The GiveWell Blog

Getting the word out

It’s been about 5 days since we released our Africa report, and now we’re trying to get the word out. Some stuff: This week’s Chronicle of Philanthropy features us, and in a true act of sadism puts me on the cover. Smart Money mentions us in an article on intelligent giving. On the other hand,…

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Thanks

Elie and I get all the headlines, and the ladies, but GiveWell is a lot more than the two of us. This seems like a good time to thank: Our donors, mostly former coworkers who believed in us and stepped up to make GiveWell possible, even when it was nothing but an idea. Now, of…

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Why are you reading this?

For nearly a year now, we’ve been talking about creating the world’s first truly useful donor resource: one that goes beyond naive and meaningless metrics like “how much of my money goes to program”? and instead looks at what charities do and whether it works. It’s not an idea anymore, it’s a product. It exists…

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Where should you give?

When you’re donating, do you want a “safe and reputable” charity – or the best? From fighting disease in Africa to improving inner-city education, helping people isn’t simple – for charities OR for donors. That’s why it isn’t enough to know that “99% of your money goes to programs.” (In fact, we think it’s often…

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3 . . . 2 . . . 1 . . .

This Monday, we will release the beta for the product we’ve been promising since day one: a full account of what charities we recommend, and why, in five different humanitarian causes. (Only one cause will be available at first, but the others will come online within 5-10 weeks.) I blogged yesterday only because I had…

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