Should Christians earn as much money as possible in order to give it to the poor? How much good could you do? Is this path dangerous? JD explores this theme with Tommy Kumpf, a quantitative trader at Susquehanna International Group in Philadelphia.

🔗 Full-Transcript-And-Links: http://christiansforimpact.org/episodes/tommy-kumpf

🔗 Earning to Give Profile: www.christiansforimpact.org/earning-to-give-profile

Samuel Dupret, Research Manager at the Happier Lives Institute, discusses why improving wellbeing in global development can be a highly effective career choice, and why using evidence-based research to measure impact is key. He also talks about how pursuing a career in this field can lead to both personal fulfillment and global impact.

🔗 *Links/Transcript*

All Links: https://www.christiansforimpact.org/episodes/samuel-dupret Samuel's Org: https://www.happierlivesinstitute.org/ World Happiness Report: https://worldhappiness.report/ed/2025/giving-to-others-how-to-convert-your-money-into-greater-happiness-for-others/

⏳ *Topics*

00:00 – Intro

02:30 – Does Money Actually Buy Happiness?

04:50 – The Science of Measuring Happiness: Meet the "Welby"

21:20 – Should Christians Care About Happiness—or Embrace Misery?

34:20 – The World's Best (and Worst) Charities for Your Dollar

43:20 – Critiques of Measuring Happiness (HLI's Methodology Under Fire) 44:20 – Can We Really Compare Happiness Across Cultures?

47:20 – Spillovers: Is Happiness Contagious?

48:50 – GiveWell vs. Happier Lives Institute: Who's Right?

52:10 – Are Happiness Units Really Created Equal?

56:20 – What Did Jesus Mean by "Blessed Are the Poor"?

 58:05 – Does Measuring Happiness Mean Some Lives Are Worth More? 1:02:50 – Why Christians Might View Happiness Differently

1:05:05 – Careers That Actually Make the World Happier

 1:07:40 – Why "Follow Your Passion" Is Terrible Advice

In this episode, we speak to Brian Green. Brian holds a doctorate degree in ethics and is currently the Director of Technology Ethics at the Markulla Center for Applied Ethics, at Santa Clara University in California. His work is focused on the ethics of emerging technology. 

Some things we touch on in this episode:

• The relationship between Christianity, technology, and existential risks.

• Why we should be concerned about nuclear war as Christians.

• What it might look like if there was some kind of nuclear catastrophe or exchange.

• What do you and I need to do to prevent nuclear war.

• Careers people need to fill in order to promote non-proliferation.

In this episode, we speak with Caleb Watney. Caleb Watney is a co-founder of the Institute for Progress (IFP) which aims to accelerate technological, scientific, and industrial progress. On top of that, Caleb Watney holds a Master’s in Economics from George Mason University and has spent the last seven years working in policy in Washington DC.

Some things we touch on in this episode:

• What it's like to be a Christian working in policy.

• Why is policy something Christians who want to be impactful, should be concerned about.

• Why we should care about improving science research.

• Less controversial ways to make an impact including how to enhance skilled immigration.

• Caleb’s career advice for Christians looking to work in policy, particularly neglected areas within policy.

In this episode, we speak to Paul Niehaus. Paul is an economist and entrepreneur. He is the co-founder, director, and former president of GiveDirectly, the leading international NGO specializing in cash transfers, and rated one of the most impactful ways to give. He also works at the University of California, Sandiego which works on anti-poverty programs around the world. He holds a PhD in Economics from Havard. He professionally always wanted to do something that would reflect his Christian background and would make the world better and this drove him to co-found GiveDirectly to tackle global poverty as well as fintech non-profits.

Some things we touch on in this episode:

• How poverty alleviation through direct cash transfers works.

• Whether people receiving direct cash transfers use funds appropriately.

• Whether poverty alleviation is about meeting spiritual or physical needs

• How much we need to give to end extreme poverty.

• The role of the local Church.

• Paul’s career advice to young Christians looking to be impactful in the world.

In this episode, we speak to Joy Bittner. Joy Bittner is the founder of Vida Plena, an organization invested in building strong mental health in Latin America. Vida Plena does this by training local communities to provide mental health care for depression. Joy majored in psychology in her undergraduate degree, then proceeded to do a master’s in social work in which she focused on social service administration. Later she did a second master’s in nonprofit management and has over 15 years of experience in non-profit management.

Some things we touch on in this episode:

• What it is like working within the mental health field.

• Why we should care about mental health as Christians.

• The intersection between faith, effective altruism, and mental health. 

• The lack of mental health care among the Latin American poor and how to provide of it.

• Joy’s career advice for Christians looking to work in mental health and looking to be impactful in the same breadth. 

In this episode we speak with Ed Michaelson. Ed lives in London and directs 500k, an org with supports 800 church planters in rural India. Ed shares his story of why he went from ER doctor to non-profit founder, and which missions careers are most effective in furthering God's kingdom.

