Information About Donating

This page includes information about options for donating to our Giving Funds or Top Charities, as well as answers to frequently asked questions about donations.

Last Updated: September 2026; Published: September 2015

Donate to GiveWell for Grantmaking or Operations

Our top recommendation is for donors to use our online donation form to donate via ACH, credit card, PayPal, Google Pay, or Apple Pay. These options have low fees and require the least administrative work for us. If giving more than $50 in a single transaction, please use ACH. If giving less than $50, please donate via credit card, PayPal, Google Pay, or Apple Pay. For donations greater than $1 million, please use a wire transfer.

More details on all of our donation methods can be found below.

Please note that if you do not indicate how you would like your donation to be designated (e.g., to our All Grants Fund) when you give to GiveWell, your donation will be allocated to our Unrestricted Fund, which we may choose to either use for operating expenses or grant to highly cost-effective programs.

If you’ve set up a recurring donation, you can manage your giving on our donor portal. To log into your account for the first time, please request a new password by entering the email address you used to set up your donation.

Giving from the UK? Donors in the UK can make tax-deductible and Gift Aid-eligible donations to GiveWell UK.

Preferred donation methods

• Online via ACH (Automated Clearing House): Donors with US bank accounts can make secure one-time or recurring ACH payments via our main donation form. Choose “bank account” as the payment method on the second page of the donation form, and provide the appropriate banking information when prompted.

  GiveWell is charged 0.8% + $1.00 account validation fee on each initial ACH transaction, but the overall fees on an ACH donation are capped at $5.60. (For recurring monthly or quarterly donations, GiveWell is charged 0.8% + $1.00 on the initial transaction and 0.8% + $0.40 per transaction on each subsequent transaction, up to $5.60.)

  We recommend donating via ACH for any gifts over $50 and under $1 million; because the costs to GiveWell are capped, ACH is the most cost-effective way to make these donations. If you donate $100, Givewell will receive $98.20. If you donate $1,000, GiveWell will receive $994.40. If you donate $10,000, GiveWell will receive $9,994.40. There is no additional administrative work for GiveWell to process ACH transactions.

  If you have a recurring ACH donation, you can manage your giving on our donor portal. More information about donating via ACH can be found here.

• Online via credit card: Use this form to make a one-time or recurring donation. Transactions are processed by a third party (www.stripe.com).

  For credit card donations (including Google Pay and Apple Pay), GiveWell is charged 2.60% (3.60% for AMEX) + $0.40 on each transaction. The fee is taken out by the credit card processor: if you donate $100, we receive $97.00 (or $96.00 if using AMEX).

  If you have a recurring credit card donation, you can manage your giving on our donor portal.

• Online via PayPal: Use this form to make a one-time or recurring donation by choosing PayPal as the payment method on the second page.

  PayPal charges GiveWell 2.2% + $0.30 on each transaction: if you donate $100, we receive $97.50.

  If you have a recurring PayPal donation that was set up after November 1, 2022, you can manage your giving on our donor portal. More information about donating via PayPal can be found here.

Other donation methods

• Donate by check: Due to the possibility of mail fraud and potential mail delays, we strongly recommend making a donation through our online form instead (via ACH if over $50 and via credit card or PayPal if under $50).

  While fees are generally limited, processing checks requires significant additional administrative work on our end. While we’ll gladly accept any checks we receive, we’d greatly appreciate a reduction in the number of these gifts our team manually processes.

  If you still prefer to give via check, reporting your gift in advance helps us cut down on administrative costs. Please report your donation using this form and then follow the instructions for mailing your check. If you would prefer to print and mail our check donation form, you can use this version (Microsoft Word version here).

• Donate by wire transfer: While fees are generally limited, processing wires requires significant additional administrative work on our end. While we’ll gladly accept any wires we receive, we’d greatly appreciate a reduction in the number of these gifts our team manually processes. We strongly recommend making all gifts of under $1 million through our online form instead (via ACH if over $50 and via credit card or PayPal if under $50).

