The idea that interventions should meet a certain level of cost-effectiveness to be worth funding is popular among tech-oriented philanthropic donors who believe in “effective altruism,” or seeking to do the most good with every dollar spent.
Open Philanthropy, founded by billionaire donors Dustin Moskovitz and Cari Tuna, is among the organizations leading the charge in this area, employing a methodological approach to identifying grant opportunities that could have the most impact on specific causes. The organization has reportedly provided $1.5 billion in grants since 2014 and plans to accelerate its giving by providing an additional $1 billion during 2022 and 2023.
On Wednesday, Open Philanthropy co-CEO Alexander Berger and research fellow Peter Favaloro discussed its approach to determining which causes to prioritize and how that might evolve as the organization raises more funds. Open Philanthropy recently updated its "Global Health and Wellbeing Cause Prioritization Framework” — a highly technical explanation of how the organization compares different kinds of grant-making opportunities to improve people’s lives.