LessWrong (30+ Karma) “Some things I noticed while LARPing as a grantmaker” by Zach Stein-Perlman
Mar 23, 2026
Practical advice for new philanthropists about creating high-leverage projects instead of fussing over small choices. Discussion of different funding bars, avoiding adverse selection, and when to make bold, counterfactual bets. Tips on being approachable without getting exploited, coordinating with other donors, and treating time and legal work as real costs. Notes on using quick quantification methods and when detailed numbers help.
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Watch Out For Winner's Curse In Funding Decisions
- Adverse selection creates a winner's curse: if others wouldn't fund X, that negative signal matters for your counterfactual funding decision.
- Check with other grantmakers and experts to mitigate hidden information before funding.
Be Willing To Be Muggable But Reduce Exploitability
- Be somewhat muggable: accept some exploitation risk so you don't miss high-value opportunities, but avoid making yourself an easy target.
- Sacrifice a bit of value to reduce exploitation incentives like delaying sharing until urgency.
Use Small Grants To Resolve Big Prioritization Uncertainty
- Grantmakers act as prioritization researchers; resolving key uncertainties cheaply can unlock much larger future funding decisions.
- Spending $1M now to resolve uncertainty about a $10M decision can be high EV if information payoff is large.