Some things we touch on in this episode...

• The value of mission trips

• Windows of opportunities in global missions

• Why church planting might be much more effective than bible translation

• How to plan a career in church planting movements

• Why you probably shouldn’t become a traditional missionary

In this episode, we speak with Katie Fantaguzzi. Katie lives in Texas and transitioned from work in private healthcare consulting to measurement and evaluation for global health nonprofits. She is now a Senior MER advisor at the SCI Foundation, which treats millions of people suffering from parasitic worm infections.

Some things we touch on in this episode

• Does a data-driven approach conflict with a faith-driven approach in doing good?

• How SCI Foundation administered 1 billion deworming treatments.

• How bad parasitic worms are and how deworming works.

• Why deworming is so effective and how it will change in the future.

• Being motivated in private sector jobs vs. nonprofit jobs.

• Whether Christians should work in Christian vs. secular charities.

• Living with the monastic community of St. Anselm in London.

Bruce Friedrich is co-founder and president of The Good Food Institute, a Y Combinator-funded non-profit that promotes plant- and cell-based alternatives to animal products.

Some things we touch on in this episode:

• How animal agriculture harms animals, the poor, and the climate.

• Why Bruce loves Dorothy Day’s Catholic Worker movement.

• Why alternative proteins are the “electric vehicles” of animal agriculture.

• The power of positive example.

• Bruce’s advice on top charities and careers for Christians who want to make an impact for God’s creation.

In this episode, we speak with Brian Fikkert, who is an economist and professor at Covenant College. We speak about his influential book When Helping Hurts and how Christians can make the greatest possible positive impact in the lives of the poor.

Some things we touch on in this episode:

• Why short-term missions often make things worse for the poor.

• How wealthy Americans define “poverty”.

• “Relief” vs. “Development” work, and where Christians are most needed.

• Balancing insights from the Bible and economic experiments.

• Career advice for Christians looking to tackle global poverty.

More at https://www.christiansforimpact.org/episodes/brian-fikkert

Henry Kaestner, co-founder of Sovereigns Capital and the Faith Driven movements, reveals his journey from Wall Street wealth to radical, faith-driven generosity. We discuss: how can impact investing help alleviate global poverty—especially in Africa? Should I impact invest or give effectively? Should I help locally or globally? Does God need us? Should we encourage other Christians to be generous?

📌Additional Links: www.christiansforimpact.org/episodes/henry-kaestner

 ⏳ Topics

03:42 – Wall Street to Radical Faith

 08:08 – God Doesn't Need Your Money

 09:04 – Investing Boldly for Jesus 15:35 – Is "Solving World's Problems" Arrogant?

 22:58 – Local Poverty Isn't Most Urgent

26:46 – Africa: Massive Crisis, Tiny Investments

 29:29 – You'll Answer to God for Investments

34:43 – Your Neighbor Isn't Next Door

 37:09 – Church Must Step Up After PEPFAR

44:03 – Should Christians Just Give Instead?

 45:29 – Effective Giving Crushes Impact Investing

 46:31 – Does Impact Investing Excuse Selfishness?

49:03 – Entrepreneurship: Idol or Godly Call?

55:45 – Real Revival Starts With You

 57:39 – God Wants You on Your Knees

 

📌Additional Links: www.christiansforimpact.org/episodes/henry-kaestner

Why donating £23+/month to effective animal charities does even more good than going vegan, and why you might consider doing both. Thom also shares the challenges and rewards of starting a charity (FarmKind), how to maximize your impact for animals, and career advice. 

🔗See here for a full transcript with links.

See here for FarmKind's Compassion Calculator

Highlights include:

00:00 Intro to FarmKind
1:30 Thom's Journey
3:05 Why Thom went Vegetarian
05:48 The Role of Scripture and Jesus
07:44 Good Stewardship of Creation
08:40 Henry the Pig
11:13 "Aren't Animals Treated Well?"
13:20 Hens
13:50 Pigs
16:00 Chicks
18:33 "But what about Jesus eating fish? Peter told 'Kill and eat'"
20:52 People vs. Animals
22:38 "Offset" Meat-Eating By Donating £23 Monthly
26:08 How to help 50,000 Animals a Year
32:52 Most Effective Animal Charities
34:55 Farmkind's $300m Goal
40:00 Charity Entrepreneurship
43:10 Who should found a charity?
43:57 Earning to give for animals?
44:46 Policy work for helping animals?
46:00 Career advice for lawyers
46:57 General career advice for helping animals
48:03 General impact-minded career advice

Development economist Colin Aitken unpacks the freezing of PEPFAR, whether aid programmes are effective, balancing radical altruism and concern for others with mental health, and how to think about money.

See here for a full transcript with links.

