We often hear calls to “standardize metrics” so that nonprofits’ outcomes can be compared directly to each other. As an example of why we find this idea unpromising, I’d like to review some of our work on the first cause we ever investigated: employment assistance in NYC. We received 19 applications from employment assistance programs…
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Kiva suspends partnership with large, criticized partner LAPO
Back in December, we expressed concerns about LAPO, one of Kiva‘s largest microfinance partners. Last month, the New York Times ran an article implying criticism of LAPO. Now, Kiva has suspended its partnership with LAPO. A couple of questions this raises: Which of the several objections to LAPO have led to the suspension? Several concerns…
Economic empowerment grant: Mistakes, lessons learned, and steps taken
We’ve just published reviews of all of the organizations that applied for our economic empowerment grant. (Note that we previously announced the grant winners here.) Whenever we publish new charity reviews, we get some push back from charities who aren’t happy that they’ve received a 0-star review. Before we published our economic empowerment reviews, we…
Who needs in-kind donations more: The recipients or the givers?
First it was shoes, then shirts. I don’t have much to add on questions like “Are supplies in fact clogging the roads?” and “Are there in fact people in Africa who don’t wear shirts because they can’t find/afford them?” But to me, the argument against in-kind donations is both simple and general (i.e., it doesn’t…
Charity reviews vs. movie reviews
Note: I posted most of this post last night as a comment. There has been some interesting back-and-forth in the comments lately between Laura Deaton and me (see the Should Charity Evaluation be “fair”? thread). Laura seems worried that by issuing ratings and a list of “top” charities, we are implying a level of objectivity…
No interest rate is too high
Recent coverage of microfinance has had a sharp focus on interest rates, implying some line between “reasonable” interest (associated with “social investment”) and “excessive” interest (associated with “loan sharking”). In Nicaragua, President Daniel Ortega, outraged that interest rates there were hovering around 35 percent in 2008, announced that he would back a microfinance institution that…