  If you prefer to donate via wire transfer, please follow the instructions here. GiveWell is not charged fees on wire transfers, but some banks may charge a fee to the person sending the wire. We suggest you check with your bank about the fees involved.

• Donate securities. Receiving stock requires additional administrative work on our end, but it is often a tax-efficient way of giving.

  Donations of stock are processed by E*Trade. E*Trade charges a commission of $4.95 or $6.95 on each sale, depending on the volume of transactions we receive.

  If you are interested in making a donation of securities to GiveWell, please follow the instructions here. Alternatively, donors giving $5,000 or more can give to GiveWell’s Vanguard donor-advised fund, which may be able to accept certain types of securities that E*Trade cannot, including Vanguard mutual funds.

• ​​Donate cryptocurrency. Receiving cryptocurrency requires additional administrative work on our end, but it is often a tax-efficient way of giving.

  Donations of cryptocurrency are processed by Coinbase. Coinbase charges a 0.15% fee on all transactions; please review other details about Coinbase’s fees here.

  Please note that our wallet addresses changed in September 2023. Our updated addresses and instructions for making a donation of cryptocurrency to GiveWell are here. We are able to accept donations of all cryptocurrencies that are listed under Coinbase Prime here. If you would like to donate a cryptocurrency that is not supported on Prime, or a supported cryptocurrency that is not listed on our website, please email us at donations@givewell.org.

• Donate via a Qualified Charitable Distribution: We are happy to accept donations via Qualified Charitable Distributions from individuals’ accounts. For more information, see this page.

You can find information on end-of-year tax deadlines here.

Donate Directly to Our Top Charities

As part of measuring our impact, it is important to us to track donations made due to our research. If you choose to give directly to one or more of our Top Charities (rather than through our site), please let us know through our donation report form and, if the charity's donation form provides a place to do so, please tell the charity that your gift was a result of our research.

Note that donations made directly to our Top Charities, rather than through GiveWell’s website, will be used at the organization’s discretion. This may include uses that GiveWell does not estimate to be highly cost-effective. Because the same program can vary widely in cost-effectiveness across locations, GiveWell researches the cost-effectiveness of programs implemented in specific locations. Rather than funding organizations as a whole, we then make grants only to those specific funding opportunities that we estimate are highly cost-effective.

Follow the links below to donate directly:

• Malaria Consortium (GiveWell’s recommendation is for the seasonal malaria chemoprevention program only). Malaria Consortium prefers that donors who wish to support the specific SMC locations and initiatives funded by GiveWell do so through GiveWell; all such donations will be restricted to GiveWell grants. Donations made directly to Malaria Consortium through its own website donation page or any other mechanism can support other SMC geographies or initiatives, as well as the organization’s wider portfolio of health programs, research, and system-strengthening activities. Donors who wish to support SMC specifically through a direct donation to Malaria Consortium are encouraged to contact donate@malariaconsortium.org.
• Against Malaria Foundation The Against Malaria Foundation implements one program. It collaborates with national malaria programs and other partner organizations to distribute insecticide-treated nets in mass campaigns.
• Helen Keller Intl (GiveWell’s recommendation is for the vitamin A supplementation (VAS) program only). To restrict your donation to VAS, in the “Tribute Information” box under your billing information, check the box indicating that this gift is in honor of someone. Select “In Honor of” from the “Tribute Gift Type” dropdown. Enter “VAS” in the field underneath the dropdown. You may also restrict your donation by responding to the automated thank-you email from Helen Keller Intl and stating that you want your gift to go to VAS.
• New Incentives New Incentives implements one program. It aims to increase the uptake of routine vaccinations in northern Nigeria by providing small cash incentives to caregivers.

You can find information on end-of-year tax deadlines here.

