During the Christmas season, many donors give generously to support charities that help those who are less fortunate.
GiveWell conducts in-depth research to identify outstanding charities to help donors decide where to give. We recommend four charities for the 2015 holiday season to anyone looking for a meaningful gift to help those in need.
Our top charities are highly effective organizations that work to help people living in the poorest parts of the world. This Christmas season, please consider supporting these organizations:
- The Against Malaria Foundation provides funding for the distribution of insecticide-treated bed nets to protect against malaria.
- The Schistosomiasis Control Initiative treats people for parasite infections.
- The Deworm the World Initiative, led by Evidence Action, treats children for parasite infections.
- GiveDirectly transfers cash directly to extremely poor households.
More information on our top charities can be found
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Our top charities
#1 Against Malaria Foundation
Preventing deaths from malaria in sub-Saharan Africa
Malaria is a major problem in sub-Saharan Africa. Over 1 million people – mostly children – die from malaria each year. Insecticide-treated bed nets prevent deaths and many other non-fatal cases of malaria and are relatively inexpensive – about $5 per net. (For more details, see our full report on bed nets.) We believe that AMF effectively expands access to bed nets.
For more information, please see our full report on the Against Malaria Foundation.
#2 Schistosomiasis Control Initiative (SCI)
Treating people for parasite infections in sub-Saharan Africa
SCI supports programs that treat people for parasitic worm infections that cause short-term symptoms such as anemia, and may cause longer-term developmental problems. These worms are extremely inexpensive to treat. (For more, see our full report on deworming.) We believe that SCI cost-effectively expands access to deworming treatment.
For more information, please see our full report on SCI.
#3 Deworm the World Initiative (led by Evidence Action)
Treating children for parasite infections in developing countries
The Deworm the World Initiative, led by Evidence Action, supports programs that treat children for parasitic worm infections that cause short-term symptoms such as anemia, and may cause longer-term developmental problems. These worms are extremely inexpensive to treat. (For more, see our full report on deworming.) Deworm the World focuses on advocacy and technical assistance to governments providing deworming, and we believe that it cost-effectively increases the number of children receiving deworming treatment.
For more information, please see our full report on Deworm the World.
#4 GiveDirectly
Distributing cash to very poor individuals in Kenya and Uganda
Directly transferring money to poor individuals allows them to purchase that which they believe will help them most. Strong evidence indicates that cash transfers lead recipients to spend more on their basic needs (such as food) and may allow recipients to make investments with high returns, with no evidence of large increases in spending on items like alcohol or tobacco. (For more, see our full report on cash transfers.) We believe that GiveDirectly effectively distributes cash to extremely low-income individuals.
For more information, please see our full report on GiveDirectly.