However, I feel like far too often people (including myself) hide behind donations to meta-charity as a feel-good way to support the EA movement as a whole without doing the hard work of figuring out which object-level causes are the best. Unless you’re funding cause prioritization research or hoping to bring in EAs who will shed more light on the question of which cause is the best, this seems like a big risk. It avoids learning opportunities and discussions we could be having about what the best causes actually are, which also pushes the entire movement forward.
2.) More EAs should have a substantial stake in object-level impact. Right now I’m aiming at donating 50% of my pool to the best meta-projects I know and spending the other 50% on direct impact through GiveWell’s top charities. I don’t know if 50% is the correct number, but I hope this will set an example of what I want the movement as a whole to do.
The meta-charity I currently favor is cause prioritization, but I don’t even know how to best achieve that. I’m prone to the same mistake in supporting meta-charity as Peter is. Thus, what I actually favor over giving to a meta-charity in the face of object-level indecision is putting the money in a donor-advised fund, or investing it through the Giving What We Can Trust. I don’t know what object-level cause I support. However, in supporting a meta-charity, I’d also neglect or procrastinate to figure out what object-level cause I prioritize. Thus, I precommit to:
a) either donating 50% of my donations to an object-level cause, or
b) in the face of ongoing object-level indecision, put 50% of my donations into a donor-advised fund or the GWWC Trust earmarked specifically and only for future donation to an object-level effective charity, to be fulfilled when I select a cause.
I follow in the footsteps of Peter and Jeff, and I encourage you to do the same. Also, Peter, thanks for this! This development makes me much less nervous and stressed about my role as a donor, perhaps the biggest struggle I’ve faced with effective altruism.
The meta-charity I currently favor is cause prioritization, but I don’t even know how to best achieve that. I’m prone to the same mistake in supporting meta-charity as Peter is. Thus, what I actually favor over giving to a meta-charity in the face of object-level indecision is putting the money in a donor-advised fund, or investing it through the Giving What We Can Trust. I don’t know what object-level cause I support. However, in supporting a meta-charity, I’d also neglect or procrastinate to figure out what object-level cause I prioritize. Thus, I precommit to:
a) either donating 50% of my donations to an object-level cause, or
b) in the face of ongoing object-level indecision, put 50% of my donations into a donor-advised fund or the GWWC Trust earmarked specifically and only for future donation to an object-level effective charity, to be fulfilled when I select a cause.
I follow in the footsteps of Peter and Jeff, and I encourage you to do the same. Also, Peter, thanks for this! This development makes me much less nervous and stressed about my role as a donor, perhaps the biggest struggle I’ve faced with effective altruism.