A thread through the archive
Essays tagged “charitable giving”. Follow an idea across the archive.
Scott argues that taking the Giving What We Can Pledge to donate a fixed percentage of income is the single most impactful decision most people can make, eliminating donation stress while maximizing charitable impact.
Scott announces the results of the 2025 ACX Grants round, awarding $1.5 million to 42 projects out of 654 applications, covering areas from genetic engineering and disease prevention to AI safety and educational reform.
Scott Alexander announces the 2025 ACX Grants program offering $1M in microgrants for charitable and scientific projects, with a new equity-sharing component for projects that become startups.
Scott Alexander outlines five key strategic questions facing the ACX Grants program, including whether to fund for-profit companies and how to handle various funding scenarios.
Scott reviews updates from two cohorts of ACX Grants recipients (from 2021 and 2024), analyzing their progress and sharing lessons learned about what makes grants successful.
Scott Alexander responds to Tyler Cowen about USAID funding, correcting his own previous claims about overhead costs while maintaining that Cowen's criticism of USAID was misleading and potentially harmful.
Scott shares 55 interesting links covering topics from AI poetry to religious movements, including updates on various projects, unusual historical events, and current developments in technology, politics, and society.
Scott Alexander reviews the results of the Impact Market Mini-Grants test run, discussing the top projects and lessons learned about this novel charitable funding method.
Scott Alexander argues that misusing terms like 'democratic' and 'accountable' can inadvertently justify totalitarianism, and suggests more careful usage of these terms.
Scott updates readers on the Impact Market Mini-Grants project, detailing recent developments and the project timeline.
Scott Alexander announces a $20,000 grants round for forecasting projects using impact certificates, explaining the process for creators and investors.
A review of 'The Anti-Politics Machine' by James Ferguson, discussing its critique of development projects and implications for Effective Altruism.
Scott Alexander shares the second half of ACX Grants, presenting 59 diverse project proposals seeking funding or support.
Scott Alexander announces Grants ++, asking unfunded ACX Grant applicants to resubmit concise proposals for potential reader funding.
Scott Alexander announces ACX Grants, offering $250,000 to fund promising research and projects, with potential for additional funding through partnerships.
Scott Alexander reviews 'Just Giving' by Rob Reich, criticizing its arguments against philanthropy by showing how they could also be used to condemn book-writing.
Scott Alexander creates an interactive geographic-style map visualizing the landscape of effective altruism, including cause areas, organizations, and key individuals.
Scott Alexander offers a guide for lazy people to donate to effective charities, ranging from easy options like EA Funds to more specific recommendations in various cause areas.
Scott Alexander compares political spending to the almond industry, revealing surprisingly low amounts in politics due to coordination problems.
Scott Alexander compares setting moral standards to economic price-setting, arguing that more achievable standards might lead to better outcomes than unattainably high ones.
Scott Alexander attends the Effective Altruism Global 2017 conference, describing both the practical charity work and bizarre philosophical speculations of the movement, ultimately admiring their genuine commitment to doing good.
Elizabeth Van Nostrand explains how the International Refugee Assistance Project's (IRAP) ground-level work with refugees enabled a rapid response to Trump's immigration ban, highlighting the importance of maintaining emergency response capacity.
Scott Alexander explores the hidden prevalence of misery in society, using his psychiatric experience and statistical analysis to argue that suffering is more widespread than commonly perceived.
Scott shares and comments on various links covering topics like startups, science, academia, social issues and charitable giving, with a focus on rationalist and effective altruist causes.
Scott Alexander examines the concept of infinite debts in personal and societal contexts, proposing a practical approach of paying manageable 'interest' rather than attempting full repayment.