The GiveWell Blog

GiveWell’s progress in 2012

This is the first post (of five) we’re planning to make focused on our self-evaluation and future plans. As in past years, we’re going to be posting our annual self-evaluation and plan as a series of blog posts. This post summarizes what changed for GiveWell in 2012 and what it means for the future. Future…

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In memory of Aaron Swartz

Note: this post is in memory of Aaron Swartz. Aaron was a friend of and volunteer for GiveWell, and his family has recommended GiveWell for donations in his memory. We are deeply grateful for the help and support that Aaron provided during his lifetime, as well as for the outpouring of generosity that has come…

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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…

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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…

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GiveWell’s annual charity recommendations refresh

As we do every year, we’re planning to release updated charity recommendations by December 1st. We’re currently weighing what we’ve learned about the organizations that could receive our top ratings. Currently, the contenders for top spots are Against Malaria Foundation (AMF) (our current #1 charity), Schistosomiasis Control Initiative (SCI) (our current #2 charity), and GiveDirectly…

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