If it collects no data on many of its programs, what should be our base assumption about their impact? A decade ago, no charity evaluators that tried to arrive at systematic estimates of impact existed. Then GiveWell was founded, changing the landscape: It researched which charities get you the most impact for your money in the world, and eventually identified lots of global health and development programs.
Disclosure: I donate to GiveWell every year. ImpactMatters was an attempt to change that. The reason donors care about any of those things, of course, is that they care about how much good their money is doing. Whether a charity is well run and how it spends its money are easy-to-measure indications that ideally provide a window into the question that really matters: whether your donation makes a difference in the world.
A charity might have high administrative expenses because it works in an area where legal compliance is really important but still be high impact. A charity might increase its overhead expenses by hiring a secretary, but be significantly more effective as a result of having freed up program officers to spend their time on programs.
ImpactMatters uses those financial indicators but tries to go beyond them. This style of impact evaluation works really well for charities that provide clean water, or medication, or food and shelter. Evaluating the impact of charities who do less direct work is important, too. Say an advocacy organization for affordable housing lobbies local politicians, contributes to getting bills introduced which will build more houses, publishes an election slate which hundreds of people refer to when voting, and hires a lobbyist to make the case for housing at the statehouse.
What is their impact? What does a high-impact charity look like? That means that as a donor, going in wanting to work in a specific program type or in a specific area will limit the impact of your donation. Being willing to consider charities in a different program or geographic area are major ways to have your donation go much further.
We find that the most promising problems are generally:. Find which charity is working most effectively to support the cause: Indicators of reputable, worthwhile organisations include: reliance on evidence, cost-effectiveness, transparency, room for funding, and track record. Pick an efficient way to donate: Try getting your donation matched by your employer, salary sacrifice your donations, set up a recurring donation, use a local grantmaking organisation, or donate using a fund.
The following recommendations are listed roughly in order of convenience and suitability for most donors. The right giving opportunity for you will depend on your particular values and circumstances.
For most people, we recommend donating through a reputable regranting fund that's focused on charity effectiveness. Funds are both easy for donors and highly effective. They help donors to pool their money together so that they can find outstanding giving opportunities that are evaluated by expert grantmakers and trusted charity evaluators.
Using a regranting fund is similar to using an investment fund instead of trying to pick which individual stocks will be the best investments. The regranting fund distributes your donation among multiple grantees. Just as diversifying your investment portfolio increases the safety of your investments, diversifying your giving portfolio increases the chances that your donations will have a positive impact.
You can donate to the following funds using Effective Altruism Funds. Donations are tax-deductible in the U. Other ways our members give as a community include donor lotteries , giving circles , and giving games. The best donation advice will vary based on your personal circumstances, such as the country you live in.
Our community has members from 94 countries! The following grantmaking organisations help donors from around the world to support outstanding charities individually or to pool their donations together to direct funding to where it is most needed. Please bear in mind that some giving opportunities can be hundreds of times more effective than others, so it might be best to donate abroad while incurring international fees and missing out on a tax deduction if you believe the international organisation will do more to improve the lives of others.
Another easy way to identify highly effective charities is to follow the advice of charity evaluators who prioritise effectiveness in their charity reviews. We recommend checking out the following evaluators:. You can donate to many of the charities they recommend in one place using EA Funds. It can be valuable to do your own research to find the most worthwhile giving opportunities. If you're going to do your own research, consider how much time to invest given a how much you're giving; and b how much you might give in the future.
If you're giving a lot — now or in the future — it can be worth investing significant time. Acadia Center also provides guidance to government organizations, businesses, and community groups that need help implementing clean energy initiatives. To do this, it works to persuade the public to avoid illegal and unsustainable wildlife products and to make better lifestyle choices in order to reduce climate change. Its work helps all types of creatures, from sea turtles and manta rays to tigers and elephants.
The no-kill shelter for cats and dogs is the largest free spay and neuter clinic in the Midwest; in , it facilitated 5, animal adoptions through its adoption centers and spayed and neutered 15, pets. PAWS has received a perfect four-star rating on Charity Navigator for 18 years in a row, something that fewer than one percent of all organizations in the country can say.
No matter which types of animals you love most — whether it's cats and dogs, farm animals, marine life, wildlife, or laboratory animals — the Animal Welfare Institute AWI is out there serving them. The AWI engages with policymakers, scientists, and the public to abolish factory farms, implement alternatives to experimentation on live animals, protect endangered and threatened species, and more.
The organization also makes it easy to write to legislators on issues ranging from shark finning to racehorse conditions. The Marine Mammal Center advances ocean conservation by providing care for orphaned and in-need animals with the goal of releasing them back into the wild.
