Don big foundations know what the good charities are? Why not just use their information?
We would like nothing more than to use foundations’ information on what charities do and whether it works. We have attempted to get this information from foundations including the Gates Foundation, Kellogg Foundation, Edna McConnell Clark Foundation, and Robin Hood Foundation. We have received some informal guidance in researching the issues, but have generally been told that information about particular charities’ outcomes is considered confidential. Appendix D of the business plan we wrote for our project, when launching it in March 2007, covers this issue more thoroughly. We believe that information about how to help people should never be secret. We strive to disclose everything that goes into our decisions, in a way that individual donors can understand and use. We encourage foundations to pursue the same goal.
