The News Stand

How GiveWell Shares Its Mistakes to Help Others Learn

GiveWell is a charity research organization that helps donors find the most effective places to give money for global health and development. They publish a detailed list of all their mistakes from 2006 to now, including research errors, hiring problems, communication failures, and organizational issues. Major mistakes include not publishing all their research, diversity problems in hiring, tone issues in early communications, and confusing charity rating systems. Smaller mistakes include spreadsheet errors, poor planning, and privacy mishaps. They share these mistakes publicly so other organizations can learn from their experiences and so donors can better evaluate whether to trust them. The organization believes in transparency and expects the same openness from charities they recommend. This mistake log shows how they've grown and improved over nearly 20 years of operation, learning to be more diverse, communicate better, and conduct more rigorous research.