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Effective altruism has recently been on the rise due to the increase of nonprofit organizations that focus every type of cause. Recently, we’ve heard of seeming waste happening at one of the world’s most well-known charities, the Red Cross. It’s so that many people want to do good, but don’t know where their donations will be put to best use. How is one to choose what type of organization or cause to donate to?
In his think piece for The Atlantic, journalist Derek Thompson defines effective altruism in American society in terms of evolution and the notion that gene pools should be rewarded for relatives helping one another to survive and pass along their genes to their future descendants. Thinking in global terms, he looks at the three criteria for effective altruism: “ (1) You can make a truly enormous difference in the world if you live in a rich country; (2) you can ‘do good better’ by thinking scientifically rather than sentimentally; and (3) you can do good even better by trying to find the greatest need for the next marginal dollar.”
So, for instance, when you give to the Red Cross for disaster relief, the general assumption is that the money will be used for things like food, clean water and shelter. In the immediate term, those items are necessary. But in the long term, to alleviate poverty in a country and help its people to thrive long after the immediate disaster has passed, you sometimes have to think in more creative terms. How do you create jobs? Improve the ability to farm? Improve infrastructure so that medicine, goods and people can get from one place to another?
In an experiment used by academics Michael Kremer and Rachel Glennerster, they learned students in Kenya did not improve academically because of donations that went towards textbooks, smaller class room sizes or classroom materials. Students’ skills and school attendance improved when people from other parts of the world spent $100 in treating intestinal worms that the same students were battling. That led to the launch of Kremer’s and Glennerster’s medical charity, DeWorm The World, an organization noted for being the most cost-effective charity in the world. It might not seem logical, but ultimately, it lives up to the goal of being effective.
Other theories are based on outweighing and comparing needs, as in, should someone donate to a leading university such as Harvard for research or donate to a charity that directly helps people, especially in a crisis? Ultimately, the answer comes from your personal research, weighing the options, and searching yourself for what you’d like your money to achieve.
The article (which is a #longread, but definitely worth the time) is also a step-by-step journey with the author, who wants to give thousands of dollars inherited after the death of his mother to a worthy cause. The choice he makes comes after speaking with experts and doing the legwork of examining the backgrounds of a number of different causes. In the end, the gift is also an emotional one, and he had to choose the cause that would be meaningful to him and his family. Taken together, he’s sure his money will be put to good use.
What are your tips for giving?
