Charity recommendation report: Action for happiness

Abstract

Monetary affluence, good health, and subjective well-being are widely studied but often evaluated in isolation. This study’s primary argument positions subjective well-being as a direct target of intervention, equally as important as income and health. The RCT-backed Exploring What Matters (EWM) course, conducted by the UK charity Action for Happiness, is a case in point. To facilitate interventions such as EWM and scale up their impact, Founders Pledge is advised to fund Action for Happiness with £1 million ($1.3 million) from 2020 to 2022, enabling a course participant increase from 2,198 to 10,200 people per year. After analyzing depression, happiness, and life satisfaction Bayes-updated effect sizes, the authors estimate the cost of averting one year of major depressive disorder at $1,823 and cost per happiness point year gain at $197. Accounting for the course’s wider positive effects and uncertainties in the estimates, Action for Happiness proves to be a promising donation opportunity to directly boost subjective well-being. – AI-generated abstract.