Hi mildlyanonymous. I work on the philanthropy programs at AIM. One thing to keep in mind here is that the Foundation Program and funding circles are distinct from the Incubation Program. We never tell any funder where to donate, all funding decisions are independently-made, and if you look at past funding circle updates (Meta, Mental Health), most grantees are not CE incubatees. Having worked on several funding circles, I am a huge believer that communities of grantmakers can have outsized impact compared to working alone. While I myself am a fan of CE's animal research and incubatees, this disagreement doesn't really have any bearing on the programs Joey was referring to in this post. All the same, thank you for your thoughts!
This is a great writeup. Thank you!