Profiles in giving: Charlie Bresler

Charlie Bresler, Executive Director of Bainbridge Island–based charity The Life You Can Save (TLYCS), describes his career path as not exactly linear. Six years ago when he was President of The Mens Wearhouse, he walked into the office of founder and CEO George Zimmer and told his lifelong friend that he was done. Bresler was ready to give up the chance to succeed Zimmer as CEO to make a move that was more in line with his desire to be a part of producing meaningful social change. Not wanting to completely part with Bresler, Zimmer and his board worked out a consulting role that continues to this day.

In retrospect, Breslers decision to give up a flourishing career in a mid-cap public company shouldnt have come as a surprise. As a college student at New York University he was an anti-war political activist and pursued that passion by getting a Masters degree from Harvard in Social Studies and Education. Wanting to share his perspective with secondary school students, Bresler tried teaching. After three years however, he re-discovered why he had disliked high school so much. In his view, schools teach students how to determine who is cool, who is smart, and who should be an outcast and furthermore, do a terrible job of presenting students with curricula that prepares them to grapple with the critical issues they will face as citizens.

Fast-forward to 1992 with a Masters and Ph.D. in Psychology from Clark University, married with two kids, and living in San Francisco, Bresler was contemplating his next career move when fate stepped in. He ran into his old childhood friend George Zimmer, who asked him to start a training program for The Mens Wearhouse, which had just gone public the year before. The rest, as they say, is history. Bresler went on to become head of stores, human resources, marketing, and eventually President.

So what possessed him in 2008 to give it all up? In Breslers own blunt words, I have always had this nagging feeling, sometimes more than nagging, that I sold out a critical value of mine that entails doing something of lasting worth beyond my nuclear family. I felt that I had become a lot more hedonistic and self-serving than I ever expected to be, and that I better do something about making a change quickly. He worked with two different CEOs in the social enterprise sphere as an HR coach experiences he describes as incredibly gratifying. Fate stepped in again in 2011 when Bresler read Practical Ethics and The Life You Can Save by philosopher Peter Singer. He was moved to write to Singer, offering to help with his fledgling organization.

Says Bresler, The Life You Can Save is based on some simple beliefs and assumptions. First, through our effective donations we can save actual lives of people dying everyday that would not be dying with the simple interventions available in the developed world. Secondly, we have an ethical obligation to use some portion of our wealth and privilege to save lives and reduce the unnecessary suffering associated with extreme poverty, defined as living on less than $1.25 USD/day.

Now finishing his second full year as Executive Director, Bresler feels that TLYCS has a strong proof of concept namely, The Life You Can Save can move a multiple of dollars invested in organizational infrastructure to the highly effective charities recommended on the “Where to Donate” section of their website. In fact, for every dollar spent by TLYCS theyve been able to move at least three to four dollars to those charities, thus supporting their leverage model.

Furthermore, the development of philanthropy education – the second part of TLYCSs mission – has been fueled by impressive growth in traffic to their website, and continued significant increases in participants of their Giving Games. Bresler is particularly enthusiastic about the recent addition to the website of the Charity Impact Calculator which allows users to see exactly what their donations will buy for those in need.

Bresler is looking for people in Seattle and around the world who want to financially support The Life You Can Save in order to bring the organization to scale. He also sees great opportunities for people to volunteer their specific skills, as several incredibly talented people are currently doing.

After many years of being focused on my nuclear family, community of friends and relatives, and my job, I often have the feeling now that the life I am saving is my own,” says Bresler. “Helping to ameliorate suffering and saving lives among the worlds poorest people through the work of the great charities we recommend is such a rare privilege.

Charlie Bresler is Executive Director of The Life You Can Save, an organization that promotes effective altruism in reducing world poverty by highlighting charities that make the biggest difference in the most effective ways. Charlie was previously president of The Men’s Wearhouse. He can be reached at [email protected]