Why we’re watching: GiveWell is perhaps the most influential organization for “effective altruists,” including many emerging donors in Silicon Valley. Its resources are growing fast, so it needs to find more grant opportunities that meet its stringent cost-effectiveness standards.

Leadership: Elie Hassenfeld, co-founder and CEO.
Staff: 51.
Notable hire: Managing Director Dr. Neil Buddy Shah, former IDinsight CEO.
$: Over $500 million raised for charity in 2021.
HQ: Oakland, California.
Tidbit: GiveWell had a public dust-up with one of its own grantees, GiveDirectly, in December.
Follow: Stephanie Beasley and Catherine Cheney.

Analysis: GiveWell has been around since 2007 but has recently experienced significant growth, with grants to its recommended charities approximately doubling in 2020 and then doing so again in 2021. The charity recommendation organization has directed just over $1 billion to charity since its inception but just last year raised around $500 million, and it says it plans to direct $1 billion each year by 2025. Add to that growth the fact that it is also a vehicle for the giving of billionaire couple Dustin Moskovitz and Cari Tuna, who have a net worth of more than $20 billion, according to Bloomberg, and have committed to give it all away. Last year, GiveWell held back $110 million in giving, saying it couldn’t find enough grant opportunities that clear its high bar. That means this year’s resources — and the problem of figuring out what to do with them — could be that much larger. — RK.

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