Whether this discount rate is accurate is another question – given the relative abundance of cash available to EA orgs (through OpenPhil and Good Ventures), a rate as high as this is surprising.
I think the EA community has a limited data-set regarding availability of funding from EA orgs, and we try inferring more than we realistically can. OpenPhil’s relationship to EA is rapidly changing, and OpenPhil is rapidly changing the EA movement. OpenPhil has established relationships with EA orgs of all majorly represented causes that as long as things keep going along an optimistic trajectory for them, they can expect up to 50% of their room for more funding per year to be filled by OpenPhil. OpenPhil has begun these relationships with EA orgs in the last year or two. Prior to that, OpenPhil as an organization was still finding its feet, and was more reticent about how large grants EA organizations might expect. I haven’t worked at an EA org, but knowing people working at several, my sense is during giving season things are fraught for young(er) EA orgs who aren’t sure if they’ll have enough to keep the lights on for the next year. Knowing OpenPhil might clear anywhere between 0-50% of an org’s budget doesn’t do enough to reduce uncertainty. So it doesn’t surprise me in spite of the apparent abundance of available funding from OpenPhil organizations rate donations today as worth so much more than the same amount donated a year from now.
I think the EA community has a limited data-set regarding availability of funding from EA orgs, and we try inferring more than we realistically can. OpenPhil’s relationship to EA is rapidly changing, and OpenPhil is rapidly changing the EA movement. OpenPhil has established relationships with EA orgs of all majorly represented causes that as long as things keep going along an optimistic trajectory for them, they can expect up to 50% of their room for more funding per year to be filled by OpenPhil. OpenPhil has begun these relationships with EA orgs in the last year or two. Prior to that, OpenPhil as an organization was still finding its feet, and was more reticent about how large grants EA organizations might expect. I haven’t worked at an EA org, but knowing people working at several, my sense is during giving season things are fraught for young(er) EA orgs who aren’t sure if they’ll have enough to keep the lights on for the next year. Knowing OpenPhil might clear anywhere between 0-50% of an org’s budget doesn’t do enough to reduce uncertainty. So it doesn’t surprise me in spite of the apparent abundance of available funding from OpenPhil organizations rate donations today as worth so much more than the same amount donated a year from now.