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Comment by cperciva | Hacker News Reader

Who cares about the Watsi founders? Go help the girl!

I think the point is not that people particularly care about the Watsi founders; but rather, that they care about the hundreds of thousands of other girls whom Watsi won't be able to help if Watsi and/or its founders go bankrupt because they lack a sustainable funding model.

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I don't understand the logic there; at least in terms of stopping someone from getting involved: the girls you can help now should be just as, if not more important than the future.

Note, that comes across as snarky via text, but it's not meant to be. I'm just explaining my way of thinking about it. :)

The logic is that it takes time and money to get to where people can be helped. While it is true that Watsi can help people now regardless of whether they will be able to in a year, it's much more effective for Watsi to continue to exist because otherwise another organization will have to pay the startup time and money cost again.

Also, it is entirely possible to donate and also have this discussion, so you may very well be talking to people who both help present needs and express concern for potential unmet future needs.

It's not about whether or not to use Watsi now, but a concern on behalf of Watsi. I'm not going to refrain from donating today because Watsi might go away tomorrow, but I'm certainly concerned about if and how it will still be here tomorrow.

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