Frequently Asked Questions About Donations

Why does GiveWell collect donations on behalf of the organizations it recommends?

Donations to GiveWell’s Giving Funds or to a Top Charity via GiveWell are allocated to highly cost-effective opportunities to save and improve lives that our researchers have identified. Because the same program can vary widely in cost-effectiveness across locations, GiveWell researches the cost-effectiveness of specific programs implemented in specific locations rather than funding organizations as a whole. We then make grants to programs that we estimate are highly cost-effective.

Please note that if you submit a donation to GiveWell with no designation (for example, mailing a check but not filling out the check donation form), we will treat it as unrestricted funding, which we may choose to either use for operating expenses or designate for grantmaking.

Does GiveWell keep a portion of donations to our All Grants Fund, Top Charities Fund, or specific Top Charities?

No, we collect no fees from donations to support our All Grants Fund, Top Charities Fund, or specific Top Charities. If you donate to the Top Charities Fund, All Grants Fund, or individual Top Charities, 100% of your donation (after credit card fees, subject to GiveWell’s grant approval process ) will be granted out to the organizations—GiveWell does not take any portion of these donations. Donations to our Unrestricted Fund, however, may be used for GiveWell’s operations.

How is GiveWell supported?

GiveWell is supported by donors who explicitly choose to direct funding to our operations. Some donors choose to add 10% of their donation amount to support GiveWell's operations, and others choose to give their full donation amount to the unrestricted fund to support our operations.

The primary use of unrestricted funding is for operating expenses. However, we have an "excess assets" policy, which provides that once we surpass a certain level of unrestricted assets, we earmark the excess for granting rather than continue to hold it ourselves.

To avoid overly relying on a single source of support, we cap the amount of funding any individual or entity may provide to our operations at 20 percent.

For details on our revenues and expenses, see our financial statements.

Will my donation be tax-deductible?

Information about how to make tax-deductible donations in various countries can be found here.

Does GiveWell have tips for giving efficiently?

A list of tips for giving efficiently can be found here.

When does GiveWell grant funds it has collected?

We make grants on a rolling basis from our All Grants Fund.

We engage in ongoing conversation with our Top Charities about their plans and funding needs, review funding opportunities, and make grants to highly cost-effective opportunities our research has identified.

We allocate donations via our website restricted to a specific Top Charity to the next GiveWell grant to that Top Charity.

If I request that you allocate funds from my donation to a specific Giving Fund or Top Charity, will all of my donation be allocated accordingly?

Donors to GiveWell can request that we use their donations for our All Grants Fund, Top Charities Fund, or a particular Top Charity. Donors communicate allocation preferences to us in several different ways, depending on the donation method they choose. For example, they can specify how they want their donation to be used on our credit card donation form or check donation form, or by emailing us.

GiveWell's Board of Directors provides oversight for our grantmaking process. We generally approve grants in accordance with donors’ allocation preferences by granting all funds (less applicable financial transaction fees) to the organizations that donors have told us they want to support, and have historically made grants in accordance with donors' allocation preferences in all cases. However, we retain the right to exercise final discretion over how funds from all donations are allocated.

GiveWell retains final discretion over how funds from donations are allocated to ensure that donations from US donors are tax-deductible to the extent permitted by law, including when GiveWell grants funds to international nongovernmental organizations formed outside the US. Generally speaking, US donors cannot take a charitable contribution deduction for a donation to international organizations that are not formed in the US. Some of GiveWell’s recommended organizations (and organizations we might recommend in the future) are formed outside the US and do not have tax-exempt US-based organizations. GiveWell has reviewed each of these organizations and confirmed that they advance charitable purposes and otherwise meet applicable US legal requirements, so we, as a US 501(c)(3) organization, are able to grant funds to them. However, in order for a US donor to take a charitable contribution deduction for a donation that the donor recommends we grant to such an international organization, GiveWell has to exercise legal discretion and control over the donated funds, which means that we have the right to allocate the funds to a different charitable purpose than a grant to that international organization.

