GiveWell

In 2006, Holden Karnofsky and Elie Hassenfeld, who worked at a hedge fund in Connecticut, formed an informal group with colleagues to evaluate charities based on data and performance metrics similar to those they used at the fund, and were surprised to find the data often didn't exist. The next year, Karnofsky and Hassenfeld formed GiveWell as a nonprofit to provide financial analyst services to donors.{{cite news|url = https://www.huffingtonpost.com/2015/03/26/elie-hassenfeld-givewell_n_6927320.html|title = That Time A Hedge Funder Quit His Job And Then Raised $60 Million For Charity|last = Pitney|first = Nico|date = March 26, 2015|access-date = April 27, 2015|work = Huffington Post|quote = The tech community around Silicon Valley has embraced the movement with particular enthusiasm, and GiveWell moved its offices to San Francisco in 2013.|archive-date = May 18, 2015|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20150518095204/https://www.huffingtonpost.com/2015/03/26/elie-hassenfeld-givewell_n_6927320.html|url-status = live}} They eventually decided to rate charities based on the metric of how much money it cost to save a life.{{Cite book|chapter=Poverty Is No Pond|last1=Wenar|first1=Leif|editor-last1=Illingworth|editor-first1=Patricia M. L.|editor-last2=Pogge|editor-first2=Thomas|editor-link2=Thomas Pogge|editor-last3=Wenar|editor-first3=Leif|title=Giving Well: The Ethics of Philanthropy|year=2011|publisher=Oxford University Press|isbn=978-0-19-973907-3|oclc=588998863|page=[https://books.google.com/books?id=-GpuK9OsvN0C&pg=PA124 124]|doi=10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199739073.001.0001}}Peter Singer. The Life You Can Save: Acting Now To End World Poverty, Random House, 2009. Ch. 6, [https://books.google.com/books?id=gGn4cdxEgvEC&pg=PA81 pp. 81–104] In the first year, funding to run the nonprofit was provided by a fund called the Clear Fund into which the former members of informal club, now directors of GiveWell, had put around $300,000, with about half of that going to fund the organization.{{cite news|last1=Strom|first1=Stephanie|title=2 Young Hedge-Fund Veterans Stir Up the World of Philanthropy|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2007/12/20/us/20charity.html|work=The New York Times|date=20 December 2007|access-date=August 29, 2017|archive-date=June 3, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220603220105/https://www.nytimes.com/2007/12/20/us/20charity.html|url-status=live}}

In the first year, Karnofsky and Hassenfeld advocated that charities should generally spend more money on overhead, so that they could pay for staff and record keeping to track how effective their efforts were; this ran counter to standard ways of evaluating charities based on the ratio of overhead to funds deployed for the charity work itself.{{cite news|title=Young Duo to 'Clear' the Way for Charitable Giving|url=https://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=17571316|work=National Public Radio|access-date=April 5, 2018|archive-date=April 25, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180425114842/https://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=17571316|url-status=live}}

In late 2007, GiveWell's founders promoted the organization on several internet blogs and forums using sockpuppets to ask questions about where to find good information about how to donate and then answering them, recommending GiveWell.{{cite news |title=Founder of a Nonprofit Is Punished by Its Board for Engaging in an Internet Ruse |author=Stephanie Strom |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2008/01/08/us/08givewell.html |newspaper=The New York Times |date=8 January 2008 |access-date=13 September 2011 |archive-date=October 4, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20241004235919/https://www.nytimes.com/2008/01/08/us/08givewell.html |url-status=live }} GiveWell's board of directors investigated and found that the founders Karnofsky and Hassenfeld had acted inappropriately and as a result, it fined each of them $5000 and Karnofsky was demoted from executive director to a program director.{{cite news|last1=Strom|first1=Stephanie|title=Nonprofit Punishes a 2nd Founder for Ruse|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2008/01/15/us/15givewell.html|work=The New York Times|date=15 January 2008|access-date=February 21, 2017|archive-date=April 23, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160423005140/http://www.nytimes.com/2008/01/15/us/15givewell.html?|url-status=live}}

