Research-Driven Giving Ideas Targeting Global Causes

Ahead of this year’s Giving Tuesday, I wanted to share some recommendations in case anyone finds it helpful.  I will keep it brief – feedback is very welcome!

While my wife Dana and I support a diverse group of local charities and non-profits, we have also tried in recent years to “zoom out”—undertaking a wider search for effective ways to do good in the world with our charitable dollars. This mainly comes down to two questions. First: what causes should be prioritized? Second: What is the best way to help?

On the first question, millions of people endure extreme poverty and suffer from terrible but preventable illnesses.  Like many others, we have concluded that helping to save and significantly improve the lives of those in lower-income countries is a compelling mission. Global health and development, then, ranks as a top priority. But, to the second question: how can we help? Over the years, there have been many critiques of western-based charities and development initiatives that call into question their effectiveness. Fortunately, however, new organizations have arisen that implement a research-driven process for finding the best interventions (aided by innovative work in the field of development economics).  Number one on this list is GiveWell. Founded in 2007, GiveWell performs in-depth analysis and evaluation to find those interventions that have the greatest expected impact.  They identify a list of top charities that combine high impact at scale with a high confidence level. This year, GiveWell is recommending donating to their All Grants Fund, which, in addition to being available to meet the needs of these top charities, also supports other high expected-impact grants, such as research and development funds for newer programs. Because of our confidence in GiveWell, we choose to contribute to their Unrestricted Fund, which can also be used to assist the organization’s operational growth as they search for additional effective interventions.

While GiveWell receives our greatest contributions, we do make other donations in Global Health and Development, including to CARE, Doctors Without Borders, andOxfam. While there is less clarity on how effective these donations will be, these large organizations provide much of the needed infrastructure for getting help to people in dozens of countries around the world.  Another, newer, organization we find interesting is GiveDirectly, which is pioneering the use of direct cash giving to alleviate poverty.  While GiveWell’s recommended charities are expected to be more impactful than cash, there is a growing body of research suggesting that simply giving people cash is surprisingly effective.

Now let me mention two other causes that both seem worthwhile and where there also exist research-driven organizations to help identify effective targets for donations.  While these are ranked lower in giving priority for us, your judgment may differ.  In both cases I note that the research organizations mentioned are somewhat newer and smaller, and evaluating the effectiveness of recommendations can be a bit tougher since many of the recommended charities work through advocacy rather than direct intervention. Animal welfare (especially that of farm animals) is a cause that seems compelling. There are vast numbers of sensitive and intelligent creatures that are subject to cruel treatment during their time on this planet. Animal Charity Evaluators (ACE) selects a list of “top” and “standout” charities (which you can support through their Recommended Charity Fund).  ACE has been around for 10 years, but has recently added an infusion of new staff to help guide their efforts. I note there have been a number of recent successes in this cause area, where regulations have been changed in a number of jurisdictions to reduce harm. Some recommendations also promote development of alternatives to animal products, which has been an exciting area.

Finally, let me mention a fairly new organization whose work I find very promising. The cause is climate change and the organization is Giving Green. In the past we have had a hard time figuring out whether and how to support efforts to combat climate change.  Giving Green, which is part of a fine larger organization called ID Insight, has a research effort supporting top recommendations for outstanding charities in this space. Check it out!

That’s all for now—let me know your questions or comments. Thanks!

[Also posted on LinkedIn]