Would you rather hear about a good charity or a bad one? When I’m explaining GiveWell to someone, there often comes a moment where his/her eyes suddenly light up, and s/he says something like, “So you bust the bad guys, eh? Can you tell me about a really bad one you’ve nailed?” (Paraphrased.) This sort…
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Understanding the achievement gap
From 2004-2006, I gave all my donations to organizations focused on helping inner-city youth (particularly academically). Equality of opportunity was my favorite cause, and I assumed (without having time to really look into it) that inequality stemmed from the gap in quality between different grade schools. I now believe that this assumption was badly wrong,…
Emergency assistance for donors
In the wake of the cyclone in Myanmar, donors need help. Google “Myanmar” and you’ll see a huge list of organizations advertising for donations. I don’t know whether they’re coordinating on the ground, but they’re certainly competing when it comes to raising money – and donors, including myself, have virtually nothing to go on in…
Cyclone relief: Recommendation and questions
I had a typical reaction to the disaster in Myanmar: wanting to do something. I have spent very little time looking into the area of disaster relief, so after a bit of Googling and discussion with Elie, I gave to Population Services International for two reasons: PSI was the winner of our “saving lives” cause…
Why nitpick?
In response to Elie’s recent series of posts on malnutrition, John J. comments: “What specific nutrients are they missing…etc etc etc?” Here’s a question for you: What possible use is this question to Givewell? Do you really need to get into such miniscule depth with regard to poor people who can’t afford enough food and…
Evaluating organizations vs. practices
Sean Stannard-Stockton wants to see more research focused on particular nonprofits, rather than on “techniques” for helping people; his reasoning is that this would be more useful to donors. I don’t believe it’s possible to evaluate a nonprofit as an organization, completely in isolation from what it does and whether it works. Especially if I’m…