From the recent discussion on Tactical Philanthropy: As philanthropists/donors/funders, we spend so much time thinking about how to maximize social benefit through our activities, that often we lose sight of the personal benefits that we experience from these endeavors. We disagree. Consider the current state of the nonprofit sector. We have practically no information about…
The GiveWell Blog
Month: November 2009
Our process: Narrowing the field
One of the aspects of our research process that has generated some objections is our use of “heuristics,” i.e., shortcuts to winnow the field of recommended charities from 300+ to a manageable number for closer investigation. The heuristics we use are described here. A good statement of the objections comes this comment at Hatrack forums:…
Donor illusions
There’s an persistent conflict in international charity: It feels great to be able to say, “My donation helped THIS person.” But it’s rarely – if ever – practical for that sort of connection to be real. As a result, international charities tend to create “donor illusions” by implying that donations can be attributed more tangibly,…
Evaluating microfinance charities
When we think about microfinance, we don’t ask “which person” or “which story” to fund; we think about which organization to fund. As explained at our discussion of microfinance myths, we don’t think the traditional story donors are told is accurate. We do think microfinance could be helping people in other ways – or hurting…
How would a malaria vaccine affect charity?
What happens if a malaria vaccine becomes available – and is far more effective than medicine and perhaps insecticide-treated nets? I hope that all malaria charities will transition, as smoothly as they can, to assisting with immunization programs. But I’m not sure. Immunization-focused charities include the GAVI Alliance, the Measles Initiative and VillageReach. Malaria-focused charities…
Microfinance where access already exists
A key argument for supporting microfinance is that “Millions of families are … without access” to financial services. Families may often lack access to credit, but they don’t always – and microfinance institutions may not always be clear on which situation they’re dealing with. A 1999 paper by Brett Coleman (PDF) aims to examine the…