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If I get a phone call from a solicitor asking me to support my local fire department or the search for the cure for cancer, I refuse to give. If a live person shows up at my door asking me to donate to a worthy cause, I nearly always give something. Am I behaving irrationally? Surely seeking donations via the telephone is more efficient than traipsing door-to-door. Shouldn't I support the charities that are most efficient?
Tim Harford of Slate argues that such behavior on my part demonstrates that my charitable giving isn't truly altruistic. Indeed, the most altruistic donor would realize that she can't save the whole world, and so should donate all her charitable dollars to the single best charity. Anything less is less than altruism, because she's not giving her dollars where they can do the most good. A similar argument is advanced by Steven Landsburg.
Nicolas at AlphaPsy responds:
I disagree with Landsburg on the irrationality of charitable diversifiers. There are plenty of evidence that people are not utilitarianists : they do not want to maximize the global welfare of the group, for example by concentrating on the worthiest in term of utility (I give to CARE because helping the people who die starving produces more utility/happiness/welfare/fitness than helping people with cancer). They also care about justice : the wealth have to be distributed in a fairly manner. And it could be that they think to give everything to the worst-off is unfair for the other (for example for those who are disadvantaged but less than the worst-off).[...]
Hence my hypothesis is that people are charitable diversifiers because they do not want to be unfair with people suffering from cancer by giving all their money to starving people. I'm not saying they are right, my point is only factual. If I am right, it may mean that charity is not (only) a question of empathy and compassion, as an utilitarian philosopher would think, but also a question of justice.
Ultimately, however, we give to charity for cultural reasons. As Thomas of Brainethics points out, what people actually give depends less on the consequences of their gift than their culture's attitude towards charity. Which may have something to do with why I'll give to someone on my front porch, where my neighbors can see me, but not someone on my telephone.
In other news:
Comments
My strict rules on charity solicitation regardless of by phone or in person:
First I ask, "Are you a 501(c)?" If they don't know, they get sent away. Next I ask, "What percentage of each dollar is used for administrative cost?" (The BBB suggests no more that 25%, I personally set the bar at 15%). If they don't know, they get sent away. Last, I tell them to send me their annual report and I'll consider supporting them.
My experience is that most of the solicitors don't know what a 501(c) is, none of them know their admin%, and I've never gotten an annual report in response to the request. I do give 10% of my annual to charity, but I give it to charities I've reserached and personally care about.
Posted by: Carol | November 6, 2006 12:19 PM
I think the discussion above misses one of the most important ways in which people choose which charity they give to - it is almost always one that is personally meaningful. My husband gave to the Heart Association because he had heart surgery as a child. I give to the Nature Conservancy because I'm an environmental scientist and I think it helps make up for all the destruction humans do to the world. My mom gives to charities she cares about for woman and children, as she was a single mom. It's not utilitarian, it's personal.
I do try to pick ones that I perceive are efficient from an overhead standpoint, and not get tempted by the constant flood of other requests. But again for me, that's partly an environmental and/or behavioral issue - I object to all the junk mail that enters my home and I value my privacy, so I don't appreciate the ones that call and knock. To discourage that behavior, I refuse to give in response to those forms of solicitation.
Posted by: Teresa Michelsen | November 6, 2006 12:55 PM
I get so many calls asking for help. I have gotten to the point where I immediately say, "If you are asking for money, I can't help you." I don't like being rude but I have no patience to listen to a request for help anymore. I don't even open the solicitations I receive in the mail. They immediately go to the recycling bin.
I have certain organizations that I researched and I feel do worthy and effective work. For others, I don't give now but have provided for in my trust (they will get a nice donation after I die). I choose to spread my giving around as I am of the mind that every little bit helps. I also choose organizations that are personally meaningful to me.
Posted by: Michele | November 6, 2006 6:39 PM
http://rondam.blogspot.com/2006/10/whats-wrong-with-this-reasoning.html
Ron Garret argues against Tim Harford idea about contributing everything to the best charity.
Posted by: Sunil Bajpai | November 7, 2006 1:40 AM