Why don’t we donate directly to researchers?

Question

Donating to research typically has a ton of overhead... such that only a percentage of what we donate goes to the scientists.Why? Surely we can donate directly to researchers?Anyone know why?Had this idea to build a website to let you do this, but was curious if anyone knows why this doesn&rsquo;t exist already.

ThrowawayR2 · Accepted Answer

1) What qualifies the public (even HN readers) to sort out the worthy projects from the charlatans?
2) Under such a site, funding would go to the flashiest and best hyped projects rather than the ones that need it. There would a huge incentive for style over substance, much like Kickstarter.
It doesn't exist because it's obviously a bad idea.