I do think we have been able to acquire talent that would not have been otherwise counterfactually acquired by other organizations.
As an additional data point, I can report that I think it’s very unlikely that I would currently be employed by an EA organization if Rethink Priorities didn’t exist. I applied to Rethink Priorities more or less on a whim, and the extent of my involvement with the EA community in 2018 (when I was hired) was that I was subscribed to the EA newsletter (where I heard about the job) and I donated to GiveWell top charities. At the time, I had completely different career plans.
As an additional data point, I can report that I think it’s very unlikely that I would currently be employed by an EA organization if Rethink Priorities didn’t exist. I applied to Rethink Priorities more or less on a whim, and the extent of my involvement with the EA community in 2018 (when I was hired) was that I was subscribed to the EA newsletter (where I heard about the job) and I donated to GiveWell top charities. At the time, I had completely different career plans.