In our research, we’ve found that any college graduate in a rich country can do a huge amount to improve the lives of others — and they can do this without changing jobs, or making big sacrifices.
The average US college graduate has an annual individual working income of about $77,000 (in 2023), or $54,500 post-tax.4 This means that, assuming the above relationship holds, a dollar will do about 68 times more good if you give it to someone in Kenya rather than spending it on yourself.5
Moreover, as we saw earlier in the guide, once you start earning more than about $55,000 per year,6 extra income won’t affect your happiness that much — while acts that help others, like giving to charity, probably make you happier.
With a typical US graduate salary, donating 10% of your income to the Against Malaria Foundation could therefore save more than one life every year. These kinds of proven, cost-effective health programmes offer such a good opportunity to do good that even the most prominent aid sceptics have offered few arguments against them.
Some charities work on issues that seem even higher stakes and more neglected, such as preventing a catastrophic pandemic. We’ll discuss why we think pandemics are more pressing than global health later in the guide, and you can read our separate article about which charities are highest impact.
Glasp is a social web highlighter that people can highlight and organize quotes and thoughts from the web, and access other like-minded people’s learning.