he could move himself and the SI to a less expensive area (the Silicon Valley is one of the most expensive areas in the world, and there doesn't seem to be a compelling reason for the SI to be located there)
There are compelling reasons to be there: it is the epicenter of the global tech world. You will not find a place more interested in these topics, with more potential donors, critics, potential employees, etc.
This is the same reasoning for why the WikiMedia Foundation moved from St Petersburg, Florida to San Francisco back in 2007 or 2008 or so: that they would be able to recruit more talent and access more big donors.
I was a little disgusted at the high cost of living since I thought the WMF's role ought to be basically keeping the servers running and it was a bad idea to go after more ambitious projects and the big donors to pay for those projects. But sure enough, a year or two later, the multi-million dollar donations and grants began to come in. Or notice that Givewell is still located in NYC, even after spending a while working out of India with a much lower cost of living (Mumbai, not your Calcutta, but close enough).
I still think the projects themselves are largely wasted, and that the WMF should have been obsessed with reducing editor attrition & deletionism rather than SWPL projects like African DVDs and so I stopped donating long ago; but the move itself performed as advertised.
There are compelling reasons to be there: it is the epicenter of the global tech world. You will not find a place more interested in these topics, with more potential donors, critics, potential employees, etc.
This is the same reasoning for why the WikiMedia Foundation moved from St Petersburg, Florida to San Francisco back in 2007 or 2008 or so: that they would be able to recruit more talent and access more big donors.
AFAIK the SI doens't do software development or direct computer science research. Other than operating Less Wrong, their main outputs see...
Please refer to the updated documented here: http://lesswrong.com/lw/5il/siai_an_examination/
This version is an old draft.
NOTE: Analysis here will be updated as people point out errors! I've tried to be accurate, but this is my first time looking at these (somewhat hairy) non-profit tax documents. Errors will be corrected as soon as I know of them! Please double check and criticize this work that it might improve.
Document History:
Todo:
Disclaimer:
Acting on gwern's suggestion in his Girl Scout Cookie analysis, here is a first pass at looking at SIAI funding, suggestions for a funding task-force, etc.
The SIAI's Form 990's are available at GuideStar and Foundation Center. You must register in order to access the files at GuideStar.
Overview
Analysis:
Revenue
Analysis:
Expenses
Analysis:
Big Donors
Analysis
Officer Compensation
Prior to doing this investigation, I had some expectation that the Singularity Summit was a money losing operation. I had an expectation that Eliezer probably made around $70k (programmer money discounted for being paid by a non-profit). I figured the SIAI had a broader donor base. I was off base on all counts.* I am not currently an SIAI supporter. My findings have greatly increased the probability that I will donate in the future.
Overall, the allocation of funds strikes me as highly efficient. I don't know exactly how much the SIAI is spending on food and fancy tablecloths at the Singularity Summit, but I don't think I care: it's growing and it's nearly breaking even. An attendee can have a very confident expectation that their fee covers their cost to the organization. If you go and contribute you add pure value by your attendance.
At the same time, the organization has been able to expand services without draining the coffers. A donor can hold a strong expectation that the bulk of their donation will go toward actual work in the form of salaries for working personnel or events like the Visiting Fellows Program.
Eliezer's compensation is slightly more than I thought. I'm not sure what upper bound I would have balked at or would balk at. I do have some concern about the cost of recruiting additional Research Fellows. The cost of additional RFs has to be weighed against new programs like Visiting Fellows.
The organization appears to be managing its cash reserves well. It would be good to see the SIAI build up some asset reserves so that it could operate comfortably in years were public support dips or so that it could take advantage of unexpected opportunities.
The organization has a heavy reliance on major donor support. I would expect the 2010 filing to reveal a broadening of revenue and continued expansion of services, but I do not expect the organization to have become independent of big donor support. Things are much improved from 2006 and without the initial support from Peter Thiel the SIAI would not be able to provide the services it has, but it would still be good to see the SIAI operating capacity be larger than any one donor's annual contribution. It is important for Less Wrong to begin a discussion of broadening SIAI revenue sources.
Where to Start?
There is low hanging fruit to be found. The SIAI's annual revenue is well within the range of our ability to effect significant impact. These suggestions aren't all equal in their promise, they are just things that come to my mind.