High Impact Professionals: Enabling Working Professionals to Maximize Their Positive Impact

By High Impact Professionals @ 2024-11-11T12:14 (+45)

High Impact Professionals (HIP) has already driven at least 20 career transitions and inspired 20 effective giving pledges in 2024 alone, generating over $1 million in counterfactual impact. To sustain this work, HIP requires a minimum budget of $136,000 for an additional year of operations; however, a preferred baseline budget of $191,000 will enable HIP to expand its work and impact. Our current runway extends to February 2025. With your support, we can continue empowering experienced professionals to make high-impact career changes across diverse causes. Contact us or make a donation here.

2024 Achievements & Impact

In 2024, HIP has achieved the following:

• At least 20 career transitions: Through the Impact Accelerator Program (IAP) and Talent Directory (TD), HIP guided experienced professionals into high-impact roles.
• 20 pledges inspired: HIP motivated 9 lifetime 🔸10% Pledges and 11 🔹Trial Pledges, fostering a culture of effective giving.
• Over $1 million in estimated counterfactual impact: This includes counterfactual impact created by high-impact career transitions and pledges through the IAP, TD, and HIP Pledge Partnership.

Goals for 2025 & Beyond

In 2025, HIP aims to achieve:

• 50 career transitions: We expect to achieve 35 high impact career transitions in 2025 on the minimum budget; but, we want to get this up to 50 via the baseline budget, which will enable us to expand the amount of experienced professionals going through the IAP and increase the use of the TD.
• Increased awareness and participation in effective giving: We plan to continue promoting the HIP Pledge Partnership, expecting 20 new pledges in 2025.

To sustain and expand HIP’s impact, funding is required beyond our current runway, which extends to February 2025.

Case Studies

HIP’s programs have led to significant high-impact career transitions. Here are a few examples:

• AI Safety Career Transition: After a three-year break from AI Safety to focus on meditation, this participant joined HIP’s Impact Accelerator Program (IAP). Through IAP, they regained motivation and clarity about their career path, ultimately securing a contractor role with the Utah Office of AI Policy to address AI risk forecasting and scenario planning - an area the Office had not previously planned to explore. The participant noted that “Utah may be the earliest conservative state to release AI regulation, and other conservative states may follow our lead.” They attributed HIP’s support as pivotal in clarifying their goals and relaunching their job search. Since then, they have co-founded Eleos AI, a nonprofit organization dedicated to understanding and addressing the potential wellbeing and moral patienthood of AI systems.
• Hiring at Family Empowerment Media (FEM): Family Empowerment Media cited HIP’s Talent Directory as their top source of “high-quality candidates.” The TD provided 30% of the organization’s final-stage hires for an operations hiring round, underscoring HIP’s role in connecting impactful organizations with experienced professionals. In particular, two of their staff were hired through the TD.

Funding Priorities

HIP currently has a runway through February 2025 and requires further funding to sustain and grow its impact:

• Minimum Budget: $136,000 for 12 months to support HIP’s ongoing operations at the current organization size (Executive Director & Director of Operations).
• Baseline Budget: $191,000 for 12 months to add a Director of Programs after six months.
• Maximum Budget: $232,000 for 12 months to add a Director of Programs for the full 12 months, significantly enhancing HIP’s capacity.

Why Support HIP?

Supporting HIP contributes to a future where experienced professionals across diverse sectors and cause areas can maximize their impact. HIP’s track record demonstrates its success in guiding seasoned professionals into impactful roles, inspiring effective giving pledges, and creating significant counterfactual impact through programs like the IAP and TD. With additional funding, HIP can scale these proven programs, expand resources for high-impact career transitions, and continue connecting skilled professionals to opportunities that drive meaningful, sustainable change. This unique approach fills a critical gap in the EA ecosystem, leveraging the skills, networks, and influence of experienced professionals to create high positive impact across causes.

How to Support HIP?

You can help HIP empower experienced professionals to drive social change by:

• Making a donation through our donation page to directly support our programs.
• Contacting Nina Friedrich (nina@highimpactprofessionals.org) if you have further questions on HIP’s programs, impact, or funding needs.

Together, we can continue to unlock the potential of skilled professionals to maximize their positive impact across a range of causes.