GiveWell, a charity evaluator that uses data to determine which nonprofits will give donors the most impact for their dollars, has given three international organizations its stamp of approval this month in an effort to influence year-end giving decisions.
The recommendation promises to be a fundraising bonanza for the groups: Last year’s picks attributed about $10-million total in gifts to the visibility they gained from their selection by GiveWell.
The organization, which recommends only three charities each year, is backing GiveDirectly, a nonprofit that provides no-strings-attached cash payments to poor people in Africa; the Schistosomiasis Control Initiative, which treats children in Africa for this parasite infection; and Evidence Action’s Deworm the World Initiative, which supports government-run programs in the developing world to treat parasitic worm infections in children.
But the evaluator both giveth and taketh away: Deworm the World has claimed a spot held for the past two years by the Against Malaria Foundation, which was GiveWell’s top recommendation to donors for two years in a row. It fell off the list because it hasn’t spent the millions of dollars it has raised, GiveWell says. The evaluator recommends that donors stop giving to the foundation because it says the group didn’t need more money.
Selection Criteria
In choosing its annual recommended charities, GiveWell, a leading voice in the data-driven movement known as “effective altruism,” examines verifiable results from their programs, the cost-effectiveness of the services they provide, the strength of their monitoring and evaluation systems, their cooperation with GiveWell in opening up the full details of their work, and the potential of their programs for growth should they receive the funds they seek.
Here’s how GiveWell selected the charities it recommends this year:
GiveDirectly showed a “direct and robust case for impact” by conducting a rigorous study of its work.
The recommendation has already attracted attention. Good Ventures, the foundation started by the Facebook co-founder Dustin Moskovitz, has committed a $5-million match to GiveDirectly.
Schistosomiasis Control Initiative has raised $4.6-million since November 2011, when GiveWell first recommended it. GiveWell says the group’s programs were inexpensive to run, and it applauded the group’s efforts to advocate for other means of curbing the spread of the disease and its willingness to test new approaches.
Deworm the World Initiative “makes your dollars go further than they otherwise would,” says GiveWell. It does that in large part by persuading governments to cover some of the costs of its large-scale deworming programs.
Dropped From the List
The Against Malaria Foundation, which lost GiveWell’s endorsement this year, says the evaluator’s system doesn’t take into consideration other factors that could stymie an organization’s mission, and its analyses may be too inflexible in assessing the realities of international humanitarian work.
Rob Mather, who heads the organization, noted, for example, that GiveWell didn’t take into account his group’s explanation that the reason it still had $13-million in its coffers was that it feared anti-malaria bed nets it had planned to buy and distribute in Sierra Leone might end up in the wrong hands because the government was unable to control thefts of supplies. The group is waiting until it can figure out a secure way to distribute the products.
According to data gathered by both GiveWell and the Against Malaria Foundation from its online donors, GiveWell’s backing brought $3-million in 2011 and $6-million in 2012. That’s a majority of its revenues, which in 2011 amounted to $4-million and in 2012, $8.3-million Now, Mr. Mather says, his organization may lose millions in contributions from GiveWell supporters these next few weeks.
“We expect it to be significantly diminished,” he says.