In fact, the Center responds to more stranded marine mammals than any other organization in the world. This organization is all about gorilla conservation. They also conduct scientific research, train future conservation and scientific leaders, and help communities living near gorillas through livelihood, food security and education initiatives.
A simple way to donate is to sign up for its Adopt a Gorilla in the wild program. The organization also provides a pro-bono financial planner for three years to help with financial planning and budgeting, as well as homeownership education and peer mentorship with other veterans and spouses in the Homes For Our Troops HFOT program. Since , HFOT has built more than homes. This organization provides support to families of service members who have been wounded, injured, or killed in combat.
Its programs offer caregiver respite, job training, and family retreats, among other things. It also operates the Dunham House, a residence that provides long-term care for veterans with spinal cord or traumatic brain injuries.
For veterans with post-traumatic stress disorder, a trained service dog can be a godsend — and that's why K9s For Warriors is so important. The organization rescues and trains dogs from kill shelters to be paired with disabled veterans.
It even provides ongoing training, legal and emotional support for the service dog-veteran team. In , the nonprofit paired 92 veterans with service dogs; since , the program has rescued more than 1, dogs. It honors journalist Bob Woodruff, who was hit by a roadside bomb in while covering the war in Iraq, and miraculously survived. The Mission Continues develops volunteer opportunities for veterans with the goal of connecting former service-members with under-resourced communities.
In , the nonprofit organized 1, service projects that empowered veterans to build leadership skills and transform communities. In , it has focused on mobilizing veterans to fight food insecurity caused by the coronavirus pandemic.
The organization focuses on ending childhood hunger, which typically affects more than 11 million children in the U. Because of the coronavirus pandemic, that number could reach 18 million that's one in four youngsters. No Kid Hungry improves access to child nutrition programs, including school breakfasts, summer meals, and after school meals, and works with elected officials to improve the food programs that kids and families rely on.
When children become ill or need an important surgery, their families sometimes need to travel far for treatment. This can be an expensive endeavor and require lots of back-and-forth. The organization also offers nutritious meals for its guests, as well as education programs for outpatients and their siblings, and peer support for families. Action Against Hunger aims to end life-threatening hunger for good within our lifetimes.
For more than 40 years the organization has been working to treat and ward off hunger in more than 45 countries. Its programs promote food production, prevent COVID and waterborne diseases, and provide aid after disasters; in , the organization served more than 17 million people. This year, the organization is supporting more than programs around the city, including ones that provide job training to low-income women, support high-quality education programs citywide, and provide assistance to immigrant and minority-owned small businesses.
According to the World Health Organization , around 2. The organization Water Mission is working to change that by building clean water engineering solutions for people around the globe. In , Water Mission made it possible for , people to receive safe drinking water from community systems, according to Charity Navigator , where it's received an impressive four-star rating for 14 consecutive years.
Save the Children's mission is to ensure kids grow up healthy, educated, and safe. The organization works all around the world, particularly in areas where children are most vulnerable. In the U. The organization serves three hot and healthy meals a day, provides health and dental care, offers workforce training, hosts youth development programs, and offers housing for single mothers, women, and children who are experiencing homelessness.
In , it helped participants gain employment, provided housing for women and children, and served , meals. This global nonprofit partners with people in communities in the U. Habitat for Humanity homeowners help build their own homes and pay an affordable mortgage. The organization also has a disaster response team that steps in after natural disasters strike.
The National Immigration Forum knows that our country thrives when immigrants do — and that's why it works to promote responsible federal immigration policies. The Forum also focuses on immigration reform, integration and citizenship, along with other policy initiatives. The focus of this nonprofit is to empower and advance the Hispanic community, support Hispanic families, and drive initiatives in education, health, immigration, economic empowerment, and more.
With nearly 80 million refugees around the world, this nonprofit steps in to advocate for lifesaving assistance and protection for people forcibly displaced from their homes.
Every year, Refugees International conducts about 20 field missions around the world to speak directly with displaced people and identify their needs. The organization prides itself on being independent, as it does not accept money from the United Nations or the U.
The International Rescue Committee IRC is on the ground serving people who have been displaced by conflict and natural disasters; it has a footprint in more than 40 countries and 26 U. In , the IRC provided about 1. It also helped resettle 7, refugees in the U. One of the first steps in getting help for mental health is knowing when you need it. It fights for early intervention, reduced stigma and discrimination, better treatment, and decreasing incarceration and homelessness among people living with mental illness.
In , MHA is especially focused on suicide prevention and access to crisis care, early intervention for children and youth, and workplace mental health, among other initiatives. The American Foundation for Suicide Prevention features real stories from people affected by suicide and provides support programs for those who have lost a loved one to suicide and those who are worried about someone in their life. It's spearheading Project , an initiative with the goal of reducing the rate of suicide by 20 percent by
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