EA Forum Podcast (Curated & popular) “Why Many EAs May Have More Impact Outside of Nonprofits in Animal Welfare” by lauren_mee 🔸, Animal Advocacy Careers
Oct 30, 2025
The discussion explores whether effective altruists might create more impact outside of nonprofit roles. With the EA movement's growth, there’s an urgent need to explore alternative career pathways. It highlights how for-profit sectors can influence billions and alleviate donor burdens. The podcast also warns of risks in pursuing external roles and emphasizes the importance of personal fit in career decisions. Ultimately, it advocates for a more diverse talent distribution across various sectors to enhance advocacy efforts.
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EA Growth Outpaced Nonprofit Capacity
- EA growth has outpaced nonprofit capacity, creating a talent bottleneck that wastes promising advocates.
- Diversifying career paths into other sectors increases systemic influence and movement resilience.
Target High-Leverage Nonprofit Gaps First
- Prioritize nonprofit leadership, major donor fundraising, and charity entrepreneurship when your skills match these high-leverage gaps.
- If you can't realistically upskill into those roles, explore influence opportunities outside nonprofits.
Powerful Institutions Offer Massive Leverage
- Institutions like asset managers, food-service giants, and the European Commission control levers that dwarf nonprofit budgets.
- Embedding mission-aligned people inside these institutions can shift policy and procurement at vast scale.