Hi Heather, thank you for everything that you do. I would say that there isn’t a “magic number” at which extra money stops being valuable and you should directly switch to direct work.
First of all, unfortunately the movement is still seriously under‑funded. The entire farmed‑animal‑advocacy sector spent only about US $200 million in 2020 (https://faunalytics.org/funding-dynamics-in-farmed-animal-advocacy/) That is orders of magnitude less than is spent on companion‑animal charities. Until that budget rises dramatically, every additional highly targeted dollar remains important.
Overall, I would say that earning‑to‑give is recommended so long as you 1) can earn unusually well and 2) do not have an alternative where your skills are clearly harder to replace.
Considering the above points, the “enough” threshold is not a money total, but rather the point where the next hour of consulting or the next dollar you donate does less good than an hour of direct work you that could sustainably perform.
I think that continuing to donate would be a good route for you that has likely already done a lot of good for farmed animals already. However, consider that board‑certified veterinarians are not easy to find and are generally scarce on farm‑animal welfare standard committees. If you were to join such a body, one hour of your time could unlock significant improvements; plus, you could still be donating as you’ve done in the past.
Hi Heather, thank you for everything that you do. I would say that there isn’t a “magic number” at which extra money stops being valuable and you should directly switch to direct work.
First of all, unfortunately the movement is still seriously under‑funded. The entire farmed‑animal‑advocacy sector spent only about US $200 million in 2020 (https://faunalytics.org/funding-dynamics-in-farmed-animal-advocacy/) That is orders of magnitude less than is spent on companion‑animal charities. Until that budget rises dramatically, every additional highly targeted dollar remains important.
Second of all, in general the best charities still produce large welfare gains per dollar. A recent synthesis of Animal Charity Evaluators’ data on cage‑free corporate campaigns estimated that each U.S. dollar affects 9 – 120 chicken‑years of life (https://animalcharityevaluators.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/10/what-is-the-effect-of-cage-free-corporate-outreach-on-egg-laying-hens-welfare.pdf) On such numbers, your current US $40 000 annual giving could be improving conditions for hundreds of thousands (and up to a few million) animals each year.
Overall, I would say that earning‑to‑give is recommended so long as you 1) can earn unusually well and 2) do not have an alternative where your skills are clearly harder to replace.
Considering the above points, the “enough” threshold is not a money total, but rather the point where the next hour of consulting or the next dollar you donate does less good than an hour of direct work you that could sustainably perform.
I think that continuing to donate would be a good route for you that has likely already done a lot of good for farmed animals already. However, consider that board‑certified veterinarians are not easy to find and are generally scarce on farm‑animal welfare standard committees. If you were to join such a body, one hour of your time could unlock significant improvements; plus, you could still be donating as you’ve done in the past.