Our Impact
Our Theory of Change
We want to do as much good as possible. We aim to achieve this by helping more Christians to donate to effective charities and to pursue high-impact careers and projects. We also want to help Christians get engaged with the Effective Altruism movement and improve the wellbeing and faith of Christians in it. To do this, EACH has a yearly conference, website, online content, events, groups, and discussions, an intro fellowship, 1-1 conversations about EA and faith, and in person meetups and retreats. We are also producing a book and podcasts.
Impact Survey
Based on results of our 2022 community survey
EACH serves the needs to explore the intersection between EA and Christianity (86% of respondents) and building community with Christians interested in effective giving and socially impactful careers
Little over 30% of respondents indicated that EA for Christians positively influenced their plans and they now expect to do more good with their career.
was also the organisation mentioned as having had the most influence on the respondents career plans by about 35% of respondents.
a bit over 20% of the respondents said they gave moderately or significantly more because of EA for Christians (probably somewhat less in reality taking into account certain limitations)
The median amount that respondents gave more was $1500
Testimonies of Career Impact
Some positive stories
Below we list descriptions of the impact of EACH, according to respondents of the EACH community survey 2022. Names are made anonymous out of respect for privacy. We provide context where helpful. Quotations are direct responses.
Niki is pursuing an academic career path as a tenured professor in social sciences. She wrote that engagement with EACH “helped me to make the step from an abstract assent to ‘EA is convincing and important’ and the vague idea ‘I should take it seriously at some point in my life’ to the practical step: ‘OK, I *really* need to think about my career -- what are the next steps?’"
Elliot has experience in machine learning and was exploring adjacent career paths: “It was at an EA for Christians annual conference that I met my current boss.”
George was finishing up a bachelor’s degree in material science and is now considering graduate programs. He wrote that EACH as a professional environment that fosters Christianity has been “really inspirational in getting masters or phd”.
Poppy is undertaking a bachelor’s degree in electrical engineering and plans to work in climate tech and earning to give afterwards. She wrote: “EACH provided biblical inspiration to devote my career to social justice more (through maximizing income so I can donate more and picking a more altruistic career path). Wanting to maximize income helped me decide to stick with my electrical engineering major instead of switching to economics. It provided the community necessary to be more successful in my career. Previously I felt fairly isolated because most people don't have very EA values, but now I have more energy to devote to my career because my friendships are more rejuvenating.
Jonny helped EACH with design and created our intro video. He plans to work in Video editing, media production and copyediting. About EACH’s influence, Jonny wrote: “Producing a video and promotional media for EACH has, first of all, given me experience that undoubtedly helped me achieve the position I am in now. In addition, the conference and discussion groups have introduced me to different ways of thinking about education and work, as well as offering encouragement to further align my priorities with global issues, and more tools to determine what these global issues are. Last, but by no means least, EACH has brought me into contact with some incredible, intelligent and inspiring people around the world.”
Catherina is pursuing an econ PhD at a top school researching AI governance and machine learning production functions. In writing about how EACH influenced her career, she notes “I remember reading a few EA for Christians blog posts when transitioning from researching Eastern Europe to researching AI governance.”
Gail is a medical student and resident physician, specializing in radiology. She expects to have a greater career impact because of her interaction with EACH. Gail reports that EACH influenced her choice of speciality.
Angela is a medical student, becoming a licensed doctor next year. She plans to not only treat patients in the future but also take part in advocacy, donations, and perhaps transition to biosecurity. Angela says that EACH influenced her to make smarter donations and helped her with “figuring out who I am and what my preferences are within the medical field through mentorship.”
Garret is pursuing a Masters of Divinity. He may pursue ministry in the church, work as a community organizer, chaplain, or go to law school. He reports that “EA for Christians has been a HUGE support. The community has allowed me to bounce various ideas off of people and given me the opportunity to pursue some projects (such as theological/EA intersections) in-depth.”
Ormond works in UK policy, with a focus on international relations and China. He wrote that EACH “encouraged me to use my career for good and engage with wider EA community.”
Cyril works at a startup in Nairobi Kenya. After ~3 years there he plans to either continue there, start his own startup in Africa, or move to the US and work at an EA foundation for the long term good of humanity. He also helps grow EA Nairobi. About EACH’s effect on his career path, Cyril wrote: “I now put a higher emphasis on the importance of community building. I'm not so sure I would have been as motivated to help set up Nairobi EA if I had not been part of EACH”
Babajide is in a PhD program and plans to spend the next 6 years in graduate school in philosophy and physics, and then a postdoc for a few years and then hopefully become a professor (Lord-willing). Babajide says that EACH will help him have a greater career impact since he plans to include research projects for academic publication that argue for a lot of EA related topics, especially from a Christian perspective. “EACH helped me see that I can actually make some of the arguments that I have thought about for awhile, make them rigorous, and publish them, and use that platform (or just separately) to make those same arguments at all levels.”
Yvonne is working in AI visualization at a large finance company. She hopes to become more involved with writing on issues of morality and economic progress, and ideally would like to contribute materially to positive AI advances. Yvonne said that EACH “Helped connect [her] to the greater Christian community and point [her] towards compatible EA and Christian goals.”
Chris is pursuing a masters in economics with the intention of obtaining a PhD and working in academia, public policy and/or a Christian organization. He is trying to live a more faithful life and put himself in a position to donate. Chris wrote that EACH helps him have a more impactful career and “encouraged my generosity and impartiality.”
Vern worked for over 10 years as a consultant and small business owner. He hopes to return to full-time professional work in the near future and build on his experience in international development, science communication and ethics in an EA-related/-informed setting. He wrote that EACH is helping him have more impact with his career: “Although I haven't consistently participated in all the programs, the discussion groups, posts and communications from EA for Christians have helped to keep my interest in this area alive during the past few years.”
August wrote “EA for Christians significantly helped me get into EA movement building by providing me with my first 'EA job'”
Sophia is a senior philosophy professor at a university in Central Europe. She wrote that while EA for Christians hasn’t directly influenced her career, EA and Christianity has become the main topic of her work.
Susan is an analyst in the UK working to improve the impact of government funding in R&D. She believes staying and building substantial expertise in the area could deliver value-add compared to the average civil servant. Regarding EACH’s impact she wrote: “It's caused me to stay longer in my role than I otherwise [would have]. If I change career path, I am strongly inclined to look for jobs in other high impact areas.”