Our choice to name GiveDirectly as our #2 charity has drawn some surprise and criticism. GiveDirectly seeks to deliver 90c directly into the hands of the very poor (no strings attached) for every $1 of total organizational expenses. There are many people who consider this intervention “unproven” (since there is not research linking cash transfers…
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More on the ranking of our top charities
We previously wrote that we think cash transfers are likely to be significantly less cost-effective (in terms of “good accomplished per dollar donated”) than deworming; yet we rank GiveDirectly higher than Schistosomiasis Control Initiative. We gave some basic indications of our reasoning in the strengths/weaknesses table of our announcement post. Since then, we’ve had further…
Cost-effectiveness of nets vs. deworming vs. cash transfers
Update 12/5/2014: we update our cost-effectiveness models annually. The most up-to-date versions can be found here. This post discusses how we see the relative “bang-for-the-buck” – good accomplished per dollar spent – of three interventions: Distribution of insecticide-treated nets to fight malaria, the intervention carried out by our #1 charity (the Against Malaria Foundation). Unconditional direct…
Evidence of impact for long-term benefits
We’ve recently published our updated review on the evidence on cash transfers. It elaborates on a claim we’ve made previously – that there is evidence for long-term benefits from cash transfers at high average rates of return. Some people have expressed skepticism of this evidence, pointing to several limitations: there are not many studies, some…
Our top charities for the 2012 giving season
Over the past year, we’ve continued to follow and investigate our existing top charities, and we’ve also looked for more outstanding giving opportunities. Today we are announcing our updated top charities: 1. Against Malaria Foundation (AMF). AMF focuses on distribution of insecticide-treated nets to prevent malaria; of all the charitable interventions we know of that…
7 tips for giving efficiently
If you’re planning on giving to charity this holiday season, there are a few simple steps you can take that can save a lot of money – allowing you to give more at the same cost to yourself – as well as reduce hassle. 1. Don’t wait until the last minute. Many donors wait until…