Adam Steinberg 🔹
Bio
Participation5
I grew up in Chicago and Charlottesville, VA and worked in Chicago, Seattle, NYC, Wales, and Germany as writer, editor, producer, and in media and communications roles, often touching on education, before falling into teaching English Language and Literature.
Then, in 2001, after over a decade teaching (and advising student green clubs) in international schools, I shifted to a focus on donor relations, outreach, and fundraising for nonprofits. (I also gained some experience as copywriter in an advertising agency.)
Currently, I am PT donor relations coordinator for ALLFED, but I have the capacity for substantially more work. Recent roles include PT communications and outreach lead for GWWC Charity Elections (just discontinued in July) and philanthropy officer for The Life You Can Save in Oceania/Southeast Asia (my family just returned to Germany after two years in Manila).
I am seeking new roles the impact space, EA or otherwise. I am interested in exploring ways to apply my strengths in relationship development, communication and writing, editing, storytelling, planning, creative problem-solving, outreach, project coordination, and other areas, in a role collaborating with others to explain, explore and inspire solutions to today's social and environmental problems.
Alongside an active interest in media and information literacy, in my spare time I'm an amateur recording songwriter (portfolio at http://www.lyricist.net and streaming as A Crooked Mile). I've volunteered as editor for Kiva.org, on comms teams for Giving What We Can (here's one nice blog entry) and High Impact Professionals, and more. I took the Giving What We Can Trial Pledge in 2021 and have exceeded it each year.
Notable accomplishments might include serving as volunteer editor-in-chief of an annual Earth Day Chicago environmental guide for three years (reaching 300,000 as a Chicago Tribune insert) and producing award-winning educational software for Edmark. My MFA (from NYU Tisch) is in Musical Theatre Writing. Didn't see that coming, did ya?
How others can help me
Help me network as I continue to build on my career shift into impact, including but not limited to EA. Advise on the best ways to apply my all-rounder skills to advance EA and other social and environmental causes.
Talk with me about development/fundraising and communications issues facing your organization and how you overcome them. Impart upon me your insights into effective stewardship and running great campaigns.
Current personal interests related to EA include deepening my understanding of various concepts including longtermism, cause prioritization, and AI safety; exploring and developing the stories we use to bring EA to a wider audience; effective giving and the arts; and looking at current thinking around the application of EA approaches and ideas in educational contexts and the working world.
How I can help others
For the moment, I can provide razor-sharp editing skills, similar versatility as a writer, and a drive to take on projects—especially collaboratively—that apply my abilities in an impactful way. I can advise on anything written, including resumes and important correspondence, and I have a decent graphical sense, as well. (Motley collection of samples at www.adamedit.com.) I have experience with career counseling and writing coach as a secondary educator for 15 years. I also have some insights into major gifts work in nonprofits.
More generally, I love good conversations that challenge my priors, so hit me up for a meaningful chat any time about whatever interests you, although especially if you share some interests above. If anyone wants to create something theatrical or musical around EA, I'm your guy.
Posts 5
Comments21
Heya, Rick. To what extent would you say that the donor landscape of EA-associated individuals requires a different approach, from a fundraising perspective, to those outside EA? What tips might you have for an organization aiming to diversify outside the bubble?
And, frankly, the bullet-pointed questions in the lead-in are all of interest, especially (for me) common mistakes made by EA organizers, working with existing funders to find new ones, and the Beatles, of course. Whatever you have bandwidth for based on other questions. Many thanks!
FYI @André Kirschner I have a volunteer looking at translating into German now, though some parts have to wait until next school year's three presented charities are selected, which we hope will be by early June.
Hi, @André Kirschner. We are able to run the program in Germany, though it has not yet been translated into German. If you have thoughts about schools that might be interested, I might be able to dive into my contacts and find localization resources.
Would love to see a similar analysis for LinkedIn, for example. There are a decent list of groups, from 80K to GWWC, Founders Pledge to the project I work with, GWWC Charity Elections, that aim to target people as professionals, or in specific professions or professional contexts. It would be instructive to see what success EA has had engaging audiences through that platform, and how.
Great points! I appreciate your concern about the original ideas being aimed too much at the job title and not enough at the individual, and your thoughts on downside risks are also well taken. I like where you take these ideas from a marketing standpoint, as well.
I have been encouraged by recent developments like the appointment of a head of communications at CEA, and hope ideas like those in my entry above—and improvements upon them, much as you have offered—will be considered increasingly in the coming months.
Stories are powerful things. I know it is just anecdotal, but I would wager The Lorax and possibly other books (The Giving Tree comes to mind in this moment) boosted my interest in environmental protection. Though it may be I was already tending in that direction as a child and they just fit my sensibilities. I mean, I was also reading Konrad Lorenz pretty young...
Love the birds! If you were able to include their bird calls or song, that might make your venture even better a place to maintain one's mental wellness amidst the job hunt.