The following is an explanation of a question I asked on Quora here.
Time's up, pencils down. The voting is over. The $100K has gone out to Chengeta Wildlife, which received the most votes. Congratulations and Thank You to all those who took a moment to upvote for their favorite cause.
My billionaire mother died in 2014. By 2015 I’d personally inherited about $3.2 million. Inheriting wealth goes against my conviction that we are all created equal, and so maintaining my peace of mind requires that I give the inheritance away.
In 2015, my first year of giving, I gave away $100,000: 90% to tax-deductible non-profits and 10% to other causes and to cover giving expenses. Problem is, at $100K/year that $3.2M is going to keep growing forever (based on expected investment returns). To give it all away in a reasonable timeframe I figure I’ll need to work up to at least $300K/year.
So in 2016, my second year of this task, I’ll be giving away $200,000. I can handle the first $100,000 myself (as I did in 2015) but I’d like the collective wisdom of the Quora community to tell me where to give the second $100,000.
Dear Quora Community: Where should I give away $100,000 in 2016? It can be to a non-profit, to a for-profit, to anything or anyone (whether tax-deductible or not). I don’t want to be answered with probing questions like “what do you think is important?” and I don’t want general answers like “research what has the most impact” or “you should read this book by so-and-so”. What I do want is specific answers, like “Give it to XXXXXX, because they will use it to… which is the best use of $100K because…”
I want specific XXXXXX because I need to know who to write the check out to and where to send it (I don't want to put in a lot of effort, just money).
You want good “because…” sections is to convince other users to Upvote your answer.
By the end of November 2016, I’ll consider the collective wisdom of the Upvotes and give $100,000 as defined in the winning answer.
Thanks for the help (especially to Greg Gordon for suggesting this approach).
As of October 29, 2016, the following answers were precise enough for the $100K (there were other answers given, but they weren't precise enough about exactly where to send the check). The clear upvote winner was Chengeta Wildlife. Thanks to all who told us about charities and who voted their conscience, and congratulations to Chengeta Wildlife. This experiment in democratizing philanthropy is now closed.
If you want to influence gifting $100K in 2016, go to this Quora question and vote.