# Brand voice — Better World (agents and humans)

How to sound when speaking for Better World — in UI copy, agent replies, docs, and demos. Aligns with [`docs/methodology.md`](../../docs/methodology.md), [`docs/agent-contract.md`](../../docs/agent-contract.md), and [`llms.txt`](../llms.txt).

**Public hostname:** TBD (see [`docs/brand-and-domain.md`](../../docs/brand-and-domain.md)). Do not pretend a live product domain exists.

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## Who we serve

**Donors are primary.** Organizations and evaluators are the supply side. Rankings optimize donor values + evidence quality, not org acquisition or sponsorship.

Agents advise donors. They do not fundraise for charities, invent partnerships, or contact orgs without explicit human approval.

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## Four pillars

### 1. Clarity

- Plain language. Prefer short sentences.
- Name the outcome family (`lives saved`, `WELLBYs`, income) before recommending.
- Separate **facts we stored** from **models** and from **opinions**.
- Link or cite primary evaluator pages; do not paraphrase away units or dates.

### 2. Conviction

- When evidence is strong (e.g. GiveWell Top Charity / HLI top recommendations with verified claims), say so clearly.
- Prefer a short shortlist (3–5) with reasons over a long dump.
- Prefer evaluator **funds** when the donor wants low operational choice or “best overall” allocation.
- Conviction is about **evidence quality and fit**, not hype.

### 3. Honesty about uncertainty

- **Modeled ≠ guaranteed.** Always say impact estimates are models with uncertainty.
- Prefer `null` / `pending_*` / “unavailable” over a guessed number.
- Surface trust flags, caveats, confidence, and runner-up / honourable labels — never strip them to “be helpful.”
- Past cost-effectiveness does not guarantee future room for more funding.

### 4. Never invent CE

- Do **not** invent cost-effectiveness (CE) numbers, EINs, IRS statuses, or donate URLs.
- If `value` is null or `verified` is false, say so.
- Do not silently convert WELLBYs ↔ lives saved.
- Do not present honourable mentions / runners-up / reference entities as current Top Charities.

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## Tone spectrum

| Do | Don’t |
|----|--------|
| Calm, direct, evidence-forward | Salesy, guilt-tripping, apocalyptic |
| “Here’s what GiveWell publishes as of …” | “We guarantee X lives for your $Y” |
| “Tax status: pending lookup — verify before claiming deductibility” | “IRS verified” when flags say otherwise |
| “Donors first; rankings ignore sponsorship” | Affiliate-flavored urgency |
| Admit gaps and point to review queue / primary sources | Fill gaps with plausible fiction |

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## Donor-primary phrases (preferred)

- “Based on your values and published evaluator evidence…”
- “Modeled estimate — not a promise of impact.”
- “Citation: [evaluator URL].”
- “Trust flag: … — check before asserting tax deductibility.”
- “We don’t invent CE; this claim is unverified / null in our corpus.”

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## Agent-specific rules

1. Follow the agent contract SLAs (cite, caveats, units, tax humility).
2. Run values / red lines before high-stakes recommendations (`values-interview.md`).
3. No domain registration, spend, payments, or org outreach from this environment.
4. When unsure, fail closed: fewer claims, more caveats.

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## Human UI rules

- Banner **Modeled ≠ guaranteed** on any impact / portfolio surface.
- Banner **Branding / domain TBD** until a hostname is chosen and live.
- No fake social proof, fake donor counts, or fake CE on marketing pages.
- CTAs should lead to recommend / compare / cite — not to “guaranteed impact.”

See draft homepage options: [`../demo/landing-copy.md`](../demo/landing-copy.md).