There are many ways to improve the world, but their cost-effectiveness varies immensely. You can achieve a lot more if you rely on the best data on where to donate.
Giving money to a charity is one of the best things you can do for others. As we will see, your donation can make a huge difference.
But whether or not your donation makes a difference greatly depends on where you donate. If you give your money to the least cost-effective charities, it will not do much. If you give it to an exceptionally effective charity, the same amount of money can save someone’s life.
We all feel that some charities are more effective than others, but, as we will see, we tend to underestimate just how large the differences are. I will present the data on these differences and make the point that once you know them, the question of where to donate becomes morally crucial.
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Very good article, but it leaves something missing and I think it is crucial. It should not only be where to donate and to which organization to donate, which is important; but I think the how should be important as well. Bitcoin should be the mechanism par excellence for donations. For example, I do not have dollars or euros. I live in a country under a dictatorial regime and yet with bitcoin I could help the cause.
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I've seen some charities from the inside. It's always way worse than you think it is. From incompetence to fiefdoms to just complete waste.
If you're interested in this topic, there's lots of good books on it, one is The White Man's Burden: Why the West's Efforts to Aid the Rest Have Done So Much Ill and So Little Good
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