Shortlist of Charities
The students will be choosing from this shortlist of effective charities recommended by charity evaluators, GiveWell, Animal Charity Evaluators and The Life You Can Save (TLYCS).
Against Malaria Foundation works to prevent the spread of malaria by distributing long-lasting, insecticide-treated mosquito nets to susceptible populations in developing countries. AMF has been active in 36 countries in Africa, Asia and South America, with a particular focus on sub-Saharan Africa.
Development Media International runs large-scale media campaigns in low-income countries via radio, television, and mobile video. They work with local broadcasters to create informative and engaging programming that focuses on maternal and child health, nutrition, hygiene and sanitation, sexual reproductive health, and early childhood development.
Faunalytics is a U.S.-based organization working to connect animal advocates with information relevant to advocacy. This mostly involves conducting and publishing independent research, working directly with partner organizations on various research projects, and promoting existing research and data for individual advocates through their website’s content library.
GiveDirectly provides unconditional cash transfers using cell phone technology to some of the world’s poorest people, as well as refugees, urban youth, and disaster victims. They also are currently running a historic Universal Basic Income initiative, delivering a basic income to 20,000+ people in Kenya in a 12-year study.
Helen Keller International’s Vitamin A Supplementation programs provide critical nutrition to children around the world at-risk for vitamin A deficiency — a condition that can lead to blindness and death.
The Iodine Global Network is the leading global organization supporting the elimination of iodine deficiency, the most common cause of brain damage in newborns. IGN supports healthy iodine nutrition in virtually every country of the world through a safe, effective, and affordable solution: iodized salt.
New Incentives educates caregivers about the importance of vaccinating children and disburses cash incentives that are conditional on infants receiving four life-saving vaccines, which are provided through government clinics free of charge. New Incentives also works with government partners to improve vaccine supply. There is strong evidence that their program leads to more children being immunized from life-threatening but vaccine–preventable diseases.
Population Services International helps women live healthier and plan the families they desire. A large part of PSI’s work focuses on sexual and reproductive health and contraception, but they also are involved with HIV, malaria, water, sanitation and hygiene, and non-communicable diseases including diabetes, hypertension, and cervical cancer.
Seva is a global nonprofit eye care organization. Their mission is to transform lives and strengthen communities by restoring sight and preventing blindness. Seva works with underserved communities in more than 20 countries across Asia, Africa, and the Americas.
Carbon180 is a climate–focused nonprofit on a mission to fundamentally rethink carbon. The organization champions the development and implementation of carbon removal technologies and practices– a critical but relatively neglected component of achieving climate goals. It does this through research, policy development and advocacy and innovation support.
Evergreen Collaborative aims to defeat the climate crisis and build a clean energy future through ambitious policy proposals, influencing Congress and federal agencies by working with Hill offices and coordinating with other environmental groups.
Fistula Foundation is the global leader in treating obstetric fistula, a devastating childbirth injury that leaves women incontinent, humiliated, and often shunned by their communities. In addition to covering direct surgery costs, Fistula Foundation also supports training surgeons, equipping facilities, grassroots community outreach, and holistic post-surgery reintegration.
GAIN's mission is to increase the consumption of nutritious foods, especially among vulnerable populations. They strengthen food systems by building partnerships to design and implement sustainable nutrition programs, with a focus on salt iodization.
The Humane League (THL) works to improve animal welfare standards and decrease animal product consumption through grassroots campaigns, advocacy training, and corporate outreach. They also build the animal advocacy movement internationally through the Open Wing Alliance (OWA) and promote the Veganuary veg*n pledge program.
Living Goods supports and trains local community health workers in Burkina Faso, Kenya and Uganda, the majority of whom are women, to deliver lifesaving medicines, health education, diagnoses, and health products to millions of people who need them. They focus especially on preventing and treating the leading causes of child deaths.
One Acre Fund helps smallholder African farmers boost productivity by delivering a bundle of services directly to their doorsteps, including start-up financing, high-quality farming inputs, agricultural training, and market facilitation to help maximize profits. These tools help farmers increase their yield per acre, sales, and household income.
Sanku - Project Healthy Children's mission is to provide children everywhere with the simple, inexpensive, basic nutritional support they require to survive and thrive. Sanku - PHC focuses on achieving wide micronutrient coverage for at-risk communities in Africa and beyond.
Village Enterprise equips the extreme poor in Africa with resources to start sustainable businesses through a four-part program: entrepreneurship training, a cash grant, business mentoring, and a savings group. There is strong evidence that this leads to a significant and persistent increase in income.
The Clean Air Task Force (CATF) is an impact-focused non-profit that advocates for clean air policies. In addition, CATF promotes innovation in and adoption of neglected low-carbon technologies. Through policy change, technology innovation, and thought leadership, CATF drives impact to prevent catastrophic climate change through pragmatic solutions.
Evidence Action operates three main initiatives. Dispensers for Safe Water installs and maintains chlorine dispensers in rural Africa. The Deworm the World Initiative partners with governments in India, Nigeria, and Pakistan school-based deworming programs. And Evidence Action’s Accelerator drives new program development, testing and refining high-potential, cost-effective interventions.
The Fred Hollows Foundation restores sight and improves eye health through life-changing surgeries and treatments, training doctors and health workers, and advocating for change. They have helped more than 2.5 million people regain their sight and delivered over 200 million doses of antibiotics for trachoma.
GFI promotes animal-free products by supporting the development of plant-based and cell-cultured alternatives. They also help the animal advocacy movement by supporting alternative protein research and startups. GFI operates in multiple countries and prioritizes high-impact programs, making their expected effectiveness very high.
IPA is a global research and policy nonprofit that conducts cutting-edge research to improve lives. With a long-term presence in 22 countries, IPA builds relationships with decision-makers to drive its research. Its work has led to better programs and policies that have impacted millions worldwide.
Malaria Consortium delivers programs that protect the poorest and most marginalized children in Africa and Asia from a range of deadly diseases, including malaria and pneumonia. We recommend their Seasonal Malaria Chemoprevention (SMC) project in particular. SMC is an extremely cost-effective and evidence-based way of protecting children under 5 from malaria.
Oxfam is a confederation of 20 sister organizations working together to fight poverty, its causes, and its effects. Oxfam’s work focuses on long-term development programs, emergency assistance, and political advocacy on issues including agriculture, education, health, climate change, emergency response, and more.
SCI Foundation, formerly the Schistosomiasis Control Initiative (SCI), works with Ministries of Health and Education in sub-Saharan African countries to support programs controlling and eliminating two types of parasitic worm infections: schistosomiasis and soil-transmitted helminthiasis. The majority of programs treat school-aged children, but can also include at-risk adults.
Wild Animal Initiative was founded in 2019 and operates in the US, with a focus on strengthening the animal advocacy movement through creating an academic field dedicated to wild animal welfare. They publish research and literature reviews on their website and connect with potential collaborators in the field. They also organize the Wild Animal Welfare Summit and host discussions at conferences.