Thank you Eda for posting this. This must be a horrible situation to be in and I am so sorry for the losses and suffering.
Could you please give more pointers on why these organizations were chosen? While you can’t vouch for their effectiveness, I guess you are very comfortable with them doing relevant work and having a solid track record of similar activity? (To be extra clear, this is not criticism, just understanding the extent of efforts.)
At Ge Effektivt (Swedish effective donations platform) we wrote a blog post about it partly because we get questions from donors about how to approach the current crisis, but also for SEO purposes and to have more people discover EA/​effective charities. We did mention some organizations that we were comfortable with naming, but as I’ve also seen Ahbap recommended elsewhere I’d be happy to extend/​replace the charities we’re currently naming.
Hi Henrith, thanks so much for your kind message, wishes, and the blog post you’ve published as Ge Effektiv, much appreciated.
Unfortunately, there are currently no organizations in Turkey that are thoroughly researching the effectiveness of local charities (i.e. nothing even moderately comparable to GiveWell) although there are several efforts and initiatives we are following, such as AçıkAçık even though they are mainly related to transparency, accountability, and social impact rather than cost-effectiveness per se. For this reason, the organizations listed in this post reflect our current best efforts related to gathering information from various sources, utilizing our connections and network in Turkey, and our ongoing deliberations internally.
We are comfortable that these are relatively among the better options, compared to some other options out there, for those considering donating—which is why we’ve decided to share them with the broader community as we’ve received questions—particularly given the time-sensitiveness of the situation. We do continue to look for and assess more information and may update this forum post in the following hours or days if we reach conclusions that there are better options—in terms of effectiveness or impact – even though it’s very difficult to assess and understand these for disaster relief in general.
I can also add that some of the charities you’ve recommended in Ge Effektiv blog post are also currently being considered internally related to updating this forum post, if/​as needed. For example, Save the Children has been working in two of the areas hit hardest, Gaziantep and Hatay, since 2014, which seems to have proven advantageous for their direct response on the ground to the earthquake (https://​​donate.savethechildren.org/​​en/​​donate/​​turkey-syria-earthquake-emergency-donate)
(Another option we are currently strongly considering adding to the list in this forum post is Hayata Destek /​ Support to Life, a Turkish independent humanitarian organization working particularly on emergency assistance and refugee support—even though we wouldn’t be able to vouch for them fully either for the same reasons explained above: https://​​www.supporttolife.org/​​donate/​​).
Feel free to consider naming Ahbap (or other organizations listed in this forum post) in the Ge Effektiv blog post and provide necessary reservations if/​as needed if you’d like to add them. Many thanks, once again!
Thank you Eda for posting this. This must be a horrible situation to be in and I am so sorry for the losses and suffering.
Could you please give more pointers on why these organizations were chosen? While you can’t vouch for their effectiveness, I guess you are very comfortable with them doing relevant work and having a solid track record of similar activity? (To be extra clear, this is not criticism, just understanding the extent of efforts.)
At Ge Effektivt (Swedish effective donations platform) we wrote a blog post about it partly because we get questions from donors about how to approach the current crisis, but also for SEO purposes and to have more people discover EA/​effective charities. We did mention some organizations that we were comfortable with naming, but as I’ve also seen Ahbap recommended elsewhere I’d be happy to extend/​replace the charities we’re currently naming.
Best of luck in the fundraising efforts!
Hi Henrith, thanks so much for your kind message, wishes, and the blog post you’ve published as Ge Effektiv, much appreciated.
Unfortunately, there are currently no organizations in Turkey that are thoroughly researching the effectiveness of local charities (i.e. nothing even moderately comparable to GiveWell) although there are several efforts and initiatives we are following, such as AçıkAçık even though they are mainly related to transparency, accountability, and social impact rather than cost-effectiveness per se. For this reason, the organizations listed in this post reflect our current best efforts related to gathering information from various sources, utilizing our connections and network in Turkey, and our ongoing deliberations internally.
We are comfortable that these are relatively among the better options, compared to some other options out there, for those considering donating—which is why we’ve decided to share them with the broader community as we’ve received questions—particularly given the time-sensitiveness of the situation. We do continue to look for and assess more information and may update this forum post in the following hours or days if we reach conclusions that there are better options—in terms of effectiveness or impact – even though it’s very difficult to assess and understand these for disaster relief in general.
I can also add that some of the charities you’ve recommended in Ge Effektiv blog post are also currently being considered internally related to updating this forum post, if/​as needed. For example, Save the Children has been working in two of the areas hit hardest, Gaziantep and Hatay, since 2014, which seems to have proven advantageous for their direct response on the ground to the earthquake (https://​​donate.savethechildren.org/​​en/​​donate/​​turkey-syria-earthquake-emergency-donate)
(Another option we are currently strongly considering adding to the list in this forum post is Hayata Destek /​ Support to Life, a Turkish independent humanitarian organization working particularly on emergency assistance and refugee support—even though we wouldn’t be able to vouch for them fully either for the same reasons explained above: https://​​www.supporttolife.org/​​donate/​​ ).
Feel free to consider naming Ahbap (or other organizations listed in this forum post) in the Ge Effektiv blog post and provide necessary reservations if/​as needed if you’d like to add them. Many thanks, once again!