Which of GiveWell's funds is right for me?

GiveWell offers several giving funds for donors with different preferences, and we strongly believe each of these options is a very impactful way to give.

We recommend the All Grants Fund to donors who wish to support a wide range of grantmaking, including funding opportunities substantially more uncertain, experimental, or less likely to achieve their expected impact than our Top Charities. While we are often less certain about the individual grants we make via our All Grants Fund, since they include less proven or more experimental opportunities, we believe that—in aggregate—these grants represent the highest-impact use of additional funding.When you give to the All Grants Fund, your donation might go to support research or scoping opportunities rather than straightforward delivery of programs. For more information about the types of grants the fund supports, see the All Grants Fund page.

If you want to give to the programs we have the highest confidence in, we recommend giving to the Top Charities Fund. Donations to the Top Charities Fund are used to support highly cost-effective funding opportunities at our Top Charities. We engage in ongoing conversation with our Top Charities about their plans and funding needs, review funding opportunities, and then make grants on a rolling basis to high-priority funding opportunities that our research has identified. Because it’s more restricted, the Top Charities Fund may go to opportunities with overall lower expected value than the All Grants Fund.

If you’re open to supporting both GiveWell’s operating expenses and our grantmaking, we recommend our Unrestricted Fund. If we raise more unrestricted funding than we need for our operating costs, we will grant out the excess. This is a great fit for donors who are excited about GiveWell’s work and trust us to prioritize between our operations and our recommended programs.

For more information about our funds, see this page.

How are donations to the All Grants Fund allocated?

GiveWell will apply its judgment to allocate donations to the All Grants Fund, which are intended to go to the highest-impact giving opportunities we identify, including some that are substantially more uncertain, experimental, or less likely to achieve their expected impact than our Top Charities. Donations to the All Grants Fund are used to support a range of grants, including those that incubate newer programs, provide organizational support, promote policy change, fund relevant scoping and research, or support other potentially high-impact and cost-effective initiatives. While we are often less certain about the individual grants we make via our All Grants Fund, we believe that—in aggregate—these grants represent the highest-impact use of marginal funding. You can learn more about the goals of the fund and the kinds of grants the fund supports.

How are donations to the Top Charities Fund allocated?

GiveWell will apply its judgment to allocate these donations among our Top Charities. We engage in ongoing conversation with our Top Charities about their plans and funding needs, review funding opportunities, and then make grants to high-priority opportunities our research has identified. Our grantmaking decisions take into consideration factors such as which funding gaps we expect to be filled and unfilled, each organization’s plans for additional funding, and the cost-effectiveness of each funding gap. We list all the distributions we have made from the Top Charities Fund since 2014.

How do I modify or cancel a recurring donation? How do I update the credit card number for a recurring donation?

Donors can manage their recurring donations through our donor portal. From the “My Recurring Donations” tab in your account, you can change your donation date, amount, and payment information, or cancel at any time. If you haven't logged into your account before, please click “Request new password” and provide the email address you used to make your donation. You'll then receive an email with a link to set your password and log in.

You can also send us an email at donations@givewell.org with any questions or requests regarding your donation.

Can you help me change or cancel a donation I made directly to one of your Top Charities?

We can only assist with donations made through GiveWell. For help with donations made directly to a GiveWell-recommended organization, you will need to reach out to the organization directly.

I want to give stocks or other securities, or I want to donate by bank wire transfer.

If you are interested in making a donation to GiveWell via stocks or securities, please follow the instructions.

If you are interested in making a donation to GiveWell via bank wire transfer, please follow the instructions.

Can I donate to a donor-advised fund?

GiveWell has a donor-advised fund (DAF) through Vanguard Charitable for this purpose. See our DAF donation instructions for more information.

I want to donate in honor of someone. How can I do so?

