An Endoscope for Charity Analysis

The NY Times reports on a new organization (GiveWell) that does seriously in depth analysis of the effectiveness of various charities. This isn't the usual "11% of donations go to administration" kind of evaluation. GiveWell performs an exhaustive look at the effectiveness of the programs themselves, and how efficiently the donated money achieves the charity's stated goals. If their first report -- on saving lives in developing countries is any indication, we can expect great things from them. Their blog makes for interesting reading too.