What is Effective Giving?
Effective giving is a philanthropic philosophy and practice aimed at maximizing the positive impact of charitable donations. Rather than simply donating to causes based on personal connections, emotions, or tradition, effective giving uses evidence, research, and critical analysis to identify charities or interventions that achieve the greatest good per dollar spent.
There’s a vast difference between what the most and least effective charities can accomplish with donations. Roughly 60 to 70% of global development interventions tested showed no significant impact - meaning those donations could have just been set on fire for all the good they did. A $100 donation to a highly effective charity can do more good than a $10,000 donation to a typical one.
The Importance of Effectiveness
Effectiveness isn't about minimizing overhead costs. Instead of asking, How can we spend as little as possible? the right question is, How can we maximize the good done with the money spent?
That "maximisation" requires measuring the "good done", a challenging but not impossible task. Charities can be evaluated using similar methodologies to healthcare and government policy, using rigorous methods to identify those that provide the most benefit per dollar. GiveWell is the best-in-class charity evaluator, employing independent experts who rigorously identify the most effective charities. The Original Position Fund follows the evidence-based recommendations of GiveWell's Top Charities fund, which they estimate can save a life for ~$5,000.
Our Focus on Global Poverty
The most impactful charities naturally address issues that are big (affecting many people), solvable (where progress is possible), and neglected (where more work is needed). Without all three of these criteria, interventions can't have the most impact per dollar - they either don't scale, hit brick walls leading to money waster, or where other bodies like national governments are leading the way. Based on this framework, it is clear the most effective donations go towards improving global health and development. The charities the GiveWell recommends, and that we donate to through the OP Fund, focus exclusively on this critical area.
Make an Impact: Donate to the OP Fund to Build a Fairer World
Help build a world where birth doesn’t limit opportunity. Donating to the Original Position Fund channels 75% to the most effective charities in the world, and 25% to helping Original Position reach more people, multiplying the donation to these worthy causes