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PaperclipPerfector  3mo ago (text post)   3669 thread views

Small-Scale Question Sunday for January 7, 2024

Do you have a dumb question that you're kind of embarrassed to ask in the main thread? Is there something you're just not sure about?

This is your opportunity to ask questions. No question too simple or too silly.

Culture war topics are accepted, and proposals for a better intro post are appreciated.

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I have $92,000 in my Donor-Advised Fund. I haven't made a grant in 30 months, which means I have 6 months to make a grant or the fund will be liquidated and merged into some generic charity fund. I only need to donate $500, but I'm inclined to donate at least half the fund.

Who should I give to?

The first place I went to was GiveWell. Unfortunately, it would appear all their top charities are woke. For instance, here is what Helen Keller International had to say:

"We are overwhelmed with grief and concern over the killing of George Floyd—on the heels of the recent killings of Ahmaud Arbery and Breonna Taylor. Racism has no place in America, or our world."

Should I just give these people my money anyway? My problem is that I think wokeness makes the world a worse place, so while I think it's probable that the organization does good by preventing blindness, they are also harming the world by propagating a quasi-religious framework which hinders human thriving.

Are there any charities that would meet GiveWell's criteria for effective donations that are non-woke (or ideally even anti-woke)?

If you have any pet causes, now would be a good time to post them. My chance of donating is fairly high in the next week or two. I've been feeling a bit Scroogish lately and would like to turn that around.

Replying to self:

Against Malaria (https://www.againstmalaria.com) doesn't appear to be explicitly woke.

I also think the layout of website sends a valuable signal about priorities. No money wasted there. I tried to find Twitter accounts for their Advisor Board and didn't find any which is good. Furthermore, they say 100% of the money goes to malaria nets which would imply zero paid staff. IMO, that's how nearly all charities should operate.

Am I missing anything?

The Against Malaria Foundation is a pretty solid choice, and is the one that makes up most of my charitable contributions. If you care more about quality than about quantity of life, you might also consider Deworm the World. Their pitch is also refreshingly concrete and not "woke" at all:

More than 913 million children are at risk for parasitic worm infections like soil-transmitted helminths and schistosomiasis.

These infections mainly occur in areas with inadequate sanitation, disproportionately affecting poor communities. Children infected with worms are often too sick or weak to attend school because their body can’t properly absorb nutrients. If left untreated, worm infections lead to anemia, malnourishment, impaired mental and physical development, and severe chronic illnesses.

A safe, effective, and low-cost solution does exist — in the form of a simple pill taken once or twice a year. Regular treatment reduces the spread of the disease and helps children stay in school and live healthier and more productive lives.

Since 2014, Deworm the World has helped deliver over 1.8 billion deworming treatments to children across several geographies – for less than 50 cents per treatment. We work closely with governments to implement high-quality and cost-effective mass deworming programs which are resulting in dramatic reductions in worm prevalence.

Every year, GiveWell publishes a detailed analysis of the cost effectiveness of each charity in a spreadsheet that documents their assumptions and their model. If you care to do so, you can also make a copy of the spreadsheet and plug in your own numbers, though I basically never do that.

But yeah, no reason to give money to a global health charity that has politics you hate. The impact per dollar between the listed global health charities just doesn't vary by all that much.

Deworm the World seems like a great cause. Unfortunately they seem slightly woke.

https://www.evidenceaction.org/insights/challenging-convention-women-lead-at-evidence-action-part-one

"We see that diversity as one of our fundamental strengths", etc...

They spent $12 million on salaries in 2022 and another $574,000 on conferences. The CEO makes $356,738. And someone presumably got paid to make that article. Why didn't they spend that money on deworming instead? After all, they need money, and money = more deworming. Right?

Okay, that's too harsh. I just scrolled through their Twitter feed until I got back to April 2020. No George Floyd, not too much Covid, and not too much woke stuff in general. They seem pretty close with the Gates Foundation/Clinton foundation/Vox crowd. But that's just the milieu they run in. It might be hard to escape.

I'll throw them some shekels, thanks!

I don't think we should rate charities based on how low their overhead costs are. It's like saying we should cut Tim Cook's compensation to boost Apple's profits.

I think we should because it's a reliable signal about values.

Let's say I make $300,000 a year. I'm giving some of my money to a charity. But, wait, the charity's CEO actually makes more than I do! Shouldn't the CEO take a pay cut to support the valuable work of the charity? The CEO is saying HER marginal dollar is worth more than the work of the charity, but MY marginal dollar is worth less. To which I say hmmm....

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