Category Archives: Uncategorized

This article first published in the Financial Times. It describes three methods for assessing the effectiveness of giving. If many donors did this, and published the results with descriptions of how they give, we could build up a picture of … Continue reading →

This article first published in the scientific journal Nature. PDF copy here. Billions of dollars are being donated without strong evidence about which ways of giving are effective Philanthropists are flying blind because little is known about how to donate … Continue reading →

Giving Evidence is pleased to publish what seems to be unprecedented analysis of the success of a foundation’s various grants split by characteristics of the grants: such as size, duration, restrictions, and extent of non-financial support. We have analysed all … Continue reading →

‘Ask an important question and answer it reliably‘: how to do evidence-based philanthropy. This talk was given to an invited group of major donors. (18 mins)

This article first published in the Financial Times in April 2017.  Support homelessness charities and send your money to where it’s really needed It is the classic Venn diagram: not everybody who is homeless is a beggar, and not everybody … Continue reading →

This article first published in the Financial Times in September 2016. The news that Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg and his wife Priscilla are putting $3bn towards “ending all disease” has renewed the spotlight on the giving of Silicon Valley’s wealthiest. They are not … Continue reading →

UK non-profits delivering mental health services are not great at producing or using scientific evidence. This is the main finding of a new study by Giving Evidence. We interviewed 12 such organisations to understand their ‘evidence system’, i.e., how evidence is: Produced … Continue reading →

All charities and charitable foundations exist to serve the public good. Most of them are subsidised by the public, through various tax breaks. Whereas any company must have a meeting at least annually at which the directors are held to account … Continue reading →

This article first published in the Financial Times in May 2016. Toilet roll seems an unlikely emblem of effective philanthropy. Yet I’ve heard of a donor who specifically funds loo rolls in London museums and galleries on the simple grounds … Continue reading →

Like those of many social programmes, the goals of Sail Training voyages are long-term: In this case, to improve young people’s life chances, involvement in employment and training, and sound mental health. However, many organisations which provide Sail Training cannot conduct or … Continue reading →