Even with a busy schedule, there are easy micro-volunteering actions you can take to support your local, national, or regional EA group as well as other EA organizations engaged in outreach and community building.
These small steps can fit “whenever, wherever” — and even brief acts of support can add up to meaningful impact.
Below are 15 concrete suggestions, each with a short explanation of why it matters to your group’s mission.
- Invite a Friend to an Event or the Community
Why it matters: Many people get involved simply because someone asked them. In fact, about 41% of volunteers say they started because they were personally invited or asked to join. Inviting a friend or colleague to a meetup, an intro talk, or even into your group's Slack/WhatsApp channel is a quick action that can have a big ripple effect. That friend gets exposed to new ideas and our supportive network – possibly leading them to engage further, seek career coaching, or at least walk away with a positive impression. Even if they just attend once, they might tell others or come back when they’re ready to explore doing good in their career. It’s grassroots growth: one friendly nudge can spark someone’s journey. Events like EAGx are rising in influence (15% of respondents now cite them as important in their EA journey), pushing conferences, meetups, social or other events is a high-leverage way to connect new people to the community. - Like, Share, or Comment on Your Groups Posts
Why it matters: Engaging with social media posts boosts their visibility. For example, on LinkedIn, comments in particular are weighted heavily by the algorithm – more comments lead to significantly greater reach. By simply reacting or leaving a thoughtful comment (even a sentence or two), you help more people see the content. This increased exposure can draw in new folks who might not have heard of EA or your group, strengthening their brand and sparking curiosity about our career support and events. - Invite LinkedIn Connections to Follow Your Group's Page
Why it matters: Each personal invitation expands your group's reach to new audiences. People trust recommendations from friends and colleagues far more than ads, so a quick invite is a highly credible way to grow our community. The more followers our LinkedIn page has, the more visibility and influence your group's posts gain – attracting potential new members or coaching participants with minimal effort. As EA Survey from 2024 suggests, personal connections are one of the strongest channels through which people first hear about EA (17.9%) and go on to get involved (45%) — so your invites & referrals really move the needle and act in the similar way. - Share EA Content with Your Own Perspective
Why it matters: When you share an article, event, or success story on your personal social media (LinkedIn, Twitter, etc.) with a note of your own, it personalizes the message. Your friends and followers get to see why it resonates with you. Such peer-to-peer advocacy is powerful – recommendations from people we know are highly trusted. By adding your voice (for instance, “I found this insight from [Organisation] really useful…”), you not only spread awareness but also lend social proof that our cause matters, potentially inspiring others to check out this group's page or programs. When you share EA-relevant content (e.g. blog posts, tools) plus your personal take, you leverage the fact that content is already a major route into EA for many — and your commentary adds the personal touch to boost trust and uptake. - Welcome New Members in Slack or at Events
Why it matters: A warm welcome can make someone’s day and strongly influence whether new members stay engaged. Early involvement and personal recognition significantly boost member retention and commitment. So, greeting a newcomer on our Slack “#introductions” channel, or saying hello to a first-timer at a meetup, helps them feel valued and included. This supportive culture not only strengthens our community, but also increases the chances that newcomers will stick around, participate in programs, and maybe pursue high-impact career paths with our guidance. Given EA’s often high epistemic standards and distinct culture, newcomers may feel intimidated to join discussions and feel excluded at the start. - Answer a Question or Share a Resource on Slack
Why it matters: If you see someone asking about career advice, cause research, or opportunities in our Slack, chime in if you can. Sharing a quick resource or your own insight keeps the community vibrant and collaborative. It turns passive members into active learners. Over time, this habit of knowledge-sharing builds a richer support network – members learn about new tools and ideas, potentially discover career options, and feel more confident about EA principles. In short, every little contribution helps create an environment where members are more informed, engaged, and likely to take impactful actions (like exploring a new job opening they learned about through Slack). - Give Feedback and Ideas
Why it matters: One of the easiest ways to help is simply sharing your thoughts. When your group sends out a survey or asks for input on Slack (“What events/topics should we focus on?”), take a moment to respond. Your perspective as a member is incredibly valuable – it helps us improve organization's offerings and align with what the community needs. Similarly, if you have a creative idea or notice something a group could do better, you can drop us a quick note. This not only helps the organization grow, but it also makes you an active part of shaping this group's direction. Psychologically, when members contribute ideas, they feel more ownership and connection to the group’s success. So by speaking up with feedback, you’re both strengthening your group and increasing your own engagement – a win-win for impact. - Offer Micro-Mentoring or Advice
Why it matters: You don’t need a formal volunteer role to make a difference in someone’s career – sometimes a 15-minute conversation can be transformative. If a student or fellow professional in your group seeks advice in your field, consider hopping on a quick call or answering their questions in chat. By sharing your experience or knowledge, you might help them avoid pitfalls or discover a new direction. These brief mentorship moments can directly lead to career transitions (for example, your guidance might encourage someone to apply for a high-impact job or pursue further study). They also strengthen the culture of members lifting each other up. Everyone benefits when we tap into our community’s diverse expertise, and it only takes a small slice of your time to have a potentially outsized impact on someone’s trajectory. - Connect Your Group with Useful Contacts or Opportunities
Why it matters: You might know someone or something that could benefit your group – and introducing them takes only a moment. For example, if your company is looking for volunteer partners, or you have a contact in a high-impact industry who could speak at an event, simply sending a quick email or Slack message to connect them with our team can open doors. Often, weak ties (casual connections) bring in fresh opportunities that your group's core team might not find on their own. This kind of networking support can lead to new career mentors for members, internship pipelines, sponsorships, or other collaborations. In short, your everyday connections can become bridges that amplify our impact. - Reflect and Share Your EA Story
Why it matters: Take a moment to think about the big or small ways your EA Group has supported you — maybe through career coaching, an event, newsletter or just a helpful connection. Sharing that reflection, whether in an email, on Slack, in a chat with another member, or (if you’re comfortable) more publicly, can inspire others to see what’s possible for them too. Human stories resonate more than abstract ideas: when people hear a peer’s real journey, it builds relatability, hope, and motivation. Even just a few sentences from you can be incredibly valuable. Many groups will be happy to help shape your experience into a story of impact for their website or newsletters, so you don’t need to compose much yourself. These shared stories not only strengthen our community identity but also provide tangible proof to outsiders — from potential members to funders — that your EA group makes a difference. In short, your story becomes part of your group's story. - Use Your Professional Skills for a Micro-task.
