EDIT: I’m seeing this post being disagreed with strongly by two people. It would be great if they can clarify why they disagree so strongly in the comments. Always looking for more people who think the below is a terrible idea!
What are your blockers, and what could help?
This is obviously biased, but I founded a company that has a great team (6 former startups, 3 exits, early unicorn employee, 31 years relevant experience), good growth traction, a tech USP and it’s in a market that grows 25%. This company is not being funded because we donate all profits to close AMF’s funding gap. It would certainly have had funding if we gave it to rich investors rather than AMF.
I know at least 5 other companies that have above average odds of making tons of money for charities, but don’t get funded because our funding system is there to maximise shareholder returns rather than funding effective charities with funding gaps.
There’s data and research that suggests these profit for good companies actually grow faster and more profitable than their shareholder value maximisation competitors. These companies exist from small startups until billion dollar companies (Bosch, Patagonia, Newman’s Own). This might make them better money multipliers than traditional companies. So not only do they return all profits to charities (rather than shareholders who give only 5-10% to charity) , they generate more profits than these competitors. If this really works it could be the biggest source of funding for (effective) charities by far, because the world has 10 trillion dollars in profits every single year.
There’s also a lot of talk about EA being serious about systems change and funding high-risk, high-reward opportunities but funding a systems change that would be, by far, the biggest source of money for good causes isn’t being funded. I have talked to many EA’s and EA organisations and AFAIK they seem completely uninterested (with the exception of 2 individuals) in the idea of funding any of these organisation (not now and not in the ‘funding overhang’ era).
I think our assumptions our modest, our funding asks have been modest and many believe what we’re working on is worthy of at least exploring. Until we do, EA and all charities in the world are always going to be dependent on Philanthropists deciding to share their wealth with those less fortunate.
What would help is if you’re interested in funding any of these orgs or know someone who might. Email me on vin @ boas dot co if you can make introductions or are able to fund.
Vin’s BOAS company is an example of a Profit for Good business that I referenced in a different comment.
And yeah, other than maybe AI Safety, IMHO, Profit for Good is by far the most promising of any cause area because it can multiply funding for effective charities that are potentially popular among consumers (global health and development, animal welfare, climate change). The fundamental premise it boils down to is that people have a nonzero preference for such causes over the enrichment of random investors. If people could buy some damn laundry detergent of the same price and quality and the Against Malaria Foundation would profit rather than random investors, they would.
I have been immensely disappointed in EAs lack of interest in Profit for Good. If we had EA funds, expertise, time, and wisdom behind the endeavor, there is no reason that we could not present such a choice to the people of the world. I suppose the people of the world have shown that they are extremely selfish, most not donating even if it could benefit the recipient over 50-100x more than it could the prospective donor. However, we believe most people would still choose to benefit AMF, for instance, rather than a wealthy shareholder, if no sacrifice was required whatsoever, and we believe EA’s lack of interest in testing this proposition is absurd. The hundreds of millions of people living in extreme poverty and billions of animals being tortured to death every year deserve better than a collective “oh, this sounds cool; glad someone is doing it.”
In the event that this comment tree is the first you’ve heard about this idea, this is a reading list of some of our writings and thoughts on Profit for Good.
EDIT: I’m seeing this post being disagreed with strongly by two people. It would be great if they can clarify why they disagree so strongly in the comments. Always looking for more people who think the below is a terrible idea!
What are your blockers, and what could help?
This is obviously biased, but I founded a company that has a great team (6 former startups, 3 exits, early unicorn employee, 31 years relevant experience), good growth traction, a tech USP and it’s in a market that grows 25%. This company is not being funded because we donate all profits to close AMF’s funding gap. It would certainly have had funding if we gave it to rich investors rather than AMF.
I know at least 5 other companies that have above average odds of making tons of money for charities, but don’t get funded because our funding system is there to maximise shareholder returns rather than funding effective charities with funding gaps.
There’s data and research that suggests these profit for good companies actually grow faster and more profitable than their shareholder value maximisation competitors. These companies exist from small startups until billion dollar companies (Bosch, Patagonia, Newman’s Own). This might make them better money multipliers than traditional companies. So not only do they return all profits to charities (rather than shareholders who give only 5-10% to charity) , they generate more profits than these competitors. If this really works it could be the biggest source of funding for (effective) charities by far, because the world has 10 trillion dollars in profits every single year.
There’s also a lot of talk about EA being serious about systems change and funding high-risk, high-reward opportunities but funding a systems change that would be, by far, the biggest source of money for good causes isn’t being funded. I have talked to many EA’s and EA organisations and AFAIK they seem completely uninterested (with the exception of 2 individuals) in the idea of funding any of these organisation (not now and not in the ‘funding overhang’ era).
I think our assumptions our modest, our funding asks have been modest and many believe what we’re working on is worthy of at least exploring. Until we do, EA and all charities in the world are always going to be dependent on Philanthropists deciding to share their wealth with those less fortunate.
What would help is if you’re interested in funding any of these orgs or know someone who might. Email me on vin @ boas dot co if you can make introductions or are able to fund.
Vin’s BOAS company is an example of a Profit for Good business that I referenced in a different comment.
And yeah, other than maybe AI Safety, IMHO, Profit for Good is by far the most promising of any cause area because it can multiply funding for effective charities that are potentially popular among consumers (global health and development, animal welfare, climate change). The fundamental premise it boils down to is that people have a nonzero preference for such causes over the enrichment of random investors. If people could buy some damn laundry detergent of the same price and quality and the Against Malaria Foundation would profit rather than random investors, they would.
I have been immensely disappointed in EAs lack of interest in Profit for Good. If we had EA funds, expertise, time, and wisdom behind the endeavor, there is no reason that we could not present such a choice to the people of the world. I suppose the people of the world have shown that they are extremely selfish, most not donating even if it could benefit the recipient over 50-100x more than it could the prospective donor. However, we believe most people would still choose to benefit AMF, for instance, rather than a wealthy shareholder, if no sacrifice was required whatsoever, and we believe EA’s lack of interest in testing this proposition is absurd. The hundreds of millions of people living in extreme poverty and billions of animals being tortured to death every year deserve better than a collective “oh, this sounds cool; glad someone is doing it.”
In the event that this comment tree is the first you’ve heard about this idea, this is a reading list of some of our writings and thoughts on Profit for Good.