[This series of articles was initially published on the website of Sentience Politics. It does not necessarily reflect the current thinking of the Center for Reducing Suffering.]
By donating a mere fraction of our resources, we can help thousands of individuals in need — if we give to the interventions and organizations that reduce suffering most effectively. While we may feel compelled to give to, volunteer with, or work for organizations that we feel close to — like hospitals treating patients who suffer from something we lost a loved one to, or local companion animal shelters — other strategies may help vastly more individuals, each of whose suffering matters just as much as the suffering of those closer to us.
Prioritizing which efforts to direct our limited resources to is a challenging task, but if we have the opportunity to help a thousand individuals instead of just one, we should take it. At Sentience Politics, we work hard to find the most effective ways to help all sentient beings. In the posts below, we hope to guide you through our thinking on this challenging topic, and to share the ethical and strategic considerations that shape our work.