In 2008, GiveWell received funding from the William and Flora Hewlett Foundation's Nonprofit Marketplace Initiative. The Hewlett Foundation continued to be a major funder of GiveWell until March 2014, when the Hewlett Foundation announced that it was ending the Nonprofit Marketplace Initiative based on a 2010 study it commissioned that found that only 3% of donors selected charities based on performance metrics (rather than e.g. loyalty, personal connections, or faith), and a subsequent 2012 study showing that efforts to provide better data were not changing that pattern.{{cite web|url = https://hewlett.org/strengthening-our-sector/|title = Strengthening Our Sector|date = March 11, 2014|access-date = September 6, 2014|publisher = William and Flora Hewlett Foundation|last1 = Louie|first1 = Lindsay|last2 = Twersky|first2 = Fay|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20160918084110/http://www.hewlett.org/blog/posts/strengthening-our-sector|archive-date = September 18, 2016}}

In 2013, GiveWell moved its offices to San Francisco where people in Silicon Valley had become strong supporters of the effective altruism philosophy.

Givewell's approach is data-driven, and they recommend charities which work in the developing world.{{cite news|last1=Aizenman|first1=Nurith|title=On #GivingTuesday, How To Get The Most Bang For Your Charity Buck|url=https://www.npr.org/sections/goatsandsoda/2017/11/27/566814277/on-givingtuesday-how-to-get-the-most-bang-for-your-charity-buck|access-date=27 February 2018|work=NPR.org|agency=National Public Radio|publisher=NPR|date=November 27, 2017|language=en|archive-date=October 5, 2024|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20241005000039/https://www.npr.org/sections/goatsandsoda/2017/11/27/566814277/on-givingtuesday-how-to-get-the-most-bang-for-your-charity-buck|url-status=live}}

American philosopher Leif Wenar has criticized the charity evaluator, saying that it does not sufficiently take into account harms caused by its recommended charities.{{cite news|last1=Wenar|first1=Leif|title=The Deaths of Effective Altruism|url=https://www.wired.com/story/deaths-of-effective-altruism/|agency=Wired|access-date=April 27, 2024|archive-date=October 4, 2024|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20241004235929/https://www.wired.com/story/deaths-of-effective-altruism/|url-status=live}}

{{Main|Open Philanthropy}}

In 2011, Good Ventures, founded with $8.3 billion by husband and wife Dustin Moskovitz and Cari Tuna, partnered with GiveWell to set up a partner organization called Open Philanthropy, as a vehicle to direct the funding done by Good Ventures.{{cite web|url=https://www.philanthropy.com/article/another-facebook-co-founder-gets-philanthropic/|title = Another Facebook Co-Founder Gets Philanthropic|last = Preston|first = Caroline|publisher = Chronicle of Philanthropy|date = January 10, 2012|access-date = March 25, 2014}}{{cite web |url=https://www.bcgperspectives.com/content/articles/innovation-strategy-how-tech-entrepreneurs-are-disrupting-philanthropy/ |title=bcg.perspectives - How Tech Entrepreneurs Are Disrupting Philanthropy |publisher=The Boston Consulting Group |date=February 10, 2016 |author1=Nicole Bennett |author2=Ashley Carter |author3=Romney Resney |author4=Wendy Woods |name-list-style=amp |access-date=September 12, 2017 |archive-date=July 27, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170727181055/https://www.bcgperspectives.com/content/articles/innovation-strategy-how-tech-entrepreneurs-are-disrupting-philanthropy/ |url-status=live }} In 2015, Mike Krieger and his fiancee Kaitlyn Trigger pledged $750,000 to Open Philanthropy over two years, with 10% going to fund the operations of the project.{{cite web|url = https://www.vox.com/2015/4/24/8457895/givewell-open-philanthropy-charity|title = You have $8 billion. You want to do as much good as possible. What do you do?|last = Matthews|first = Dylan|author-link = Dylan Matthews|date = April 24, 2015|access-date = April 27, 2015|website = Vox|archive-date = August 24, 2017|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20170824133751/https://www.vox.com/2015/4/24/8457895/givewell-open-philanthropy-charity|url-status = live}}

