Affleck began to explore the possibility of becoming more actively involved in philanthropy in 2007 and was drawn to New York Times columnist Nicholas Kristof's coverage of human rights abuses in the Democratic Republic of Congo.

[2] During two 2008 trips, Affleck reported on the humanitarian crisis for ABC News Nightline[3] and directed a short film, Gimme Shelter, for the UN Refugee Agency.

[5] In 2009, he wrote an essay for Time,[6] spoke at the Global Leadership Awards,[7][8] and served as an executive producer of the HBO documentary film Reporter, which focused on Kristof's work in the Congo.

[9] After five visits to eastern Congo between 2007 and early 2010,[10][11] Affleck developed "a clearer sense of what I wanted to do...[10] What I found was that the people doing the best work, with the real expertise, who understood what was needed intuitively, just like they would in my neighborhood, who knew who the guy was to talk to, were community-based organizations.

[28] In an effort to achieve this goal, ECI has published a white paper and a USAID-supported landscape analysis and searchable database of over 400 of the most effective community-based organizations.

While welcoming increased awareness of the issue of child soldiers, he warned that Western 'saviours' are "ineffectual at best and deadly at worst" and stressed the importance of funding "remarkable local organisations.