I feel obligated to help all fellow humans

Sometime I feel paralyzed around what I SHOULD do to support those around the world. Founders Pledge champions evidence-led organizations who are making exponential impact. Giving to this fund has given me a sense of pride in knowing my contributions are making a difference. 

We target opportunities where small investments can generate extraordinary impact and create lasting change.

There are many charities that address global poverty and suffering. 

With our Global Health & Development (GHD) **Catalytic Impact Fund**, we try to find the strategic pressure points where modest funding unlocks transformational change. 

By prioritizing these leverage points, we help donors maximize their impact in building sustainable, long-term solutions to global poverty and suffering — saving and improving as many lives as possible with each dollar.

What does catalytic impact look like?

- **We trigger systemic improvements**: We support investments that create new long-term infrastructure or increase the cost-effectiveness of existing systems.
- **We remove key bottlenecks**: We identify and remove barriers that stand in the way of accelerated impact.
- **We crowd in capital**: We provide early-stage funding that attracts substantial follow-on investment for cost-effective opportunities.

### Our Approach to Grantmaking

When evaluating potential grants, we consider several key points:

- **Counterfactual impact**. Our grants are designed to create meaningful outcomes that would not otherwise have happened. This means that you can rely on the Funds to create meaningful, real change, rather than just maintaining the status quo.
- **Impact-driven philanthropy**. This fund prioritizes the highest-impact solutions to challenges. We assess where the gaps are, which opportunities may be neglected by other funders, and where the biggest wins are in terms of making the biggest difference.
-  **The organization’s funding gap**. Not all organizations are set up to scale programs and some may not be able to productively absorb large amounts of unsolicited funding at any given point. We evaluate all potential grantees’ capacity for growth and consider how much money they could put to good use.
-  **Organizational strength**. Particularly with unrestricted funding, it’s important to have trust in the leadership and capacity of the organizations we support. We look at their track record of success and their transparency about failures as well as successes, and we only support those organizations which are exceptionally well run.
- **Time-critical opportunities and funding certainty**. Sometimes there are time-critical opportunities which require fast decisions. We will use the Fund to make grants that enable such short-term opportunities and stability for high-impact funding opportunities thereby increasing the impact compared to individual giving to specific organizations.

### Frequently-Asked Questions

**Can charities apply for money from the Fund?**

Founders Pledge reviews [requests for funding](https://www.founderspledge.com/requests-for-funding) from organizations, but does not guarantee we can fill funding requests.

**How frequently will you make grants from the Fund?**

In general, Fund Managers will review grantmaking decisions on a quarterly basis, based on the value of Funds and the available options for high-impact grantmaking. We may disburse funds outside of quarterly review dates if we become aware of a particularly promising and time-sensitive funding.

**How will my contribution be used?**

All funds are granted out — every dollar contributed to the Fund will be used to make grants directly to end-user organizations creating a real difference.

### More Questions?

To learn more about the Founders Pledge GHD Catalytic Impact Fund, please visit [founderspledge.com](https://founderspledge.com/funds/global-health-and-development-fund) or email the team at [funds@founderspledge.com](mailto:funds@founderspledge.com).

Founders Pledge is a global nonprofit empowering entrepreneurs to do the most good possible with their charitable giving. 

Maximize your philanthropic impact with Founders Pledge. We empower a global community of over 2,100 members, equipping them with everything needed to give effectively: from evidence-led research and expert advice on the world's most pressing problems to comprehensive infrastructure for seamless global grant-making, and a powerful network for collaboration. Together, we've already channeled over $1.5 billion to high-impact causes globally, tackling critical issues like climate change, global health, and emerging existential risks. 

When you donate through every.org today, you're joining this proven movement, and our unique funding model ensures 100% of your contribution goes directly to charity, as our operational costs are generously covered by a dedicated community of philanthropists.

Donate this Giving Season and we'll match your donation up to a value of $750,000, until Dec 31.

Founders Pledge

One of GiveWell's top charities for the past several years, AMF provides anti-malarial bednets to people in need. 

From Givewell: 
What do they do? AMF (againstmalaria.com) provides funding for long-lasting insecticide-treated net (LLIN) distributions (for protection against malaria) in developing countries. (More)

Does it work? There is strong evidence that distributing LLINs reduces child mortality and malaria cases. AMF conducts post-distribution surveys of completed distributions to determine whether LLINs have reached their intended destinations and how long they remain in good condition. AMF's post-distribution surveys have generally found positive results but have some methodological limitations. (More)

What do you get for your dollar? We estimate that the cost to purchase and distribute an AMF-funded net is $4.95, or $4.65 excluding in-kind contributions from governments. The numbers of deaths averted and other benefits of distributing LLINs are a function of a number of difficult-to-estimate factors, which we discuss in detail below. (More)

Is there room for more funding? We believe that AMF is likely to be constrained by funding. We estimate that AMF could use up to an additional $37.8 million to support LLIN distributions that will occur between now and late 2023. 

AMF is recommended because of its:

Focus on a program with excellent evidence of effectiveness and cost-effectiveness.
Processes for ensuring that nets reach their intended recipients and monitoring whether they remain in homes and in good condition over the long-term.
Room for more funding – we believe AMF will be able to use additional funds to deliver additional nets.
Transparency – AMF shares significant information about its work with us and we are able to closely follow and understand its work.

The Against Malaria Foundation

StrongMinds provides life-changing mental health services to women in Africa using innovative community-based group therapy.

According to the WHO, depression is the leading cause of disability worldwide, and is a major contributor to the global burden of disease. In Africa, an estimated 66M women have depression and 85% have no access to treatment. Since 2014, StrongMinds has treated over 200,000 individuals for depression symptoms, with 80% measuring as depression-free after therapy. When a woman recovers from depression, she is more engaged in the community and her economic activity increases. Her family eats more meals and her children go to school more often. When you invest in mental health, you invest in the future of an individual, their family, and their community.

