Now that the whole FTX thing has happened, have you reconsidered your position about the trust the public should have in organizations that don’t share the distribution of funds?
some person
Karma: −24
So after FTX, how do you all respond to this? Can you maybe see more why we are hesitant to donate to funds that don’t say how they allocate the money?
Doesn’t the fact that the information is not sufficiently available to prove that the organization is spending its money in legit ways disturbing to you?
I don’t think that argument makes sense. The more money one donates, the more funds will likely be distributed to causes of all types, including private ones. While you can’t be certain your specific donation caused an increase in funding to private causes, you can be relatively confident that on average such donations will do so.
This is just like how you can’t guarantee buying meat will kill more animals, but you can be relatively confident it will do so on average.
I totally agree this is really scary. I know you are getting bulk downvoted but I think the average person concerned about the future the planet would be worried that such a large organization is effectively siphoning money into mystery projects while claiming to be a charity.
Why don’t you just add an option for people to donate funds to public reporting only projects?
I apologize if I’m coming off rude, but I think the reason this has me particularly peeved is that this isn’t just some normal charity, this is one of the major charities behind the movement.
If it turns out that you mismanaged this fund, you are going to tarnish the entire effective altruism movement. This is the type of thing that gets an episode on John Oliver if you mess up.
I’m fine with trusting your judgement if I can verify what you decided. This provides a mechanism for the donators to express displeasure with your financial decisions.
But this has turned this entire fund into a black box. For all we know you could be giving money to charities run by your friends. Throwing money into a mystery black box is so far from the values of effective altruism.
How can you honestly tell people that the most effective way to donate their money is to give it to you and totally trust that you will do a good job with it.
This is extremely troubling. Why in the world would I want to donate to some mystery fund? How can we ensure the money isn’t going somewhere we find highly objectionable?
I’m sure you really care a lot about this, and I’m sure a bunch of random people online implying you might be part of something shady is upsetting to you. I have no doubt you are doing your best to help the world, which is incredible.
But do you see how after things like FTX people might be hesitant to donate to funds that don’t disclose where the money goes? I understand the motives to make this decision were probably good, but there has to be a better way.