Tony Pipa

Recent Activity

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  Tony commented on the article | almost 3 years ago

  Emergency Relief's Intellectual and Moral Challenge

  Dead Aid is an odd choice for the issues that you raise, which are directly related to humanitarian aid.  Right up front Moyo herself exempts humanitarian aid, private philanthropy, and NGOs from her critique; her analysis is focused on government-to-government aid.  And, as you mention, it's an analysis pretty weak on evidence.  No need to buy into the hype.
  
  For an excellent reading list on these issues, your fellow Change.org blogger Michael Kleinman has posted recommendations by Charles London, who wrote One Day the Soldiers Came: Voices of Children in War:
  http://humanitarianrelief.change.org/blog/view/books_worth_taking_to_the_worst_places

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  Tony commented on the article | about 3 years ago

  The One Thing You Need to Know Before You Donate to Charity this Holiday Season

  Good discussion.  But I think this is a second-order question.  The first questions start with the donor: "Why am I doing this (giving away my money)?  What do I want to get out of it?"  Many donors are blind to the fact that their philanthropy is often as much (or more) about their needs and desires as it is about the change they're interested in.
  
  Sharon's post points out the power of honestly examining one's motivations and expectations and adjusting one's level of commitment.  Holden's post highlights what happens when there's a mismatch between a donor's expectations and an organization's programs.  Because he values "bang for the buck" so highly, he figures his first $17,000 did little good (I disagree that the organizations flat-out "didn't work," but agree that they are highly likely not to have worked to the degree Holden would have liked).  What he seems to be looking to support are the most efficient interventions as measured by quantitative evaluation, and thus has adjusted his philanthropic practices accordingly.