I’m all for choosing effective causes and charities to donate to. The case I’m making here is that if there’s only one cause that could move you to help, then you shouldn’t refrain from helping just cause the efficiency is low. If you realize that looking around for other charities would end in you just losing interest, then the reality in which you actually donate to a 1% efficient cause, you will have done more good than the reality when you look for a 50% efficient cause, are gripped by analysis paralysis and give up.
But if you have energy to optimize, of course, optimize!
That’s assuming that keeping the money for yourself is valueless. I would say that 1000 dollars for myself is probably worth more than 1 dollar to a refugee.
Fair point. I was writing this from a position of having earmarked a sum of money as “for charity”, thus removing the value to myself. But using your assumptions, then it’s just a matter of where you draw the line of how efficient a charity has to be, sure.
I’m all for choosing effective causes and charities to donate to. The case I’m making here is that if there’s only one cause that could move you to help, then you shouldn’t refrain from helping just cause the efficiency is low. If you realize that looking around for other charities would end in you just losing interest, then the reality in which you actually donate to a 1% efficient cause, you will have done more good than the reality when you look for a 50% efficient cause, are gripped by analysis paralysis and give up.
But if you have energy to optimize, of course, optimize!
That’s assuming that keeping the money for yourself is valueless. I would say that 1000 dollars for myself is probably worth more than 1 dollar to a refugee.
Fair point. I was writing this from a position of having earmarked a sum of money as “for charity”, thus removing the value to myself. But using your assumptions, then it’s just a matter of where you draw the line of how efficient a charity has to be, sure.