How It Works
We are Real Estate Developers committed to finding & funding solutions to save and improve the most amount of lives.
Identify Pressing Cause Area.
We target cause areas that align to our partners' & Vikara Social Developments' core values.
Understand Core Underlying Problems.
We research, evaluate & drill down the "core" underlying problems within these cause areas.
Research & Prioritize Solutions/Interventions.
We research solutions & interventions that are: Scalable, Feasible & Neglected.
Select Highly-Effective, Evidence-Backed Charity.
We rigorously evaluate charities based on: Evidence, Efficiency & Execution.
Design, Develop & Manage Real Estate.
We design, develop & manage projects that maximize real estate potential for our partners & clients.
Donate 33% of Profits to Selected Charity.
We donate 33% of our company profits directly to the selected charity.
1. Identify A Pressing Cause Area
There are a lot of pressing problems out there in our world. The challenge we face as humans is that we have limited resources to tackle all the problems we need to solve. How do we pick which causes, interventions, organizations, policies, etc. to focus on which save & improve the most amount of lives? Prioritization Research. Prioritizing which causes do the most to make the world a better place if we add more resources to them TODAY.
Based on research from the Copenhagen Consensus, GiveWell, the Future of Humanity Institute, The World Bank and other top cause-prioritization research organizations, we identify the best cause areas that align with our mission to save & improve the most amount of lives.
From this priority list, we work together with our partners to select a cause area that aligns with their core values & passions.
2. Understand Core Underlying Problems
In order to understand how to best tackle these pressing cause areas, we need to first understand the core underlying problems that affect each cause. The surprising & very sad reality is that many of these underlying problems are 100% preventable & treatable today. Similarly, many of the “common sense” and “intuitive” problems that many charities focus on within these cause areas are, oftentimes, NOT the best way to truly have the most impact.
For example, let’s say you wanted to help improve the educational opportunities for the most amount of children. Intuitively, the ideas that come to mind is donating books, building classrooms & schools, tutoring and providing supplies & technology. However, surprisingly, studies have proven that one of the best ways to improve educational outcomes is to protect children from intestinal worms & parasitic infections. In a study by Harvard, treating intestinal worms in children led to a 25% decrease in school absenteeism. This outcome has more than a 100x impact compared to many of the “common sense” ways to improve education.
Examples like this is why it is so important to understand the underlying problems within these causes & prioritize those that maximize impact.
3. Research & Prioritize Solutions/Interventions
After identifying the “right” problems, the next step is to determine the most effective solutions to these problems. The key factors used by experts to select the best solutions is to evaluate: Scability, Feasibility, and Neglectedness.
Feasibility. The scalability of the solution refers to the number of people impacted & how much it improves or saves their lives. Essentially, if we dedicated more resources to this solution, how much would the world become a better place? For example, to prevent malaria, long-lasting insecticidal nets (LLINs) can be very easily distributed to many people & is one of the most effective methods to protect against malaria on an individual level.
Feasibility. Now that we know the solution is scalable, we need to determine how feasible & cost-effective it is. For example, the total cost to purchase, distribute and follow-up on the distribution of LLINs is approximately $4.95 per LLIN. This is one of the cheapest & most feasible ways to prevent malaria on a scalable level.
Neglectedness. Along with understanding if the solution is scalable & feasible, we need to ensure that there aren’t too many people working on the same solution & overcrowding limited resources to one area. For example, based on a detailed investigation by Givewell on LLIN distribution, they estimate there is still clear room for more funding needed by early 2022 to the amount of an additional $37.8 million.
4. Select Highly-Effective, Evidence-Backed Charity.
Now that we determined the best solutions in our selected cause area, we need to find the best charity to implement these. A highly-effective charity should have robust evidence on the efficiency of its programs and its ability to execute good outcomes. Conducting this intimate & deep level of due-diligence on each charity can take a very long time to complete. Luckily, there are expert researchers & organizations (i.e. GiveWell) who dedicate their time to conduct rigorous assessments & investigations based on the factors above.
Evidence. What is the size, quality and relevance of evidence of a charity’s outcome? Charity-evaluator, Givewell, conducts detailed qualitative & quantitive investigations (i.e. reviewing internal reports, interviewing staff, conducting randomized controlled trials) on many charities to assess whether it is operated with high-quality.
Efficiency. Are an organization’s programs cost-effective, offering the most impact per dollar? See Givewell’s “Cost-Effectiveness Model” to understand how different charities score based on different outcomes, moral weights & values (the financial underwriting for our real estate & business people).
Execution. Can the charity translate marginal donations into crucial, positive outcomes at scale? Searching for effectiveness isn’t about asking how charities can spend as little as possible on overhead costs, it is about how much they achieved with the overhead spent. Just like in business, the charity with the right team, processes, systems & relationships (which requires significant overhead) will execute a solution to have the most impact.
Below are proven examples of highly-effective, evidence-backed charities:
5. Design, Develop & Manage Real Estate.
Vikara Social Development’s core focus is to design, develop & manage projects that maximize real estate potential for our partners and clients. We are based out of Philadelphia, PA.
1. Real Estate Development
2. Joint Ventures & Partnerships
3. Feasibility & Underwriting "Highest & Best Use" Study
4. Pre-Development & Project Management Consulting
5. Real Estate Marketing & Drone Photography Services
6. Donate 33% of Company Profits To Selected Charity.
Period.