Why it helps: If you have a skill like writing, design, data crunching, or just a good eye for details, let your group know if you’d be up for a one-off micro-task. It could be as simple as reviewing a text, updating website information, helping with a graphic, or sharing tips from your field. Even tiny bits of pro bono help can save a small and resource-constrained organisation a lot of time and raise the quality of what they do. For you, it’s usually just a few minutes; for them, it can make a big difference. - Support Your Group Through Small Donations or Fundraisers
Why it matters: If you’re able, contributing even a small amount or doing a tiny fundraiser can help sustain their work. For instance, you could donate the cost of one coffee a month to your group or their donation platform, or use a birthday Facebook fundraiser to encourage donations to an effective charity. These are low-effort gestures that add up. Beyond the direct financial help (which funds career coaching sessions, community events, etc.) or other effective charities, it also signals commitment. When members give even a little, it shows external funders and the community that we have a strong base of support. Moreover, you yourself might feel more connected – a phenomenon where people who donate time or money often become more invested in an organization’s success . It’s a virtuous cycle: small giving can lead to greater involvement and vice versa. - See if Your Workplace Matches Donations
Why it helps: If you are already donating or considering this, some employers match donations their staff make to charities. A quick check with HR or your intranet can tell you if that’s available. If your group (or another effective charity you support) is eligible, it’s an easy way to double your contribution at no extra cost. Small donations from members, when matched, also signal to funders that our community backs what they do. - Mention Your EA Group When It Fits
Why it matters: Everyday chats about work, studies, or current issues can be a natural moment to mention your EA group if it feels relevant. It doesn’t need to be a big pitch — just sharing something you’ve found useful or interesting (“I’ve been involved with [Organisation], they do career coaching around global challenges”) can spark curiosity in a low-key way. Over time, these small, genuine mentions help more people become aware of what we do, without it feeling forced. Someone might even remember it later when thinking about their own career or ways to have an impact. - Make Your EA Group a Tiny Habit
Why it matters: One way to ensure you keep supporting is to integrate it into your routine. For example, you could decide, “Every Friday during lunch, I’ll spend 5 minutes on a quick [Your EA Group] action,” whether that’s inviting a contact, sharing a post, or sending a helpful Slack message. By doing this regularly, you benefit from consistency – in psychology, when people commit to a small action, they often feel an obligation (and desire) to follow through with larger related actions over time. In other words, starting small builds momentum. This foot-in-the-door effect means your tiny weekly habit not only continuously helps your group in little ways, but also makes you more likely to take on bigger contributions in the future, should you find the time. It’s like training a “muscle” of giving back, and it keeps our community momentum going strong all year round.
Together, these small actions can create a powerful ripple effect. By integrating even a few of these low-effort suggestions into your life, you help grow your group’s network, enrich the community, and amplify the mission of enabling high-impact careers and projects.
Each person’s contribution — no matter how quick or simple — plays a role in building a better world. Hopefully, this list makes it easy and rewarding for more people to get involved!
I agree. I would also add that personal contacts and EAGx are commonly cited as the largest positive influences on people's ability to have an impact: personal contact with EAs is the most commonly cited (42.3% of respondents), while EAGx is cited by 13.1% of respondents (which should be interpreted in light of the fact that only minority of EAs have ever attended an EAGx). These factors are both particularly influential for the most highly engaged EAs.
They are also both highly close to the top most commonly mentioned sources of people making interesting and valuable new connections (EAG/EAGx combined is top (31.6%), followed by personal contacts (30.8%), with EAGx specifically being 19.2% of respondents.
Thank you for writing this up, Kyril! I think these are fantastic options for people who want to engage and support the community, but cannot invest a lot of time.
Executive summary: This post shares 15 practical, low-effort ways individuals can meaningfully support their local or national EA groups, emphasizing that even small, routine actions—like inviting a friend, commenting on posts, or donating a little—can compound into significant community growth and impact.
Key points:
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