Living Goods donations received

This is an online portal with information on donations that were announced publicly (or have been shared with permission) that were of interest to Vipul Naik. The git repository with the code for this portal, as well as all the underlying data, is available on GitHub. All payment amounts are in current United States dollars (USD). The repository of donations is being seeded with an initial collation by Issa Rice as well as continued contributions from him (see his commits and the contract work page listing all financially compensated contributions to the site) but all responsibility for errors and inaccuracies belongs to Vipul Naik. Current data is preliminary and has not been completely vetted and normalized; if sharing a link to this site or any page on this site, please include the caveat that the data is preliminary (if you want to share without including caveats, please check with Vipul Naik). We expect to have completed the first round of development by the end of July 2024. See the about page for more details. Also of interest: pageview data on analytics.vipulnaik.com, tutorial in README, request for feedback to EA Forum.

Table of contents

Basic donee information

ItemValue
Country
Wikipedia pagehttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ship_of_Girls

Donee donation statistics

Cause areaCountMedianMeanMinimum10th percentile 20th percentile 30th percentile 40th percentile 50th percentile 60th percentile 70th percentile 80th percentile 90th percentile Maximum
Overall 9 250,000 1,036,763 50,000 50,000 100,000 250,000 250,000 250,000 499,847 500,000 2,650,000 4,781,021 4,781,021
6 250,000 591,667 50,000 50,000 100,000 100,000 250,000 250,000 250,000 250,000 250,000 2,650,000 2,650,000
Global health 2 499,847 2,640,434 499,847 499,847 499,847 499,847 499,847 499,847 4,781,021 4,781,021 4,781,021 4,781,021 4,781,021
FIXME 1 500,000 500,000 500,000 500,000 500,000 500,000 500,000 500,000 500,000 500,000 500,000 500,000 500,000

Donation amounts by donor and year for donee Living Goods

Donor Total 2020 2018 2017 2015 2014 2007
Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation (filter this donee) 5,280,868.00 0.00 0.00 5,280,868.00 0.00 0.00 0.00
Mulago Foundation (filter this donee) 2,650,000.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 2,650,000.00
Good Ventures/GiveWell top and standout charities (filter this donee) 850,000.00 0.00 100,000.00 250,000.00 250,000.00 250,000.00 0.00
Barr Foundation (filter this donee) 500,000.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 500,000.00 0.00 0.00
Open Philanthropy (filter this donee) 50,000.00 50,000.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00
Total 9,330,868.00 50,000.00 100,000.00 5,530,868.00 750,000.00 250,000.00 2,650,000.00

Full list of documents in reverse chronological order (7 documents)