StrongMinds Inc

Delivering unconditional cash directly to the world's poorest households via secure mobile transfers. 

Since 2009, GiveDirectly has delivered more than $1 billion in unconditional cash transfers directly into the hands of 2+ million people living in poverty. These one-time cash transfers allow recipients to invest in what they need most and have been shown to improve their earnings, children’s school attendance, health, nutrition, and mental well-being.
 
GiveDirectly uses government data to target villages where most or all residents are living in extreme poverty, defined by the World Bank as earning under $3/day. In-country GiveDirectly staff enroll each household in a village to receive a large lump sum transfer of \~$1,000 USD using mobile money. Recipients can then use the funds to invest in what they need – whether it’s on starting a business, education, repairing their home, healthcare, livestock, or anything else.
 
GiveDirectly also uses rigorous experimental research (including randomized controlled trials) to measure the impact of their cash programs, answer public policy questions, and generate evidence on key design and implementation questions.

GiveDirectly

Helen Keller, our co-founder, envisioned a world without barriers to human potential. We are continuing her work.


Helen Keller, our co-founder, envisioned a world without barriers to human potential. Guided by her fierce optimism, we have been working on the front lines of health and well-being for more than 100 years. We deliver life-changing health care to vulnerable families in places where the need is great, but access is limited. Our proven, science-based programs empower people to create opportunities in their own lives.


Helen Keller International

Prevention, control and treatment of malaria and other communicable diseases among vulnerable populations.

Malaria Consortium US, Inc. (MC-US) is a registered 501(c)(3) public charity and shares the mission of Malaria Consortium, a globally recognized organization committed to reducing deaths and illnesses caused by malaria and other preventable and treatable diseases across Africa and Asia.

Our mission is to save lives and improve health in Africa and Asia through evidence-based programs that tackle malaria and other priority diseases while advancing universal health coverage (UHC). In the US, we build partnerships with foundations, donors, and philanthropic organizations to ensure that every contribution makes a lasting impact for those most in need.

As a leader in malaria control and elimination, our work focuses on interventions such as seasonal malaria chemoprevention (SMC), malaria vaccines, disease surveillance, and integrated child health services. We work in collaboration with governments, communities, and health systems to improve access to essential healthcare and strengthen delivery of services in underserved and hard-to-reach areas.

As a leader in interventions such as chemoprevention and vector control, we rely on evidence and our expertise to deliver established interventions, influence other effective interventions and guide new strategies to reduce the burden of malaria, pneumonia, dengue, malnutrition and diarrhea. We work with communities and all levels of the health system to improve access to and demand for primary healthcare services and overall quality of care.

Our tailored interventions seek to improve equity by providing quality, affordable health services to marginalized populations (particularly women and girls and those living in hard-to-reach areas). To ensure barriers to achieving UHC are addressed and to encourage sustainability, we work closely with governments to integrate our programs within existing health systems and structures in the countries in which we work.

We promote disease surveillance as a core intervention to engage communities to improve the quality and accessibility of routine health information by using digital tools and approaches that strengthen the linkages between case-level data and national health information systems. We combine capacity development at community level with the use of innovative tools and platforms to enhance local capabilities to interpret and use these data most effectively.

All of our work is informed by our core values: accountability, integrity, dignity and equity.

Malaria Consortium

Provides women living in extreme poverty with a comprehensive set of resources to help them generate sustainable livelihoods.

Bandhan works with some of India's poorest women to provide them with the skills and resources they need to provide for themselves and their families. Their Targetting the Hardcore Poor programme, which provides women with an asset as well as training and mentoring to help them create viable small businesses, has been rigorously evaluated and found to produce meaningful reductions in poverty. 



Bandhan Konnagar

Supports governments to improve foundational reading and math for all children using the Teaching at the Right Level approach

TaRL Africa’s mission is to support every child across Africa to build foundational skills for a better future.

[TaRL Africa uses an evidence-backed educational approach](https://www.povertyactionlab.org/case-study/teaching-right-level-improve-learning) that helps children develop basic reading and mathematics skills, opening doors to a brighter future. The approach targets the root of the learning crisis by transforming the structures that lead to it. It was developed and refined in India by education NGO [Pratham](https://www.pratham.org/), and has been rigorously evaluated by [Abdul Latif Jameel Poverty Action Lab (J-PAL)](https://www.povertyactionlab.org/) affiliated professors. Since 2015, the TaRL approach has been adapted in over 17 African countries reaching nearly 7 million children with support from TaRL Africa and its partners.

TaRL Africa began as a joint initiative by Pratham and J-PAL in 2015 and became a registered independent organisation in 2019. Since its inception, TaRL Africa has worked with governments and organisations to design and develop the processes, practices, and resources required to deliver effective TaRL programmes that increase learning outcomes. Globally, the TaRL approach [has been identified by the Global Evidence Education Advisory Panel as a “good buy.”](https://documents1.worldbank.org/curated/en/719211603835247448/pdf/Cost-Effective-Approaches-to-Improve-Global-Learning-What-Does-Recent-Evidence-Tell-Us-Are-Smart-Buys-for-Improving-Learning-in-Low-and-Middle-Income-Countries.pdf)

As of 2025:

- TaRL programming reached over 7 million children in over 17 countries with TaRL Africa's support.
- Across government led TaRL programmes, children's basic reading and math skills improved 2-3x within 100 days.

TaRL Africa is registered and headquartered in Nairobi, Kenya, with teams in Côte d'Ivoire, Nigeria, and Zambia.

Teaching at the Right Level Africa (TaRL Africa)

Founders Pledge: GHD Catalytic Impact Fund

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