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Doesn't apply here, but in theory a charity could reinvest for growth like a startup and only than start helping people and do more good, no :) ? Slippery slop
by anotheryou 6y ago
Doesn't apply here, but in theory a charity could reinvest for growth like a startup and only than start helping people and do more good, no :) ?
Slippery slope, but might be the reasonable thing for effective altruism.
- leoedin 6y agoThey actually do. Charities often hire external fund raising agencies to try to solicit more donations (essentially call centres phoning up people who've donated before). Return on investment might be 2x spend. I've had friends work in the charity fundraising sector - its a bit eye opening how much money the big name charities spend on overheads in high cost of living major cities.
- loceng 6y agoAlong with the externalities of much less of your money actually going to the charity, and of being regularly solicited/harassed on the street by the same people wearing whatever vest related to the charity they're promoting on that day; they're akin to popup ads that everyone despised.
- toast0 6y agoYes, if the charity is geting 2x the spending with the fundraiser, that means the fundraiser is getting 1/3 of the funds. Pretty gross, IMHO, but if the charity needs (or can reasonably use) 2x the funds, it's kind of hard to argue against the results.
- loceng 6y agoI have heard it is 50%+ that the fundraiser keeps.
- PoignardAzur 6y agoI disagree. First, because there's some evidence that most people will give a fixed amount to charity (I'm too lazy to find a source), so they're playing a zero-sum game and any fundraising overhead just takes away from money being given to people who need it. Second, because that money doesn't come from a vaccuum. People who spent it on charitable causes could have spent it on other things; some of these things might be a new smartphone or fancy food; but some of them might have been an electric car or a college fund or whatever. So super-expensive fundraising takes money away from other parts of society, some of which might be productive, to sink it into the giant resource-wasting game that it advertising. Personally speaking, I donate to the Global Fund. They do relatively little advertising, but they get shit done.