> It's one of the reasons why, when I donate to a charity, I never specify how I want those funds to be used; I recognize that the charity is in a far better position to make that decision than I am.
But by choosing a charity, you make that decision. If you donate to MSF you expect your money to be used differently than if you donated to Mozilla or the ASPCA or the Ayn Rand foundation - and you'd probably be a bit unhappy, and less willing to donate in future, if you found out MSF spent your money on animal shelters.
Even if you donate to Givewell or similar, you're still expecting the money to be spent in line with the values they advertise (closer to MSF than the other three I named, but different).
So it's reasonable for someone to want a charity that broadly shares his values. Wanting to fund a nonprofit that produces web documentation, but not longshot startups, is a reasonable value to have.
> So it's reasonable for someone to want a charity that broadly shares his values. Wanting to fund a nonprofit that produces web documentation, but not longshot startups, is a reasonable value to have.
I absolutely agree.
However, I think it's one thing to say "I will donate to Goodwill because I think their mission is important and they have a good reputation", and another to say "and when I donate you must used my money to pay for X and not Y". The former is a statement of values and trust in the organization. The latter is very nearly the opposite!
And yet, it's still OK to say, "I would donate to this charity or organization if its executive compensation does not exceed a certain amount, otherwise I don't think my money is being used appropriately."
Also, when people donate lots of money to an organization, either as a personal grant or by bundling a bunch of donations they collect, they quite often do stipulate how it will be spent. If someone wanted to organize a drive for MDN, they would be justified in saying they want the money to appear as additional funds for MDN.
But by choosing a charity, you make that decision. If you donate to MSF you expect your money to be used differently than if you donated to Mozilla or the ASPCA or the Ayn Rand foundation - and you'd probably be a bit unhappy, and less willing to donate in future, if you found out MSF spent your money on animal shelters.
Even if you donate to Givewell or similar, you're still expecting the money to be spent in line with the values they advertise (closer to MSF than the other three I named, but different).
So it's reasonable for someone to want a charity that broadly shares his values. Wanting to fund a nonprofit that produces web documentation, but not longshot startups, is a reasonable value to have.