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I've found Givewell to be incredibly analytical and thoughtful in their analysis of how to get the most bang for the nonprofit buck, and I always consult them b
by glaugh 14y ago
I've found Givewell to be incredibly analytical and thoughtful in their analysis of how to get the most bang for the nonprofit buck, and I always consult them before giving. I'd encourage everyone to visit GiveWell next time they have some reason they're going to give money (or some area they want to give to) but they're not sure to whom to give.
For an example of their work, an analysis of the value of giving cash directly to those in need (instead of, say, a cow): http://blog.givewell.org/2012/12/26/the-case-for-cash-2/ http://blog.givewell.org/2012/12/26/the-case-for-cash-2/
Their top recommended charities: http://www.givewell.org/charities/top-charities http://www.givewell.org/charities/top-charities
(Fwiw: before I entered tech I was a consultant helping big foundations (like Gates, Packard, etc.) assess their performance (as part of http://www.effectivephilanthropy.org http://www.effectivephilanthropy.org). So for a tech person I consider myself reasonably well-versed in nonprofit evaluation--and how difficult it is.)
- johnpowell 14y agoI'm still a little upset with Givewell after what they did over at Metafilter. http://mssv.net/wiki/index.php/Givewell http://mssv.net/wiki/index.php/Givewell
- tdoggette 14y agoSeems awful trivial five years later. Givewell does excellent nonprofit analysis, and they don't seem malicious or unethical in any way that I've seen.
- rms 14y agoYup. It's unfortunate that this still dogs them in internet forums, but it's really only on internet forums where someone always insists on bringing it up.
- benwikler 14y agoOne thing I love about GiveWell is that they publicize and learn from their mistakes, this one included. http://www.givewell.org/about/shortcomings http://www.givewell.org/about/shortcomings They're really, really good people. Like everyone, they did something dumb. Unlike most, they learned from it and spend their lives trying to improve the world.
- rhizome 14y agoThe two people who were penalized in the Metafilter affair are now Co-Executive Directors, i.e. they have worked their ways back to the top.