral corruption. Wealth and power can lead to a shift in priorities, making it harder to stay focused on the altruistic goals you set at the beginning (Matthew 6:24). The Bible warns of the dangers of wealth and power, as they can cause a person to prioritise their own interests over those of others (Luke 12:15), or to trust in money more than God (1 Tim 6:17). This means that while wealth can be used for great good, it also requires strong accountability and safeguards to prevent the corrupting influence of money and power - prioritising your relationship with God and surrounding yourself with faithful, like-minded Christians.

The Question of a Charity’s Effectiveness

Generosity isn’t the same as effectiveness. It’s important to be mindful of where you donate your earnings as many charities may not be as effective as they should be. Choosing the wrong ones could result in wasted resources (James 1:27). It’s important to research and choose organizations that truly make an impact in ways that align with God’s heart for the poor, the oppressed, and the vulnerable.

Sacrificing other life-areas

Earning to give is not for everyone. If a high-earning path comes in extreme conflict with your health, your family commitments or community, it may not be from God. If earning to give isn’t the right fit, there are many other ways to serve God and others with your time and resources, such as pursuing other Kingdom-impact careers or other vocations.

Grayden is a Christian working in finance in the UK. Grayden has pursued a high-earning career path: working as an Associate Consultant, Vice President and Investment Principal. To date, he has donated over $2m to effective charities, focusing on global health, development, and animal welfare, such as Give Directly, the Malaria Consortium and the Good Food Institute. He believes that the specific amount a person should donate varies depending on their own specific walk with God. He thinks what matters most is having a sacrificial attitude towards giving and caring that your sacrifice makes a difference.

You can read more about Grayden here.

Giving Evaluators:

• GiveWell

• Animal Charity Evaluators

• BlessBig

• All Access International

Books and Articles:

• The Life You Can Save by Peter Singer

•  Managing God’s Money by Randy Alcorn

• Practising the Way by John Mark Comer

• Giving Is The Good Life by Randy Alcorn

• Earn-to-givers in the CFI community: Grayden’s Story

• Earn-to-givers in the CFI community: Jason’s story

Website Resources:

• Practising The Way

• Giving What We Can

• Founder’s Pledge (for entrepreneurs)

Communities in Giving:

• Effective Altruism for Christians

• Giving What We Can

• Fruitful Work

• Founder’s Pledge (for entrepreneurs)