I don’t personally donate to AMF (I think top animal charities are more effective), but I’ve heard a few people who still do. They are confident that AMF will successfully mobilize its current funds within the next couple of years or so.
It’s some kind of balancing act between supporting GiveWell-recommended charities as a way of supporting GiveWell, and recognising that our best guess is that bednets are substantially more cost-effective than deworming/cash transfers. (Pending the forthcoming update....)
Not to begrudge you too much because I’m delighted that you’re donating, but do you think GiveWell is wrong about AMF? Presumably they’ve already factored in the relative strength of bednets.
Presumably they’ve already factored in the relative strength of bednets.
I don’t think this is relevant to GiveWell’s decision not to recommend AMF.… Immunisations are super-cost-effective, but GiveWell don’t make a recommendation in this area because GAVI or UNICEF or whoever already have committed funding for this.
I’ve got two choices if I want to donate all my donation money this year:
Donate to AMF, which is likely higher impact, but maybe my money won’t be spent for a couple of years.
Donate somewhere else, likely lower impact.
I think an AMF donation looks a pretty decent option here. I would say that the EA-controversial part of my thinking is the insistence on donating all my donation money this year, rather than using a donor-advised fund (to which I say, “Eh, whatevs...”).
You might say “well there’s a 50-percentage-point difference at each of those two steps” and think I’m being inconsistent in donating to AMF and not GAVI. But if I try some expectation-value-type calculation, I’ll be multiplying the impact of AMF’s work by 50% and getting something comparable to SCI, but getting something close to zero for GAVI.
I’d feel a bit weird holding on to the money instead of donating it.
A middle ground would be to put the money into a donor-advised fund, and then wait and see if AMF gain room for more funding. That way, you can direct the money elsewhere if they don’t.
As I said to Peter in our long thread, “Eh whatevs”. :P
I don’t think I can make anything more than a very weak defence of avoiding DAF’s in this situation (the defence would go: “They seem kinda weird from a signalling perspective”). I’m terrible at finance stuff, and a DAF seems like a finance-y thing, and so I avoid them.
I hope you don’t feel like Peter and I have been attacking your choice of donation—I see where you’re coming from, and AMF is a great charity, RFMF concerns apart!
I don’t personally donate to AMF (I think top animal charities are more effective), but I’ve heard a few people who still do. They are confident that AMF will successfully mobilize its current funds within the next couple of years or so.
Interesting, do you know why they don’t just wait to see if it manages to do so and GiveWell re-recommends it?
About a quarter of my donations this year will go to AMF. I’d feel a bit weird holding on to the money instead of donating it.
Why AMF and not somewhere else?
It’s some kind of balancing act between supporting GiveWell-recommended charities as a way of supporting GiveWell, and recognising that our best guess is that bednets are substantially more cost-effective than deworming/cash transfers. (Pending the forthcoming update....)
Not to begrudge you too much because I’m delighted that you’re donating, but do you think GiveWell is wrong about AMF? Presumably they’ve already factored in the relative strength of bednets.
I don’t think this is relevant to GiveWell’s decision not to recommend AMF.… Immunisations are super-cost-effective, but GiveWell don’t make a recommendation in this area because GAVI or UNICEF or whoever already have committed funding for this.
I’ve got two choices if I want to donate all my donation money this year:
Donate to AMF, which is likely higher impact, but maybe my money won’t be spent for a couple of years.
Donate somewhere else, likely lower impact.
I think an AMF donation looks a pretty decent option here. I would say that the EA-controversial part of my thinking is the insistence on donating all my donation money this year, rather than using a donor-advised fund (to which I say, “Eh, whatevs...”).
So why not donate to immunizations, then?
AMF is far more likely to need the money soon than GAVI.
But SCI is far more likely to need the money soon than AMF.
Probability that they’ll need my money soon:
GAVI: ~0%
AMF: ~50%
SCI: ~100%
You might say “well there’s a 50-percentage-point difference at each of those two steps” and think I’m being inconsistent in donating to AMF and not GAVI. But if I try some expectation-value-type calculation, I’ll be multiplying the impact of AMF’s work by 50% and getting something comparable to SCI, but getting something close to zero for GAVI.
A middle ground would be to put the money into a donor-advised fund, and then wait and see if AMF gain room for more funding. That way, you can direct the money elsewhere if they don’t.
As I said to Peter in our long thread, “Eh whatevs”. :P
I don’t think I can make anything more than a very weak defence of avoiding DAF’s in this situation (the defence would go: “They seem kinda weird from a signalling perspective”). I’m terrible at finance stuff, and a DAF seems like a finance-y thing, and so I avoid them.
Well I can’t argue with “whatevs” ;)
I hope you don’t feel like Peter and I have been attacking your choice of donation—I see where you’re coming from, and AMF is a great charity, RFMF concerns apart!
That’s OK, even if I had perceived it as an attack, I’ve thought enough about this topic for it not to bother me!