It seems quite simple. EA is: Charity Evaluator/Fundraisers: need more donors Research Think Tanks: need more readers Charities: Need more donors CEA/infrastructure: Need more people in local groups
All of these, like any kind of human org, simply “need more” to be worth existing and better to be effective.
Take think tanks as an example. They don’t charitably help a single soul, they don’t raise money, all they do is research&publish...the only end point is a human reading their reports and being influenced in a good way. That’s it. The reports don’t get in hands by magic, there is a creative human process of communication, networking, public awareness, industry group relationships...and marketing is one plank in that process. It’s org 101. But the only reason EA doesn’t have it is because philanthropic funding has allowed EA to not “live in the real world” and do what every org in the real world always does or it will go bankrupt.
I describe it this way: Compare EA to Tech a similar population of STEM minds. Tech has a backroom where the STEM’s make great stuff. Then it has a frontroom where arts & humanities creatives communicate the stuff to the world. That’s how it works. EA has only a backroom and no frontroom at all, leaving massive value on a table that never goes out into the world as the donors expected it to. It’s true good stuff will be found, EA has made an impact, but so much more could be made if they created frontrooms to communicate to the world.
It seems quite simple. EA is:
Charity Evaluator/Fundraisers: need more donors
Research Think Tanks: need more readers
Charities: Need more donors
CEA/infrastructure: Need more people in local groups
All of these, like any kind of human org, simply “need more” to be worth existing and better to be effective.
Take think tanks as an example. They don’t charitably help a single soul, they don’t raise money, all they do is research&publish...the only end point is a human reading their reports and being influenced in a good way. That’s it. The reports don’t get in hands by magic, there is a creative human process of communication, networking, public awareness, industry group relationships...and marketing is one plank in that process. It’s org 101. But the only reason EA doesn’t have it is because philanthropic funding has allowed EA to not “live in the real world” and do what every org in the real world always does or it will go bankrupt.
I describe it this way: Compare EA to Tech a similar population of STEM minds. Tech has a backroom where the STEM’s make great stuff. Then it has a frontroom where arts & humanities creatives communicate the stuff to the world. That’s how it works. EA has only a backroom and no frontroom at all, leaving massive value on a table that never goes out into the world as the donors expected it to. It’s true good stuff will be found, EA has made an impact, but so much more could be made if they created frontrooms to communicate to the world.