Thanks for your feedback and questions, and thanks for your patience while I was traveling. On reflection, I think I made a mistake in delegating two seats on the Fund to ACE, rather than picking Toni and Jamie independently. My intention was to increase the Fund’s ideological diversity (ACE researchers have a range of viewpoints, and I wanted to avoid the natural bias to pick those who shared mine). But I now think this benefit is outweighed by the harm that the Fund could be misperceived as reflecting ACE’s organizational views or being based on ACE research.
Otherwise, I worry we’re talking past each other. I agree with several, though not all, of your criticisms of ACE’s historical performance. But I also think ACE’s charity recommendations have created substantial value by driving donations toward higher-impact activities (though I don’t always agree with them). I believe this more because of my independent view of the activities and groups involved than because of ACE’s public writing.
More importantly, I don’t think your criticisms of ACE reflect on Toni and Jamie’s ability to help the Fund accomplish the goals we established: a wider range of views, a deeper resource of time, and more capacity to monitor impact. Both are smart, have different ideas on how to most effectively fund animal groups within an EA framework, and have much more time than I do to identify new giving opportunities. And both have an open-mindedness and commitment to truth that I think is critical for objectively assessing impact.
Thanks again for engaging with this decision, and the Fund, so thoughtfully. We look forward to sharing updates on the Fund’s donations in the coming months. And thank you, as always, to everyone for your support of effective animal advocacy — whether via the Fund or directly.
Thanks for your feedback and questions, and thanks for your patience while I was traveling. On reflection, I think I made a mistake in delegating two seats on the Fund to ACE, rather than picking Toni and Jamie independently. My intention was to increase the Fund’s ideological diversity (ACE researchers have a range of viewpoints, and I wanted to avoid the natural bias to pick those who shared mine). But I now think this benefit is outweighed by the harm that the Fund could be misperceived as reflecting ACE’s organizational views or being based on ACE research.
Otherwise, I worry we’re talking past each other. I agree with several, though not all, of your criticisms of ACE’s historical performance. But I also think ACE’s charity recommendations have created substantial value by driving donations toward higher-impact activities (though I don’t always agree with them). I believe this more because of my independent view of the activities and groups involved than because of ACE’s public writing.
More importantly, I don’t think your criticisms of ACE reflect on Toni and Jamie’s ability to help the Fund accomplish the goals we established: a wider range of views, a deeper resource of time, and more capacity to monitor impact. Both are smart, have different ideas on how to most effectively fund animal groups within an EA framework, and have much more time than I do to identify new giving opportunities. And both have an open-mindedness and commitment to truth that I think is critical for objectively assessing impact.
Thanks again for engaging with this decision, and the Fund, so thoughtfully. We look forward to sharing updates on the Fund’s donations in the coming months. And thank you, as always, to everyone for your support of effective animal advocacy — whether via the Fund or directly.