Holden, this is a pretty fair response - and I of all people know the difficulty of digging through the noise of the industry. I do think that, intrinsically, there's an implication that comes with that pie chart on your front page and a choice of 10.
There are a lot of NPOs, but there is just as much fear-mongering that justifies that little voice in peoples' head, tipping the scales as to whether they donate or not. This voice stops people from donating to anyone, lest their dollar be the dollar that buys an office supply rather than an air-dropped meal. In this economic climate, the impact of that voice is far worse than the consequence donating to an inefficient charity.
I think that this is something you could deal with by simply rebranding that idea a bit. 'The 10 Best Charities' is such a better sell than "There Are Only 10 Worthy Charities We've Found So Far." I really feel like that pie graph says the latter.
Again, it's not your mission - I'm sincere in saying that. I think it's the presentation. And that presentation alone would never be enough for me to exclude your top picks.
But clearly, we should chat more in another venue. I'm markATphilanthroper.com.
Hey, this is Mark Wilson, Founder of Philanthroper.
I truly respect their approach in that they're really going after impact measurement and tangible metrics. But if we all listened to GiveWell, there would be 10 charities in business. Literally. That's how many they've deemed worthy of your support.
GiveWell is kind of like that kid you knew in grade school who said he'd only marry a supermodel. Standards are great, until you realize that sleeping alone for your entire life might not be the best way to actually live.
There are a lot of NPOs, but there is just as much fear-mongering that justifies that little voice in peoples' head, tipping the scales as to whether they donate or not. This voice stops people from donating to anyone, lest their dollar be the dollar that buys an office supply rather than an air-dropped meal. In this economic climate, the impact of that voice is far worse than the consequence donating to an inefficient charity.
I think that this is something you could deal with by simply rebranding that idea a bit. 'The 10 Best Charities' is such a better sell than "There Are Only 10 Worthy Charities We've Found So Far." I really feel like that pie graph says the latter.
Again, it's not your mission - I'm sincere in saying that. I think it's the presentation. And that presentation alone would never be enough for me to exclude your top picks.
But clearly, we should chat more in another venue. I'm markATphilanthroper.com.