This profile is part of the "Giving for Animals Stories" Series. Alex is an Electronic Engineer at Knowles who took the Giving What We Can pledge to donate a part of his income to animal charities.
What inspired you to start donating to the animal advocacy cause and what motivates you to continue?
I've cared about animal suffering as a cause area for a long time, especially farmed and wild animal suffering. This is because it is massive in scale, both in terms of the number of individuals and the types of experiences they are subject to, as well as very neglected compared to human-focused cause areas.
I tried advocacy and street activism myself in the past, but I am not a good fit for that at all. What motivated me to start giving was the EA literature about the effectiveness of giving (Doing Good Better). One of the great things about earning to give is that almost anyone can be a great fit for it since you can do it from almost any career.
What motivates me to continue is that the cause continues to remain relevant.
What would you say to someone who is thinking about taking the pledge/earning to give for animals, but is unsure?
Go for it! It is a very effective way to improve the world. You don't even have to give that much to be impactful. Being vegan for a year spares tens of animals, and just donating a few dollars to the most effective charities has the same impact (of course the best is to be vegan AND donate more than just a few dollars).
