[1] This includes money we granted from our Maximum Impact Fund, as well as grants we recommended to Open Philanthropy. Dollar amounts and impact estimates cited in this blog post are drawn largely from unpublished internal data. For more on money we directed in 2020, see our 2020 metrics report.
[2] For example, in our page explaining our Q1 2021 allocation from the Maximum Impact Fund, we describe why we chose to allocate funds to Helen Keller International's vitamin A supplementation work in Cameroon and Nigeria, but not in Kenya.
[3] We don’t expect to make a grant to GiveDirectly this year beyond our typical incentive grant of $500,000 (see this section of our page on recommended grants to Open Philanthropy in November 2020). While GiveDirectly is an excellent top charity, it’s the least cost-effective of the organizations we recommend. We’d prefer to hold grantmaking funds until 2022 to spend them on more cost-effective funding opportunities. For more, read "Why aren’t you just directing the extra money to GiveDirectly?"
[4] See here for a list of all grants we've made or recommended since 2014, including those made to top charities.
[5] Some of the additional room for more funding we find in 2021 may be below the cost-effectiveness bar we used in 2020. For more information, read "We aim to cost-effectively direct around $1 billion annually by 2025."
[6] See "Possible development of drug resistance" under "Possible negative/offsetting impacts" in our intervention report on SMC.
[7] See Malaria Consortium's seasonal malaria chemoprevention 2020 philanthropy report, pp. 25-28 and pp. 43-46, for descriptions of these projects in Mozambique and Uganda.
[8] See the cost-effectiveness and room for more funding sections of our intervention report on combined protocol community-based management of acute malnutrition.
[9] The final amount of the grant will depend on the total amount needed for incentives, which is uncertain at this time.
[10] A recent meta-analysis of 12 randomized controlled trials found a large effect:
- “Although the effect size varied over time and between drugs, overall IPTi impacts on the incidence of clinical malaria overall, with a 30% reduction (rate ratio 0.70, 0.62 to 0.80; 10 studies, 10,602 participants).” Esu, Oringanje, and Meremikwu 2021, "Main results"
[11] See "Does the program appear to have room for more funding?" in our intervention report on IPTi.
[12] See "How does GiveWell support itself?" on our frequently asked questions page.
[13] "For those who itemize their deductions:
Donors who itemize their deductions can now give more cash to charity before reaching their adjusted gross income (AGI) limitation. Formerly set at 60%, the limitation for cash contributions to certain public charities has now been raised to 100% of an individual’s AGI for both 2020 and 2021. Any giving beyond this 100% limitation may be carried over and used in the next five years.
This provision excludes giving to private nonoperating foundations and supporting organizations, along with any contributions made to establish or maintain donor-advised funds (DAFs) like those held at Vanguard Charitable.
This means that Vanguard Charitable donors who exhaust the 60% limit with cash contributions to their DAFs in 2020 or 2021 could make any additional donations outside their DAF and have those donations qualify for a deduction (up until reaching the 100% limit). Please consult a tax advisor to discuss your specific circumstances.
For those who don’t itemize their deductions:
The stimulus package extends through 2021 the CARES Act's allowance for up to $300 of a taxpayer's charitable contributions to qualify as an above-the-line deduction. It increases the amount to $600 for married couples filing joint returns. This means you don't have to itemize deductions in order to claim the $300 (or $600) as a deduction. Qualifying donations must be made in cash or cash equivalents (as opposed to stock, for example) and cannot be directed to supporting organizations or DAFs." Vanguard Charitable, UPDATE: CARES Act provisions extended into 2021, December 29, 2020