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The iTunes of charitable giving


When I took the pledge to give 1% of my income to charities fighting global poverty, I suddenly found myself thrust into a giant research project. Thousands of charities, dozens of charity evaluators, white papers and UN reports… it was too much. I spent weeks (maybe months?) deciding where to give. (I ended up selecting The Fistula Foundation, where I continue to make my largest annual gifts). 

What's a new effective altruist to do?

The Life You Can Save has helped by pointing toward some really effective organizations, but The Maximin Project is taking it to a whole new level. 

This week I had a Skype session with Steven Brown, founder and Executive Director of The Maximin Project, to learn more. Steven aims to do for charitable giving what iTunes did for music by creating a user-friendly one-stop-shop for donors. His data-driven platform of interactive info-graphics will let donors easily understand specific problems facing countries around the world, and how effective charities are solving those problems. Once it goes live, donors will able able to give directly through the site and allocate their donation across a variety of causes and projects. By making the donation process easier for donors, Steven thinks that more funding will end up in the hands of worthy charities. He wants The Maximin Project to create a particular type of user experience: one that is a data-centric, user-friendly, positive, and emotionally-connecting-but-not-manipulative. And he wants it to be an all-in-one package.

This is definitely an idea whose time has come. I can't wait until the site is functional! 

The Maximin Project is currently accepting funding through Indiegogo to launch the Beta version of the site.


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About the author:

Claire Knowlton

Claire Knowlton, President of the Board for The Life You Can Save, is an independent auditor of not-for-profit organizations in the United States. She shares her Los Angeles apartment with a physicist, a fluffy cat, and a window garden.

The views expressed in blog posts are those of the author, and not necessarily those of Peter Singer or The Life You Can Save.