Moment
Donors ask for evidence they cannot find
United States, 2007; GiveWell is founded
Karnofsky and Hassenfeld wanted to compare charities using evidence about what their activities accomplished. Their inquiries found that readily available information often did not answer the questions they considered most useful. They founded GiveWell to investigate giving opportunities and publish the reasoning behind recommendations.
- Founders
- Holden Karnofsky and Elie Hassenfeld
- Year
- 2007
- Project
- Charity research
The caveat
GiveWell's history is an organization's account of its own development, not an independent certification of every recommendation. It illustrates one strand of evidence-focused philanthropy and does not represent the entire effective altruism movement.
The project made a donor's counterfactual visible: money used here cannot simultaneously support another program. Its later account of changing research methods also describes revisions in how it sought promising opportunities. Evaluation itself needed to remain open to learning.
How it connects
GiveWell turned unanswered donor questions into an ongoing research project.
This moment appeared in The comparison inside a good intention, the Involves connection for October 16, 2026, which asked: How should helping change when the same resources could help more elsewhere?
Check yourself
Why did GiveWell's founders start researching charities?
Available information did not adequately answer their questions about outcomes. Exactly. Their project sought evidence relevant to comparing the benefits of giving.
What the sources establish
GiveWell was founded in 2007 by Karnofsky and Hassenfeld after inquiries into charitable effectiveness.
Sources
Our Story (GiveWell), Founders' inquiries and 2007 establishment