You’re stacking the deck by talking about people who give to charities other than the ones they work for - presumably the ones they’ve identified as the best.

I’ve never given because of a mission statement or brochure, it’s true.  But I did months of research on organizations I had zero personal connection to, and gave my gift based only on that.  Then I discussed it with my friends Elie, Bob, Kerry, Karen, Brian, Ryan, and Dave - and they all did the same thing (including the months of research).  Then we shared what we’d found with our friends, and believe that a significant number of people followed our recommendations.

There is such a thing as people who just want to do as much good as possible.

Now you can’t say no one has told you they’ve given in this impersonal way.

Thanks Holden for commenting.  Yes, you are the first in my entire life who has given to an organization they had no feeling of connection to at all, in any way!  I want to know more.  Which organizations did you end up supporting and why?  On GiveWell, I notice for example your malaria org recommendations are largely based on how organizations communicated their programs to you, which to me suggests nothing is purely clinical.  It’s hard to separate personal relationship from giving.  They are deeply entertwined for most people.  For example, your friends followed your recommendations - would they have given if Wise Giving Alliance did the same thing, or was it your personal recommendation and role as messenger that spelled the difference?

Based on the evidence we have, which organization would we bet will use our donation to help people the most?  Answer to that question determined whom we gave to.

Communication played a role because we couldn’t evaluate organizations that told us nothing.  I won’t bet on something I know nothing about.  But that wasn’t the only factor.  For example, AMREF communicated with us better - and had more documentation - than Nothing but Nets.  But NBN’s model makes more sense to us.  Period.

My friends didn’t give based on my recommendations.  They did their own research and came to their own conclusions.  None of my friends gave to my favorite, New Visions; they all decided they liked something else better.  New Visions tells me that donations from our company went up after we published our website (I have no idea who the people were who came to this conclusion).

And, of course, there’s me.  No one gave me the idea to give in this way.  It just makes sense because my goal is to help people, not feel good.  Do you think I’m one-of-a-kind?

Holden, how if I may be so bold to ask, does helping people make you feel? What did it feel like the first time you did it? Why do you continue to do it all these years later?

Cool, I’m being interviewed.

I’d say the two most common emotions I experience while thinking about giving are frustration and excitement, in that order.  I’m frustrated because I don’t know enough about anything and I don’t know what I’m really accomplishing ... I’m excited to be doing something worth doing.

On balance, does the whole experience make me smile more or less often?  Honestly, I’m not even really sure.  It isn’t something I think about all that much.  What I know is that if I want to feel warm and fuzzy inside, there are much more reliable ways.  And there is such a thing as doing the right thing just because it’s right.

Does that make sense?

Sure, that makes sense. Though if the forum allowed it, I’d I’d want to explore that sense of excitement to be doing something worth doing a bit more with you. It may not be as warm and fuzzy as other, more tangible things in your life, but it sounds like it does give you some joy to give too, yes?

For many people, giving fulfills an internal narrative we have for ourselves, a story that we learned as a child or a legacy that we want to leave behind. Exploring that narrative is a great way to clarify our values, finding what motivates us.

As a professional fundraiser, when I have that conversation with someone, I’m trying to discover if the same things that motivate them motivate my agency. If so, there is something to build a partnership on. If not, that’s absolutely okay, for a I know I’ve helped them get closer understanding what type of agency might help fulfill their own personal mission in life.

By asking myself these same questions—just as Katya did of other fundraisers—I am reminded once again that fundraising is not merely about raising money, but about helping people put their values into action, finding what brings them joy in life. For as our teacher Hank Rosso once wrote, “fundraising is the gentle art of teaching people the joy of giving.”

Depends what you mean by “joy.”  If you mean it broadly enough, the answer is yes, but again - that isn’t the point.  No *feeling* is the goal.  An external result (less suffering/more opportunity for others) is the goal.

I’ve been having more conversations like this recently, and I’m going to do some more detailed introspection on The GiveWell Blog, possibly starting tomorrow, in case you’re interested.  I believe that the question of “what’s in it for me?” (and us) isn’t really answered by “joy,” no matter how broadly you define it.

When I ask what gives you joy, it is merely a strategy to explore what your values are. For unlike you, most people have a hard time answering the question, “What are your values?”

So what I’m hearing is that less suffering and more opportunity for others is an important goal for you. My question would be then, “Why?”

It may seem like a silly question, but I suspect that by exploring the many layers behind the answer it will bring you back to a place that fulfills your own personal values—the personal story you are trying to live—and in the process discover what brings you joy.

I look forward to reading more on your blog.

As a conclusion - everyone gave money for their own needs. Maybe not so obvious, but in future

Not my conclusion, unless you mean it in the tautological sense.

My conclusion: like Katya, I don’t know anyone who has given because of a beautiful brochure or mission statement.  That’s because these things don’t contain enough information to make an impersonal decision.  But contrary to the original post, there are at least some donors out there (and, I would argue, an understated number) who would gladly look past their personal contacts if they had a credible source of information on charities’ actual effectiveness. 

(This is the significance of my claim that for me, giving isn’t about feeling a certain way, it’s about achieving a certain result.)

By securing long term donations, charities are able to plan future campaigns in the knowledge that they have a guaranteed amount of money to work with.

great post, i’ve subscribe ur blog, i found there is a similar post here for PSP Download Site Review, you can check it out.

Thank you very much…