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Our Criteria | GiveWell

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The four criteria described above characterize all of our grantmaking. The top charities that we recommend also meet the following additional, more precise criteria: It's a good sign of our confidence if a program fulfills these two requirements. If we've provided significant, sustained support, that means we've already analyzed it thoroughly and judged it likely to clear our bar for funding. And if we've supported it for a year or more, it's less likely (though possible) that we'll receive information that would dramatically update our cost-effectiveness analysis. For example, we've directed funding to support public health regulation, because the expected impact from influencing policymakers to ban pesticides used in suicide or reduce lead exposure could be massive. But the political advocacy pathway through which these benefits may be realized is much less certain than, say, the path by which seasonal malaria chemoprevention reduces death from malaria, so our grantmaking in public h

GiveWell tries to help donors do as much good as possible with each dollar they give. We aim to find outstanding giving opportunities and to publish the full details of our analysis to help donors decide where to give. We do not aim to rate every charity, but to find the ones which we feel will maximize the impact of additional donations in terms of lives saved or improved. Last Updated: July 2025 ( 2014 version , January 2020 version) Criteria for Grantmaking The programs that we recommend funding to are characterized by: Evidence of effectiveness. We seek out charities implementing programs

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