Donor engagement isn’t part of my job, so I can’t be sure about this, but I think it’s quite likely that EA-affiliated people have many conversations with wealthy and successful people, and those conversations just happen quietly. I wouldn’t be so sure that Patrick Collison hasn’t had these conversations; most people keep their giving relatively private, and I don’t see why he would be an exception.
I also don’t advise using the word “convert” to describe situations where someone is thinking of changing where they donate; the word has religious connotations, and I think it often isn’t helpful to think of someone as being “in EA” or “not in EA”.
There also may be organizations that Patrick supports in the area of “progress studies” or “the science of progress” that have goals very similar to some EA orgs but don’t happen to be formally linked to our movement. Many such organizations likely exist. (For one, I think there’s a good chance that Patrick is among the supporters of Tyler Cowen’s Emergent Ventures.)
Donor engagement isn’t part of my job, so I can’t be sure about this, but I think it’s quite likely that EA-affiliated people have many conversations with wealthy and successful people, and those conversations just happen quietly. I wouldn’t be so sure that Patrick Collison hasn’t had these conversations; most people keep their giving relatively private, and I don’t see why he would be an exception.
I also don’t advise using the word “convert” to describe situations where someone is thinking of changing where they donate; the word has religious connotations, and I think it often isn’t helpful to think of someone as being “in EA” or “not in EA”.
There also may be organizations that Patrick supports in the area of “progress studies” or “the science of progress” that have goals very similar to some EA orgs but don’t happen to be formally linked to our movement. Many such organizations likely exist. (For one, I think there’s a good chance that Patrick is among the supporters of Tyler Cowen’s Emergent Ventures.)