Title (URL linked)Publication dateAuthorPublisherAffected donorsAffected doneesAffected influencersDocument scopeCause areaNotes
Recommendation to Open Philanthropy for Grants to Top Charities2019-11-26GiveWellOpen Philanthropy Malaria Consortium Helen Keller International Sightsavers Against Malaria Foundation The END Fund GiveDirectly Development Media International Dispenses for Safe Water Food Fortification Initiative Global Alliance for Improved Nutrition Georgetown University Initiative on Innovation, Development, and Evaluation Iodine Global Network Living Goods Project Healthy Children GiveWell Periodic donation list documentationGlobal health and developmentThe document details GiveWell's recommendation in 2019 for grants by Good Ventures (via the Open Philanthropy Project) to GiveWell top and standout charities. The overall amount of money recommended for allocation is $54.6 million, and the document explains that Open Phil's calculation that it may make sense to spend down more slowly was the reason for reducing the allocation from last year. It discusses the principles used for allocation: (1) Put significant weight on cost-effectiveness estimates, (2) Consider additional information not explicitly modeled about the organization, (3) Consider additional information not explicitly modeled about the funding gap, (4) Assess funding gaps at the margin, (5) Default to not imposing restrictions on charity spending, (6) Default to funding on a 3-year horizon, and (7) Ensure charities are incentivized to engage with the process. The three charities that get significant grants are Malaria Consortium for its SMC program ($33.9 million), Helen Keller International ($9.7 million), and Sightsavers ($2.7 million). Against Malaria Foundation, The END Fund, and GiveDirectly receive the minimum "incentive grant" amount of $2.5 million that all top charities should receive. The top charity Deworm the World Initiative is not given an incentive grant because it received a previous grant through GiveWell discretionary grant that more than covers the incentive grant amount. 8 standout charities get $100,000 each
Our top charities for giving season 20172017-11-27Natalie Crispin GiveWellGiveWell Maximum Impact Fund Good Ventures/GiveWell top and standout charities GiveWell top charities Against Malaria Foundation Schistosomiasis Control Initiative Malaria Consortium Deworm the World Initiative Helen Keller International Sightsavers The END Fund No Lean Season GiveDirectly Development Media International Dispensers for Safe Water Food Fortification Initiative Global Alliance for Improved Nutrition Iodine Global Network Living Goods Project Healthy Children GiveWell Evaluator consolidated recommendation listGlobal health and developmentGiveWell annual top charity refresh, also announced amounts recommended for Good Ventures to donate to top charities. Added two new top charities
One For The World's Top Picks For 20172017-04-02Rossa O'Keeffe-O'Donovan One for the World Against Malaria Foundation Living Goods Population Services International GiveDirectly Possible Schistosomiasis Control Initiative Deworm the World Initiative Fistula Foundation Evaluator consolidated recommendation listGlobal health and developmentOne for the World relies on a portfolio of 18 charities selected by The Life You Can Save, which in turn relies on research by others such as GiveWell. Within that portfolio, One for the World selects based on five criteria: direct impact, simplicity of programs, track record, cultural fit, existing recommendations. It has preference for a diverse portfolio. The six selected charities are: Against Malaria Foundation, Living Goods, Population Services International, GiveDirectly, and Possible. Charities that narrowly missed being in the Top Picks are Schistosomiasis Control Initiative, Deworm the World Initiative (Evidence Action), and Fistula Foundation
Good Ventures and Giving Now vs. Later (2016 Update)2016-12-28Holden Karnofsky Open PhilanthropyGood Ventures/GiveWell top and standout charities GiveWell top charities Against Malaria Foundation Schistosomiasis Control Initiative Deworm the World Initiative GiveDirectly Malaria Consortium Sightsavers The END Fund Development Media International Food Fortification Initiative Global Alliance for Improved Nutrition Iodine Global Network Living Goods Project Healthy Children GiveWell Reasoning supplementGlobal health and developmentExplanation of reasoning that led to $50 million allocation to GiveWell top charities
Our updated top charities for giving season 20162016-11-28Natalie Crispin GiveWellGood Ventures/GiveWell top and standout charities GiveWell top charities Against Malaria Foundation Schistosomiasis Control Initiative Deworm the World Initiative GiveDirectly Malaria Consortium Sightsavers The END Fund Development Media International Food Fortification Initiative Global Alliance for Improved Nutrition Iodine Global Network Living Goods Project Healthy Children GiveWell Evaluator consolidated recommendation listGlobal health and developmentGiveWell annual top charity refresh, also announced amounts recommended for Good Ventures to donate to top charities. Added three new top charities
Our updated top charities for giving season 20152015-11-20Elie Hassenfeld Josh Rosenberg GiveWellGood Ventures/GiveWell top and standout charities GiveWell top charities Against Malaria Foundation Schistosomiasis Control Initiative Deworm the World Initiative GiveDirectly Development Media International Global Alliance for Improved Nutrition Iodine Global Network Living Goods GiveWell Evaluator consolidated recommendation listGLobal health and global povertyNo change to charity list; significant funding recommended from Good Ventures. This would be later classified as Open Philanthropy Project spending
Our updated top charities2014-12-01Elie Hassenfeld GiveWellGood Ventures/GiveWell top and standout charities GiveWell top charities Against Malaria Foundation Schistosomiasis Control Initiative Deworm the World Initiative GiveDirectly Development Media International Global Alliance for Improved Nutrition Iodine Global Network Living Goods GiveWell Evaluator consolidated recommendation listGlobal health and developmentAgainst Malaria Foundation returned to top charities list. Amounts donated by Good Ventures would later be classified as Open Philanthropy Project spending

Full list of donations in reverse chronological order (9 donations)

Graph of top 10 donors (for donations with known year of donation) by amount, showing the timeframe of donations

Graph of donations and their timeframes
DonorAmount (current USD)Amount rank (out of 9)Donation dateCause areaURLInfluencerNotes
Open Philanthropy50,000.0092020-12--https://www.openphilanthropy.org/focus/global-health-and-development/miscellaneous/living-goods-general-support-december-2020GiveWell Donation process: The grant is based on GiveWell's recommendation. GiveWell made the recommendations as part of its end-of-year recommendations to Open Philanthropy, along with allocations to other GiveWell top and standout charities. The total budget of $100 million is set by Open Philanthropy, but GiveWell decided to allocate only $70 million in end-of-year grantmaking and defers the remaining $30 million to early 2021. GiveWell explains the process in detail at https://www.givewell.org/charities/top-charities/2020/open-philanthropy-recommendation (published February 2021).

