A Skeptical View of Charity Evaluation, Plus More: Thursday’s Roundup
By Maria Di Mento
Senior Editor
December 10, 2009 | Read Time: 1 minute
- While data can help social entrepreneurs with their work, so-called metrics need to be approached with caution because they can lead to the wrong conclusions, writes Mike Shoemaker, a consultant and volunteer with the Ayllu Initiative, on the Social Earth blog.
- Laura Freschi, an associate director at New York University, writes about how GlobalGiving yanked a project in Kenya from its Web site after an evaluation showed the effort had lost credibility among local people. Ms. Freschi says this shows the importance of asking local people what they think of nonprofit projects. Meanwhile, Holden Karnofsky writes on the GiveWell blog that the finding is worrisome because most aid projects don’t receive such a careful assessment. Mr. Karnofsky is co-founder of the nonprofit evaluation group.
- While GiveWell is a key charity evaluator, it sometimes is too quick to dismiss charities and should do more to encourage them to be open and help them figure out ways to measure their programs, writes Jeff Raderstrong, the founder of the Social Entrepreneurs of Grinnell, on his blog.
- Imagine receiving a marriage proposal from someone you’ve just met. That’s how many charities approach people online, says George Weiner, chief technology officer at DoSomething.org, on the Huffington Post blog. Mr. Weiner says charities should focus first on asking for volunteer help, telling stories, and collecting e-mails rather than asking for big donations.