Our online donation portal provides an option to dedicate your donation when you give via credit card or ACH. This option appears on the page after you have entered your payment information. If you check the box for the option “I would like to dedicate this donation to someone,” you’ll have the opportunity to enter the name of the person you'd like to dedicate the donation to, along with the name and email address of the person you’d like to be notified of the donation. You’ll also be able to provide a personalized message and schedule a send date for the notification email. Alternatively, you can download and use our acknowledgment letter templates.

I tried entering my credit card number and got an error. What do I do?

We’re sorry about the trouble. We know that some donors occasionally experience problems with our donation pages. Using a different browser has worked for some donors in the past.

If that fails, we can accept donations via PayPal or ACH on our donation page, or by check made out to GiveWell and sent to 1714 Franklin Street #100335, Oakland, CA 94612. Other donation options are listed above.

We appreciate you letting us know if you continue to have website issues so that we can troubleshoot. Please email donations@givewell.org with a description of the problem.

How do I include GiveWell as a beneficiary of my will or trust?

Please visit ​​​​​​our legacy giving page for more information.

What happens if I don't indicate how I'd like my donation to be used?

We sometimes receive donations without guidance on how the donor wants the gift to be used, such as a check made out to GiveWell with no accompanying check donation form or donations made through certain online platforms or donor-advised funds. We will treat these donations as unrestricted funding, which we may choose to either use for operating expenses or grant to recommended charities. This designation will be communicated via the receipt you receive from GiveWell.

How does GiveWell structure matching campaigns?

When we offer donation matching, we do our best to ensure that the matching funds offered are additive and wouldn’t have otherwise been given to GiveWell or our recommended organizations. We refer to this as a “true” match. We don’t believe in identifying gifts that would have been made anyway as “matches.”

We solicit matching funds from donors who have expressed interest in increasing our reach. We review their giving history and likelihood of future giving to see if matching funds appear additive to what they would have otherwise given. If they do, we accept their gift and add it to a pool of funding we may use for future matching campaigns.

When we believe the use of matching funds would be helpful for us—for example, running a matching campaign to get better data on the effectiveness of a marketing effort—we draw from this pool of available matching funds. We generally limit the time frame of each campaign we run. Any funds that are not matched during the campaign will remain in the matching pool for future use.

This structure gives us the flexibility to run matching campaigns as opportunities arise. We may structure matches differently in the future. If you have any questions about how a matching campaign we're running has been structured, please don't hesitate to be in touch.

I have an opportunity to have my gift “matched” if I give to another organization. Does this mean that donation would have double the impact? Could this be a better choice than giving to a GiveWell recommendation without a match?

We recommend against letting "donation matching" affect where you donate. Learn why on our blog.

Will I find out what happens with the money I give?

We publish regular updates on funding directed from our Top Charities Fund and All Grants Fund. We also send occasional emails to donors who have given to the All Grants Fund, Top Charities Fund, or Unrestricted Fund with updates on how those funds are being allocated. You can learn more about how donations have been allocated. We publish a web page for every grant we recommend for funding, including grants funded through our giving funds. You can explore a list of grants we’ve made since 2014.

Should I give now, or save my money and give later?

We don't believe there is a clear answer, and do believe that it makes sense to give relatively regularly—for example, setting aside a set percentage of annual income. This blog post provides more information.

Does GiveWell take money from any source?

We expect that GiveWell donations are coming from legally acquired funds. We do not accept gifts if we learn that the funds were gained improperly.

Does GiveWell issue refunds for donations?

Donations to GiveWell are not refundable except under exceptional circumstances. GiveWell retains sole discretion in determining whether we will issue a refund. If you have a question about your gift or would like to request a refund, please contact us at donations@givewell.org.

GiveWell will never issue a refund after donated funds have been granted to another organization.

Other questions?

Feel free to contact us, read our general FAQ page, or visit our transparency page, which lists and links to most of the different kinds of information we provide.