We discontinued our small discretionary grantmaking process in February 2026 as part of a larger shift to improve the efficiency of our grantmaking processes by providing greater authority for research subteam leaders to approve grants under $1 million (as of February 2026).
From May 2021 through January 2026, GiveWell enabled some senior staff to recommend a certain amount of funding annually via small discretionary grants. The process was intended to increase our expected impact by occasionally funding small, promising opportunities without investing a lot of time in evaluating them. The grants made up a very small portion of the total funding GiveWell directed each year.
For more information about the program, see the previous version of this page. For more information about the grants funded through it, see the table below.
Published: February 2026 (October 2025 version, April 2024 version, February 2022 version)
Past recipients of small discretionary grants
| Grant | Amount | Date | Source of funds | Recommender |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| American Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene — Support for Travel Awards | $60,000 | July 2025 | Unrestricted funding designated for granting | Alex Bowles |
| Clear Solutions — Evaluation of Oral Rehydration Solution and Zinc Distribution Pilot in Chad | $81,573 | July 2025 | Open Philanthropy | Meika Ball |
| Healthy Futures Global — Syphilis Screening and Treatment in the Philippines | $167,453 | February 2025 | Unrestricted funding designated for granting | Dan Brown |
| Clinton Health Access Initiative (CHAI) — Malaria Funding Gaps | $250,000 | February 2025 | Unrestricted funding designated for granting | Alex Bowles |
| Mangrove Water — Development of In-line Chlorination Adapter | $226,958 | January 2025 | Unrestricted funding designated for granting | Erin Crossett |
| Urban Institute — History of Philanthropy Case Studies | $50,000 | October 2024 | Unrestricted funding designated for granting | Natalie Crispin |
| Our World in Data — Unrestricted Funding | $400,000 | April 2024 | Unrestricted funding designated for granting | Teryn Mattox |
| Malengo — Core Operations | $750,000 | January 2024 | All Grants Fund and individual donor | Erin Crossett |
| Center for Effective Global Action at UC Berkeley — Unrestricted Funding | $787,500 | December 2023 | All Grants Fund | Julie Faller |
| Agency Fund – Youth Empowerment Fellowships | $855,000 | January 2023 | Effective Altruism Funds' Global Health and Development Fund | Julie Faller |
| Spark Microgrants – Scoping Grant for Participatory Learning and Action for Maternal and Neonatal Health | $53,740 | November 2022 | All Grants Fund | Julie Faller |
| One Acre Fund – Scoping Grant for In-Line Chlorination in Rwanda | $451,212 | October 2022 | All Grants Fund | Marinella Capriati |
| Precision Development – Bridge Grant | $286,709 | September 2022 | All Grants Fund | Teryn Mattox |
| One Acre Fund – Planning Grant for Research on Tree Program | $77,523 | September 2022 | Effective Altruism Funds' Global Health and Development Fund | Julie Faller |
| IDinsight – Research on Program Reach Estimates | $71,000 | August 2022 | Unrestricted funding designated for granting | Natalie Crispin |
| IRD Global — Bridge Grant for Tuberculosis Program | $562,000 | April 2022 | Effective Altruism Funds' Global Health and Development Fund | Teryn Mattox |
| WAW Statistical Consulting Ltd — Development of an R Package for Bayesian Evidence Aggregation | $66,400 | March 2022 | Open Philanthropy | James Snowden |
| Oxford University – Research on Cash Spillover Effects | $121,626 | June 2021 | Unrestricted funding designated for granting | Elie Hassenfeld |
| Innovations for Poverty Action — Scale-Up of Face Masks in South Asia | $100,000 | May 2021 | Effective Altruism Funds' Global Health and Development Fund | James Snowden |