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Best site I know to look for effective nonprofits: http://givewell.net/ http://givewell.net/. They have a good blog as well (I would especially recommend their

by BvS 18y ago

Best site I know to look for effective nonprofits: http://givewell.net/ http://givewell.net/. They have a good blog as well (I would especially recommend their take on program expenses vs. total expenses: http://blog.givewell.net/?cat=6 http://blog.givewell.net/?cat=6).

blasdel 18y ago
God no, they are the slimiest bunch of scammers: http://mssv.net/wiki/index.php/Givewell http://mssv.net/wiki/index.php/Givewell 1) A so-called "charity" engages in shady, dishonest marketing online 2) It's soaking up a huge amount of money as salary, while not doing anything itself, rather it's trying to act as a "charity middle man" 3) They promote transparency and accountability in philanthropy without bothering to practice what they preach. 4) Hedge fund wankers continuing to act in a greed-is-good manner despite entering a philanthropic endeavor, and weakening trust in non-profits indirectly (by being shady themselves) and directly (by bashing other charities anonymously in order to promote themselves).
- BvS 18y ago
  1) I agree that they made some online comments while hiding their identity. On the other hand they apologized in a way that makes me believe that they will not do it again (check their blog or the mp3s of the board meeting following the incident). 2) They are totally transparent about their salaries which are obviously only a fraction of what they earned while working for hedge fonds (around 60,000 for NYC isn't that much, is it?). Since they are trying to allocate donation money to the ngos which are most efficient, they are actually doing a very important job. Having worked in development aid myself I can assure you that the output (saved lives... )per $ varies probably even more than if you compare programmers in a tech company. Just giving everyone the same amount although one is ten time as productive doesn't seem like a good idea. 3) I haven't heared about any ngo as transparent as GiveWell (providing the records of their board meetings as an mp3 is just one example, check out their website for more). 4) Just because they have worked for a hedge fund in the past means that they are up to no good? Don't get the argument.

by BvS 18y ago

blasdel 18y ago

God no, they are the slimiest bunch of scammers: http://mssv.net/wiki/index.php/Givewell http://mssv.net/wiki/index.php/Givewell 1) A so-called "charity" engages in shady, dishonest marketing online 2) It's soaking up a huge amount of money as salary, while not doing anything itself, rather it's trying to act as a "charity middle man" 3) They promote transparency and accountability in philanthropy without bothering to practice what they preach. 4) Hedge fund wankers continuing to act in a greed-is-good manner despite entering a philanthropic endeavor, and weakening trust in non-profits indirectly (by being shady themselves) and directly (by bashing other charities anonymously in order to promote themselves).

BvS 18y ago
1) I agree that they made some online comments while hiding their identity. On the other hand they apologized in a way that makes me believe that they will not do it again (check their blog or the mp3s of the board meeting following the incident). 2) They are totally transparent about their salaries which are obviously only a fraction of what they earned while working for hedge fonds (around 60,000 for NYC isn't that much, is it?). Since they are trying to allocate donation money to the ngos which are most efficient, they are actually doing a very important job. Having worked in development aid myself I can assure you that the output (saved lives... )per $ varies probably even more than if you compare programmers in a tech company. Just giving everyone the same amount although one is ten time as productive doesn't seem like a good idea. 3) I haven't heared about any ngo as transparent as GiveWell (providing the records of their board meetings as an mp3 is just one example, check out their website for more). 4) Just because they have worked for a hedge fund in the past means that they are up to no good? Don't get the argument.