Hi, welcome to Samuel's birthday fundraiser! This year, I'm spending my birthday prep time writing this instead of planning a party.

I recently renewed my pledge to give at least 1% of my spending income to effective charities through Giving What We Can because I care about reducing suffering, believe my small contributions have outsized impact, and want to stay accountable to giving.

In my ethical eating class this past quarter, my project was on shrimp welfare. I learned that 5,000,000,000 shrimp are killed per year, live in disabling levels of pain, and have cheap, effective ways to reduce their suffering. Just kidding, it's actually 5,000,000,000,000 shrimp. But I'm more impressed by how neglected they are compared to their scale.

I'm choosing EA Funds Animal Welfare Fund because I trust their methodology and know they will find neglected opportunities aligned with my values better than I can. They have a dedicated team with much more expertise and time to figure out where your donations go farthest.

Thanks for considering and celebrating my birthday with me!