Now that giving season has ended, we will be shifting our priorities and slowing down the pace of blog posts. Here’s a quick overview of the highlights from our last few months: You Can Save A Life: GiveWell in a nutshell. Why give to a charity with a great story and nebulous impact, when by…
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Philanthropedia’s report on microfinance
I believe that Philanthropedia has a promising model. We were glad to join with them on a recent press release urging donors to look beyond administrative expense ratios. We are potentially interested in collaborating with them and/or incorporating their work in the future. I examined their new report on microfinance with great interest. At this…
UPenn Center for High-Impact Philanthropy
Before giving season ends, we wanted to make sure to put in a good word for the UPenn Center for High-Impact Philanthropy (which we have mentioned before). We have carefully reviewed the Center’s reports on malaria and U.S. education, both of which overlap heavily with the research we have done. We consistently find their statements…
Celebrated charities that we don’t recommend
Note added April 2024: As we explain on our mistakes page, the tone of this blog post, which was written much earlier in our organizational history, fails to convey our uncertainty about the impact of these programs. It also doesn’t indicate that our research involves forming best guesses based on limited information, and that we…
Comment on Barron’s “25 Best Givers” list
In concept, I like the idea of showering praise on people based on their philanthropic impact, not merely dollars given (or dollars made). But I am skeptical as to whether Barron’s did the research necessary to base its piece on facts as opposed to guesses. Taking a look at this list, what jumps out at…
Comments on this blog
Lately we have seen a surge in thoughtful and interesting comments on this blog. To those participating in the discussions, thank you and please keep them coming. We try to respond to any comment that is substantive and critical, though when there are as many as there have been lately, we may go a few…