Intended use of funds (category): Organizational general support

Donor reason for selecting the donee: At the time of the grant, Living Goods was a GiveWell standout charity, per https://www.givewell.org/charities/other-charities/November-2020-version and https://www.givewell.org/charities/living-goods-November-2014-version (November 2014 review). It therefore qualified for the $50,000 end-of-year incentive grant recommendation that all GiveWell standout charities received.

Donor reason for donating that amount (rather than a bigger or smaller amount): The amount of $50,000 is the amount of the incentive grant chosen for standout charities in 2020. https://www.givewell.org/charities/top-charities/2020/open-philanthropy-recommendation#Size_of_incentive_grants explains the reason for chosing the amount: "We also reduced our incentive grant recommendations for standout charities [from $100,000] to $50,000. Once a standout charity has been added to our list, we ask it to have one conversation with us each year and to review the notes we write to summarize what we learned from that conversation. We believe a smaller grant of $50,000 is appropriate for the time commitment this requires from standout charities."
Percentage of total donor spend in the corresponding batch of donations: 0.07%

Donor reason for donating at this time (rather than earlier or later): Part of GiveWell's end-of-year recommendations for Open Philanthropy, so the timing is determined by the timing of end-of-year recommendations (which is usually the week after Thanksgiving in the United States). The grant is made by Open Philanthropy shortly after the recommendations.

Donor retrospective of the donation: https://blog.givewell.org/2021/10/05/discontinuing-standout-charity-designation/ (November 2021) announces discontinuation of the standout charity designation, and says: "We’ve recommended that Open Philanthropy make a $100,000 exit grant to each standout charity on our list."
Good Ventures/GiveWell top and standout charities100,000.0082018-01--http://www.goodventures.org/our-portfolio/grants/iodine-global-network-general-support-december-2017GiveWell Grant is the $100,000 for being a standout charity. Grant announced on 2017-11-27 at https://blog.givewell.org/2017/11/27/our-top-charities-for-giving-season-2017/ along with GiveWell top and standout charities list.
Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation499,847.0042017-10-04Global health/Health policy and administrative managementhttps://iatiregistry.org/publisher/bmgf-- to surface learnings and create a model mechanism to facilitate government's contracting of community health provision to non-state actors; Aid type: Project-type interventions. Affected countries: Kenya|Uganda.
Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation4,781,021.0012017-09-21Global health/infectious disease controlhttps://iatiregistry.org/publisher/bmgf-- to fund the creation of a new Community Health Innovation Network to research, test, and prove the viability of emerging diagnostic and health technologies that extend beyond the lab setting to reach global clients at the community level; Aid type: Project-type interventions. Affected regions: Developing countries, unspecified.
Good Ventures/GiveWell top and standout charities250,000.0052017-01--http://www.goodventures.org/our-portfolio/grants/living-goods-general-support2GiveWell Grant for general support to a 2016 GiveWell standout charity. Grant announced on 2016-11-28 at https://blog.givewell.org/2016/11/28/updated-top-charities-giving-season-2016/#Sec3a along with GiveWell top and standout charities list.
Good Ventures/GiveWell top and standout charities250,000.0052015-12--http://www.goodventures.org/our-portfolio/grants/living-goods-general-support1GiveWell Grant to standout charity announced on 2015-11-20 at https://blog.givewell.org/2015/11/18/our-updated-top-charities-for-giving-season-2015/#Sec4a along with grants to other GiveWell top and standout charities.
Barr Foundation500,000.0032015-03-02FIXMEhttps://www.barrfoundation.org/grantmaking/grants/-- To provide operating support and help Living Goods scale its work in Uganda.
Good Ventures/GiveWell top and standout charities250,000.0052014-12-01--http://www.goodventures.org/our-portfolio/grants/living-goods-general-supportGiveWell Grant to standout charity announced at https://blog.givewell.org/2014/12/01/our-updated-top-charities/ based on GiveWell charity recommendations in the same post; see also https://www.givewell.org/charities/top-charities/November-2014 and the review https://www.givewell.org/charities/living-goods.
Mulago Foundation2,650,000.0022007--https://mulagofoundation.org/Portfolio/living-goods-- Donation date is not a single date but rather when funding began. Rainer fellow in . Mulago’s reasons for investing: “We have solutions -- like malaria medication -- that save lives, but these products do little good if they don't reach the people who need them most. Living Goods solves this challenge with an Avon Lady-like network of dynamic women who sell high-impact health products and deliver health education door-to-door in their communities. The result has been a 25% decrease in child mortality in the communities where Living Goods works.”.