I think people model this in theory more often than it happens in practice. Three reasons why:
The total funding pie is pretty fixed; I expect it to be quite rare to grow it.
It could be that the next org on the list is much worse, but normally, if they are funding something effective, there is a non-random reason they came to the top of the list. I think itâs more common that a funder has different valuesâe.g., they are supporting global health and mental health, and you have a strong view that the one you are working on is significantly better (of course, someone working on the other would say the opposite). But I think that seems a bit immodest/âmorally presumptuous to then treat this counterfactual as massively different based on a pretty debatable value call.
You could, in fact, recommend your funding to go somewhere else with high EV (thus making the counterfactual higher). E.g., if someone says, âI like AIM, I want to give it $1m,â and I say, âSorry, we have no room for funding, but have you considered X charity? It is also really good and hits similar ground.â This is not possible in every fundraising situation, but it is doable, and if I know an opportunity that I think is $-for-$ better than AIM, I have been pretty successful at redirecting funding that would go to AIM there.
Oh interesting. I want to dig into this more now, but my impression is that an individualâs giving portfolioâboth major donors & retail donors, but more so people who arenât serious philanthropists and/âor havenât reflected a lot on their givingâis that they are malleable and not as zero-sum.
i think with donors likely to give to ea causes, a lot of them havenât really been stewarded & cultivated and there probably is a lot of room for them to increase their giving.
I think people model this in theory more often than it happens in practice. Three reasons why:
The total funding pie is pretty fixed; I expect it to be quite rare to grow it.
It could be that the next org on the list is much worse, but normally, if they are funding something effective, there is a non-random reason they came to the top of the list. I think itâs more common that a funder has different valuesâe.g., they are supporting global health and mental health, and you have a strong view that the one you are working on is significantly better (of course, someone working on the other would say the opposite). But I think that seems a bit immodest/âmorally presumptuous to then treat this counterfactual as massively different based on a pretty debatable value call.
You could, in fact, recommend your funding to go somewhere else with high EV (thus making the counterfactual higher). E.g., if someone says, âI like AIM, I want to give it $1m,â and I say, âSorry, we have no room for funding, but have you considered X charity? It is also really good and hits similar ground.â This is not possible in every fundraising situation, but it is doable, and if I know an opportunity that I think is $-for-$ better than AIM, I have been pretty successful at redirecting funding that would go to AIM there.
Could you say more on how you came to this conclusion?
Mostly basing this on the macro data I have seen that seems to suggest giving as a % of GDP has stayed pretty flat year to year (~2%).
Oh interesting. I want to dig into this more now, but my impression is that an individualâs giving portfolioâboth major donors & retail donors, but more so people who arenât serious philanthropists and/âor havenât reflected a lot on their givingâis that they are malleable and not as zero-sum.
i think with donors likely to give to ea causes, a lot of them havenât really been stewarded & cultivated and there probably is a lot of room for them to increase their giving.