Highlights include:

00:00 Introduction 01:17 Colin’s Story 04:48 How retrovirals work 07:30 How people get HIV 9:27 How bad is untreated HIV? 11:05 How PEPFAR stopped 13:14 Critiques of Aid 16:14 Effectiveness 18:44 PEPFAR’s Future 20:48 How do we know it works? 26:47 How many millions may die? 33:05 Coping with Suffering 42:09 The Church 45:11 Personal Spending 53:58 Money 58:52 Effective Giving    

Caroline Oliveira is the Finance and Development Director at Sinergia Animal, one of the world’s top-rated animal charities. Caroline shares her journey from a corporate career at Nestlé to becoming a leading advocate and fundraiser for animal welfare. 

See here for a full transcript with links.

Highlights include:

03:42 Career Transition: From Nestle to Synergia Animal 05:21 The Awakening: Realizing Animal Suffering 08:22 The Journey to Vegetarianism and Veganism 11:20 Faith and Compassion: A Christian Perspective 13:31 Cultural Context: Christianity in Brazil 16:14 The Role of the Church in Animal Advocacy 19:29 Balancing Human and Animal Welfare 22:08 Conclusion: A Call for Compassion 26:43 Biblical Perspectives on Animal Welfare 32:44 Compassion Over Law: A New Approach 39:12 The Vision of Eden: A Call for Change 42:40 Sinergia Animal: Fighting for Animal Rights 53:11 Impact and Future of Animal Advocacy 59:41 Exploring Synergia Animal's Impact 01:10:54 The Unique Position of Synergia Animal 01:14:28 Insights into Fundraising for Nonprofits 01:21:19 Challenges and Opportunities in Animal Welfare Funding 01:25:19 The Balance of Numbers and Individual Impact 01:26:40 Creative Fundraising Strategies 01:30:39 Measuring Fundraising Success 01:35:57 Qualities of a Successful Fundraiser 01:38:14 Daily Life of a Nonprofit Fundraiser 01:46:48 Career Pathways in Fundraising    

Summary:

We speak to Nicolas Laing, a doctor from New Zealand. Nick has managed rural Health Centers for 10 years in Northern Uganda through his charity, OneDay Health. He first became passionate about unreached areas after seeing the huge numbers of rural citizens in Northern Uganda not covered by either the private or public healthcare system. Nicolas initiated and managed the first 15 One Day Health centers launched, which have grown to 40+.

Some things we touch on in this episode:

• Healthcare black holes — what they are, how Nick finds them and supports those living in them.

• OneDay Health and cost-effectiveness estimates (see here for Nick’s excellent EA forum BOTEC calculations on this).

• Nick’s dream for Oneday Health.

• How Nick’s faith has influenced Nick’s decision to pursue medicine.

• Radical stewardship of money and how Nick lives that out.

• Effective Altruism and what both Christianity and Effective Altruism can learn from each other.

• Nick’s career advice for young Christians who want to have an impact.

Summary:

In this episode, we speak to Liz Hixson. Liz works at New Incentives, a GiveWell top-rated charity that provides small cash incentives to caregivers in order to increase childhood vaccination rates. And it works. In Nothern Nigeria, New Incentives has saved thousands of lives from preventable diseases like whooping cough, measles, and pneumonia. She works as a Senior Communications and Development associate.

Some things we touch on in this episode:

• What it’s like being an Eastern Orthodox Christian working in a secular public health charity.

• The significance of addressing easily preventable diseases.

• The kinds of soft skills needed to excel in Communications well.

• Liz’s career advice for Christians who want to have an impact.

Summary:

In this episode, we speak to Rose Gottemoeller, the first woman to hold the position of Deputy Secretary General of NATO, the highest-ranking international civil servant role within the organization. Rose is known especially for her role in negotiating the 2010 New START Treaty, which led to a significant reduction in deployed nuclear weapons held by both Russia and the United States.

Some things we touch on in this episode:

• Rose’s career path and how it has evolved over the years.

• The role of faith in Rose’s career.

• Why Christians should care about the use of nuclear weapons.

• Negotiating the new START treaty & advice on diplomacy careers.

• General career advice for Christians keen to work in foreign policy and nuclear security.

In this episode, we speak with Jason Dykstra. Jason is a jack of all trades. He has experience in the medical field being a medical doctor and a radiologist. On top of that, he runs a house church network called World Wide House Church. He also founded Blessbig, a charity evaluator founded on Christian principles, which has advised GiveWell and Charity Navigator. Jason and his family are committed givers; they limit their income to $50,000 and consequently give everything above that away.

Some things we touch on in this episode:

• What it’s like working in a Charity evaluator that is founded on Christian principles as a Christian.

• How to know if a charity is impactful.

• How and why to give the most effectively.

• How to pursue a career with a radical impact on God's kingdom.

• Jason’s career advice for Christians who want to have a big impact