Open Philanthropy has investigated giving money to criminal justice reform and a range of other policy areas,{{cite journal|last1=Berkey|first1=Brian|title=The Institutional Critique of Effective Altruism|journal=Utilitas|page=22|url=https://faculty.wharton.upenn.edu/wp-content/uploads/2017/06/The-Institutional-Critique-of-Effective-Altruism.pdf|access-date=12 September 2017|archive-date=September 13, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170913230116/https://faculty.wharton.upenn.edu/wp-content/uploads/2017/06/The-Institutional-Critique-of-Effective-Altruism.pdf|url-status=live}} and has funded work into mitigating risks of artificial intelligence,{{cite web |url=https://www.betaboston.com/news/2015/07/01/boston-group-awards-10m-from-elon-musk-to-jump-start-artificial-intelligence-research/ |title=Boston group awards $6m from Elon Musk to jump-start artificial intelligence research |newspaper=Boston Globe |date=July 1, 2015 |author=Elizabeth Preston |access-date=March 20, 2016 |archive-date=October 5, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20241005000021/https://www.bostonglobe.com/business/ |url-status=live }}{{cite news |url=https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2015-07-01/musk-backed-group-probes-risks-behind-artificial-intelligence |title=Musk-Backed Group Probes Risks Behind Artificial Intelligence |newspaper=Bloomberg Business |date=July 1, 2015 |author=Jack Clark |access-date=March 20, 2016 |archive-date=October 30, 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151030202356/http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2015-07-01/musk-backed-group-probes-risks-behind-artificial-intelligence |url-status=live }}{{cite web |url=https://fortune.com/2015/07/01/elon-musk-artificial-intelligence/ |title=Why Elon Musk is donating millions to make artificial intelligence safer |first=Jonathan |last=Vanian |date=July 1, 2015 |access-date=March 19, 2016 |publisher=Fortune |archive-date=October 5, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20241005000037/https://fortune.com/2015/07/01/elon-musk-artificial-intelligence/ |url-status=live }} biosecurity,{{cite journal|last1=Yassif|first1=J|title=Reducing Global Catastrophic Biological Risks.|journal=Health Security|date=2017|volume=15|issue=4|pages=329–330|doi=10.1089/hs.2017.0049|pmid=28745920|pmc=5576261}} and global health.{{cite web |url=https://www.insidephilanthropy.com/home/2016/3/9/leverage-why-this-silicon-valley-funder-is-doubling-down-on.html |title=Leverage: Why This Silicon Valley Funder Is Doubling Down on a Beltway Think Tank |website=Inside Philanthropy |date=March 9, 2016 |access-date=March 19, 2016 |archive-date=March 12, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170312074157/https://www.insidephilanthropy.com/home/2016/3/9/leverage-why-this-silicon-valley-funder-is-doubling-down-on.html |url-status=live }}

In 2017, Open Philanthropy separated from GiveWell, and upon Karnofsky stepping down as Co-Executive Director of GiveWell, Elie Hassenfeld became GiveWell's sole Executive Director.{{Cite web |last=Hollander |first=Catherine |date=12 June 2017 |title=Separating GiveWell and the Open Philanthropy Project |url=https://blog.givewell.org/2017/06/12/separating-givewell-open-philanthropy-project/ |access-date=2022-08-20 |website=GiveWell |archive-date=November 22, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181122092108/https://blog.givewell.org/2017/06/12/separating-givewell-open-philanthropy-project/ |url-status=live }}

GiveWell makes annual recommendations of the most cost-effective charities. They estimate that they save an average of one life for every US$3,500–5,500 donated.{{Cite web|title=Our Top Charities|url=https://www.givewell.org/charities/top-charities|access-date=2022-08-17|date=August 2022|website=GiveWell|archive-date=April 13, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220413114530/https://www.givewell.org/charities/top-charities|url-status=live}} As of August 2022, the top recommended charities are:

• Malaria Consortium (malaria prevention)
• Against Malaria Foundation (malaria prevention)
• Helen Keller International (supplements to prevent vitamin A deficiency)
• New Incentives (conditional cash transfers to encourage vaccination)

• American Institute of Philanthropy
• Earning to give
• Ethics of philanthropy
• Founders Pledge
• Giving What We Can
• Raising for Effective Giving
• Venture philanthropy

{{reflist|30em}}

• {{cite news|url = https://www.nytimes.com/2014/04/26/your-money/giving-away-money-and-making-sure-its-put-to-work.html|title = Donating, and Making Sure the Money Is Put to Work|date = April 25, 2014|access-date = June 4, 2016|newspaper = The New York Times|last = Lieber|first = Ron}}

{{Commons category}}

• {{official website|https://www.givewell.org/}}

{{Effective altruism}}

{{Charity}}

Category:2011 establishments in the United States

Category:501(c)(3) organizations

Category:American review websites

Category:Charity review websites

Category:Organizations associated with effective altruism

Category:Non-profit organizations based in San Francisco

Category:Organizations established in 2011