Should we give to more than one charity?

Abstract

In this chapter, James Snowden examines whether and why a donor might have good reason to split their donations among different charities, rather than give to a single charity. Snowden argues that, in simplified decision contexts, donors maximize expected utility by giving to only one charity. He engages with recent work on risk aversion in decision theory (e.g. by Lara Buchak), arguing that there is an important difference between self-regarding and other-regarding choices. When choosing between lotteries that affect the welfare of others, we should reject risk aversion, instead maximizing expected welfare. In more complex and realistic contexts, there may be various reasons to donate to multiple charities, consistent with maximizing expected utility. However, Snowden argues that the most persuasive such reasons apply to large grant-making institutions rather than typical individual donors.