Dartmouth Effective Altruism has a simple premise, says founder James Drain ’17: “Do as much good as possible in the most effective way we can.”
Midway through last fall, Drain founded Dartmouth Effective Altruism, a student-led initiative to spread awareness of the emerging philosophy of effective altruism.
A social movement and philosophy that has gained popularity in recent years, effective altruism looks to optimize the ways in which individuals improve the world around them. For example, one strategy involves rating how cost-effective charities are by measuring how many lives they save per dollar received. While effective altruists abound in the nonprofit philanthropic sectors, the philosophy has also spread to affect the choices individuals make both at work and at home. The movement — which remains cause-neutral, meaning it does not subjectively value certain methods of charity over others — urges its adherents not only to be more charitable, but also to be charitable in the most cost-effective way possible.
Drain became interested in effective altruism in the summer of 2016 when he read “Doing Good Better” by William MacAskill, a co-founder and leader of the movement. The book, which aims to introduce the concept of effective altruism to the greater public, struck a chord with Drain. He began spending hours exploring websites of organizations such as 80,000 Hours, which aims to help individuals optimize their careers to be as impactful as possible, and Giving What We Can, which asks the public to give more significantly and more effectively. Both were founded in part by MacAskill.
Effective altruism first arrived at Dartmouth when Lydia Harris, a representative for animal rights advocacy group, Mercy for Animals, came to campus early last fall term to speak about her organization’s work. Drain, who was in the audience, approached her after she finished. Recounting the interaction, Drain said that after discussing effective altruism and its effects on Harris’ work, she asked him if he was involved in the effective altruism community at Dartmouth.
“I wouldn’t know what that would mean because there is no effective altruism community here,” he told her.
Drain, with Harris’ help, made contact with an effective altruist at Harvard Business School and submitted a charter to the Council on Student Organizations. Director of the College’s Ethics Institute Aine Donovan agreed to serve as the club’s faculty advisor.
So far, the club has had around five to seven attendees at its weekly meetings. Drain explained that the club’s public Facebook group has grown to have around 50 members.
At meetings, Drain introduces the concept of effective altruism, directs students to resources through which they can learn more about the movement and facilitates “heated philosophical discussions” on pertinent topics, such as the question, “Should we value people that don’t yet exist?”
The club hopes to continue to grow in size while spreading the philosophy of effective altruism throughout the Dartmouth community. Drain envisions a pledge drive in which students make a promise to donate a certain percentage of their lifelong income to charity.
A similar pledge drive has already taken place on the campus of the University of California, Berkeley. EA Berkeley was founded in the fall of 2014 by undergraduates Ajeya Cotra and Oliver Habryka and has a membership of about 20 students. Each semester since the spring of 2015, around six students have pledged 10 percent of their lifetime income to charity.
Akhil Jalan, president of EA Berkeley, noted that the club connects a variety of students who are all interested in effective charity.
“Students of diverse interests can come together and talk about how their interests affect this overall project to improve the world,” he said.
Drain hopes that Dartmouth Effective Altruism can lead a similar campaign on campus because he believes effective altruism is philosophically neutral and has mass appeal. In the future, he would like the club to help students lead impactful careers, inform them of charity evaluators like GiveWell and encourage them to act on their knowledge of effective altruism by donating to cost-effective charities. He also envisions that the club could utilize Dartmouth’s Greek system to institutionalize a culture of giving effectively.
With the creation and growth of Dartmouth Effective Altruism, Drain hopes to instill in Dartmouth’s campus a culture of “getting your best philanthropic bang for your buck.”
