The Humane League makes animal welfare advocacy take minutes. Its convenient Fast Action Network collects various actions you can take and streamlines the process, asking you for only a few clicks. Its campaigns advocate for large companies to improve their animal care standards, such as by adopting cage-free eggs. These campaigns often have a significant impact, causing companies it selects to respond to the pressure. The Humane League is considered a top charity by Animal Charity Evaluators (ACE), meaning the league has an outstanding degree of evidence-backed impact (learn reasons to trust ACE), making this the most effective quick action DGN endorses. In addition, the Humane League provides more traditional volunteering opportunities to those with the time for it.

Considered a top charity by Animal Charity Evaluators' strict evidence-based criteria (see reasons to trust them), Faunalytics produces research to improve the effectiveness of animal advocacy and provide evidence to animal advocates' arguments. Faunalytics collected data on consumers' acceptance of cultured meat for one of many examples. Faunalytics offers a monthly or weekly newsletter featuring the latest updates on its discoveries at the forefront of animal well-being research (a must-read for animal advocates). Its volunteer opportunities are more time-involved than our minutes-long actions but are likely among the highest-impact actions we've researched. Click the link to see what volunteer roles Faunalytics is currently looking for.

Your career is 80,000 hours long. That's a long time, so it makes sense to think about it critically. Over 60 studies agree that the most fulfilling and enjoyable jobs are those that have a positive impact, so it's a good idea to prioritize doing good in your career. The team at 80,000 hours help you build a satisfying and beneficial career from start to finish: What it means to do good, how to do more of it rather than less, career guides, application advice, and so on. They offer a career guide (with a two-minute summary) helping you think through your career and, once you have flexible plans, a newsletter of job opportunities that do maximal good.

Compassion in World Farming runs animal welfare advocacy campaigns that allow you to contact your representatives in a few clicks. Compassion's impact places it among Animal Charity Evaluators' standout charities (learn reasons to trust ACE). Compassion also offers more involved volunteering. We find Compassion synergistic with the Humane League, as the Humane League focuses on pressuring corporations, whereas Compassion emphasizes policy. Engaging with both is a best-of-both-world scenario: The Humane League has higher tractability and evidence of impact, while Compassion often has a higher potential reward. If you don't have the time, we recommend you focus on the Humane League since its network is more robust and more routinely updated.

Animal Charity Evaluators (ACE) scrupulously combs through animal welfare charities to determine the most effective. As of July 2023, ACE's top charities are Faunalytics, The Humane League, the Good Food Institute, and the Wild Animal Initiative (click here for ACE's current top charities). ACE offers a fund of their recommended charities for convenience. If you choose to donate to charities individually, it seems the Good Food Institute deserves a special emphasis in your donations because of its potential to end factory farming in the long term.

The Good Food Institute (GFI) is among Giving Green and Animal Charity Evaluators' top recommendations (as of July 2023). The GFI's team aims to fix meat production, which is currently a key contributor to climate change, environmental disorder, pandemic risk, and antibiotic-resistant bacteria (to say nothing of its harm to animals). They work through myriad channels: funding & ideas for research, aiding producers, political advocacy, and more. The GFI produces various specialized newsletters, but the GFI's general option, Reimagining Protein, appears to be the best newsletter for keeping you informed about the alt protein sphere.

Another of Animal Charity Evaluators' standouts, Mercy for Animals (MFA) runs investigations, research, and corporate outreach programs in the US, Brazil, Canada, Hong Kong, India, and Mexico. Its action center includes volunteering and quick online advocacy opportunities that combine well with the Humane League since MFA uniquely focuses on both federal and state-level legislation (which is more neglected and tractable).

Dharma Voices for Animals, the world's only Buddhist international animal rights organization, adapts its strategy by country but emphasizes diet change advocacy ahead of its lobbying, restaurant conversion, and veterinary programs. Its primary locations include Sri Lanka, Thailand, Vietnam, and the US, though it also works in Germany, Brazil, Finland, Myanmar, and Australia. Its specialization in countries where animal welfare is more neglected is one reason for its position as a standout charity (according to Animal Charity Evaluators). See reasons to trust ACE.

FIAPO collaborates with 80 members and 200 supporting organizations to build India's animal rights movement and agitate for improved legislation. FIAPO is a standout charity of Animal Charity Evaluators' with impressive accolades such as stopping India’s first mega dairy (to hold 40,000 cows). Animal advocacy is also neglected in India (relative to the US), increasing its expected impact. FIAPO offers year-round volunteer opportunities and you can become a FIAPO animal activist if you desire.

ProVeg was one of Animal Charity Evaluators' standout charities in 2018 (though it was later rejected and has not applied for evaluation since as of July 2023). It offers skill-based volunteer opportunities to support its myriad ventures, which induces advocacy, innovation competitions, and support/funding for organizations and startups.

The Impactful Animal Advocacy newsletter aims to provide regular, concise updates on the latest news, developments, and resources in the animal advocacy space.