All of aeschenkarnos's Comments + Replies

I don't know what metric you're using to determine whether CN or GiveWell has a significantly higher online profile, but "charitynavigator.org" returns ten times as many hits on Google as "givewell.org" No doubt about it, Charity Navigator evaluates more charities, but they're able to do so because they use a substantially less rigorous methodology. They carry out a fundamentally different function: they're a watchdog group, aiming to avoid fraud, while GiveWell conducts research to try to find excellent charities, a much more difficult task. (Looks like Yvain makes this point above). Because it's younger and appeals to a smaller group of people that want to maximize their impact, GiveWell moves substantially less money than Charity Navigator (though it's growing). Edit: I've been a fan of the GiveWell project for quite some time, and have an informal agreement to join GiveWell as an employee in mid-2011. I'm a student and was commenting simply on my own behalf, without any discussion with GiveWell. After Holden commented, I emailed him to say that I had commented, and he recommended that I disclose my plan to work for them.

"we may use these funds for operating expenses or grants to charities, at our discretion" (source: http://www.givewell.org/about/donate ) This does not imply "we will treat the charities fairly" at all. It implies nothing about the numerical split. My quick attempt to find charity navigator's favorite charities: http://www.charitynavigator.org/index.cfm?bay=topten.detail&listid=100 There are several universities drowning in money on this list. That does not sound very efficient. Looking for an explanation, they seem to care too much about % operating expenses and so on, and not enough about real impact. Doing the same for GiveWell (looking at US to make it more comparable): http://www.givewell.org/united-states/top-charities We have two charities. Both are evaluated based on marginal impact and measured effectiveness. The second, KIPP, is an extremely "cool" program. Conclusion: It appears as though GiveWell recommends more efficient charities with better criteria. GiveWell also seems to behave in a manner that sounds better to Internet geeks, for example with their mistake list. This is sufficient explanation for their Internet popularity.

It is possible that Donor A may choose to donate fully to GiveWell for many reasons, including a prior assumption that it's 50:50 or better without checking easily available facts. This reflects badly on Donor A, not GiveWell, and does not in any way make a case for calling GiveWell "ethically questionable". The most you could possibly say is "GiveWell does not overly pander to the lowest common denominator enough" but these people are already donating their money to Make a Wish foundation or something equally silly. I belabour this point because charities run solely on their appearance as ethical, and to the extent that your comments deprive GiveWell of possible donations on the basis of spurious claims, you're doing a bad thing.

I don't see your point. $1 given to Charity Navigator is $1 given to Charity Navigator; $1 given to charity X at Charity Navigator's recommendation is $1 given to charity X. $1 given to GiveWell is 85 cents given to GiveWell and 15 cents given to charities Y and Z. $1 given to charity X at GiveWell's recommendation is $1 given to charity X. This is a point in favour of GiveWell, by any measure.

I don't know what financial statements you're looking at, but if you look at the 2009 IRS form 990, it shows that they raised $374K and spent $340K. Of that, $110K was re-granted. They did raise $768K in 2008, but they only spent $155K of it, and saved the rest. $250K of it was restricted for the their economic empowerment grant, which was distributed in early 2010. Furthermore, I find your characterization of their business model misleading. I don't know what Holden and Elie made working for a hedge fund, but I bet it's a hell of a lot more than they're making at GiveWell, so criticizing their selfishness strikes me as mistaken. I don't know if GiveWell publishes the data on where they get their money, but I'm fairly certain that very little of it comes from the general public in the way you're suggesting. Their mid-2010 budget update (DOC), for instance, calculates when they would run out of money if they don't get any donations that they aren't already anticipating. Most of their funding, on my understanding, comes from the Hewlett Foundation and their board. Edit: I've been a fan of the GiveWell project for quite some time, and have an informal agreement to join GiveWell as an employee in mid-2011. I'm a student and was commenting simply on my own behalf, without any discussion with GiveWell. After Holden commented, I emailed him to say that I had commented, and he recommended that I disclose my plan to work for them.

I request more information. Your link goes to an "astroturfing scandal", which was stupid but doesn't obviously cast doubt on their metrics or sincerity (also, wow; remind me never to do anything wrong on the Internet where those people can see it). As far as I can tell, GiveWell allows you to donate either to them or to their recommended charities, and makes it very clear which is which. I don't know if they're doing enough good to justify their operating expenses, but they don't seem to be doing anything deliberately dishonest in that regard. But If you can point me to other people who do the same sort of thing GiveWell does but better, and are easily accessible online, I'll switch the links to them.