GiveWell is a nonprofit dedicated to finding outstanding giving opportunities and publishing the full details of our analysis to help donors decide where to give.

Unlike charity evaluators that focus solely on financials, assessing administrative or fundraising costs, we conduct in-depth research aiming to determine how much good a given program accomplishes (in terms of lives saved, lives improved, etc.) per dollar spent. Rather than try to rate as many charities as possible, we focus on the few charities that stand out most (by our criteria) in order to find and confidently recommend the best giving opportunities possible.

Extreme poverty in the developing world causes great suffering, but we can each make a huge difference, by giving more and giving to the most effective charities. At Giving What We Can, we help you to make the biggest difference, by:

FINDING THE BEST CHARITIES: By giving to the most effective causes, you can do far more to help those in poverty: some charities are 1000 times more effective than others. At Giving What We Can, we conduct independent research aimed at identifying the very best charities. Currently, our recommended charities are Against Malaria Foundation, Deworm the World, and Schistosomiasis Control Initiative. Learn more about our recommended charities, charity evaluation, and our research methodology.

ENCOURAGING GIVING: The members of Giving What We Can each pledge to donate 10% of their income to the most effective causes. Giving more is easier than most people expect, and easier still when you’re part of a global community of givers, united by the vision of a world without poverty. Learn more about our members, the pledge to give, and what you can achieve by joining Giving What We Can.

The Life You Can Save is a movement of people fighting extreme poverty. We hold that an ethical life involves using some of our wealth and resources to save and improve the lives of those less fortunate than us.

For this reason, we spread knowledge of what all of us can do to reduce poverty and we encourage people to publicly pledge a percentage of their income to highly effective aid organizations.

Effective altruism is a philosophy and social movement which applies evidence and reason to working out the most effective ways to improve the world. Effective altruists consider all causes and actions, and then act in the way that brings about the greatest positive impact. It is this broad evidence-based approach that distinguishes effective altruism from traditional altruism or charity. Effective altruism sometimes involves taking actions that are less intuitive or emotionally salient.