Opinion Page: Why Fraternity & Sorority Life (and most other) charities are not worth donating to
From the Michigan Daily, April 6, 2023
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This raises a question: Why do you donate? Is it to experience a positive feeling of benevolence as you fulfill a supererogatory act? Or do you do it out of a desire to help those who need it? For most people, it’s a mix of the two. Yet there is no real way to prove the most important aspect of philanthropy: The effectiveness of your donation.
One prominent example of bad philanthropy is Chick-fil-A, a company that used to donate to anti-LGBTQ+ “charities.” If you believe in the equal rights of LGBTQ+ folks, donating to such “charities” is counterproductive and harmful — the opposite of what people who donate to charity are trying to achieve. Of course, FSL charities are not like Chick-fil-A. Winterfest raised funds for three organizations: the Autism Alliance of Michigan, the Women’s Center of Southeastern Michigan and Fisher House Michigan. These charities are doing net positive things — we can imagine the possibility of a better world if these organizations were to get more funding. However, in terms of expected value per dollar, they are far from doing the most good possible with a given budget.
Precise data regarding the use of funds by the Autism Alliance of Michigan could not be found, but autism is very expensive to manage. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the average medical expenditures of a child with autism spectrum disorder exceed those without the condition by $4,110 to $6,200 per year. In addition to these medical costs, intensive behavioral interventions for children with autism spectrum disorder cost typically between $40,000 to $60,000 per child per year.
In comparison, other charities, such as the Against Malaria Foundation, can save a life for $3,337 (in 2015), according to GiveWell, an independent charity evaluator. In this scenario, the opportunity cost of providing one year of treatments for a child with autism spectrum disorder is multiple lives. While it is challenging to compare Malaria and autism as distinct conditions, considering the overall suffering caused by a Malaria-related death is probably more significant than living with autism. Furthermore, it is important to note that saving one life from Malaria entails aiding numerous others with less severe Malaria cases. Of course, in a perfect world, we shouldn’t have to make a choice between the two. In reality, with limited altruistic funds, the sharp contrast of impacts makes this charity relatively ineffective.
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darryll jones