Holden and I have been reviewing applications for Cause 5: help disadvantaged adults become economically self-supporting. This is what we’ve learned so far and what we’re just generally wondering about. We initially envisioned this cause pretty broadly, but we’ve found that there are a critical mass of organizations that follow the same basic model: take…
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Why I’m here
I’m starting full-time at GiveWell today largely because I can’t think of a bigger problem that needs solving than poor, African children dying from a handful of diseases that we, in the developed world, cured/dealt with half-a-century ago ( e.g., diarrhea, malaria, tuberculosis, and pneumonia). So, we no longer have to solve the difficult problem…
Where I’m coming from
Last August, I decided that I wanted to give to charity, and I started working with Holden and a few other friends researching non-profits. We thought that with a little legwork, we’d be able to find the best organization in a given cause (clean water, say) by asking each organization two very basic questions: 1)…
Who should I help: My friend or my pet?
Note from Elie: I don’t stand by this post, and it’s been left up only as a matter of historical record. This post was made very early on in GiveWell’s history, when GiveWell was a part-time project and Holden and I saw the blog as a place to experiment, have fun, give exaggerated versions of…
Recommending Population Services International
I understand that a lot of you have been sitting on the edge of your seats, wondering when GiveWell is going to recommend an organization for fighting diarrheal illness. Your wait is over. My research on diarrhea began as an interest in the cause of “water.” It’s a very popular cause, and a very marketable…
Thinking in numbers
I think in numbers. I’ve always thought in numbers. When I think about charity, my first instinct is to think of how to save the most lives with the fewest dollars. So Holden’s argument that malaria and diarrhea are “cheaper” than obstetric fistula–in a “dollars per person” sense–has obvious appeal. But then, I think about…