Insights from the Research Team

Insights from the Research Team
What Biden and his Senate majority mean for climate policy and philanthropy
By: Johannes Ackva & Anu Khan
An update on how the US election results affect climate policy and philanthropy.

Insights from the Research Team
2020 Research Review: Our latest findings and future plans
By: Stephen Clare
We discuss what our Research team learned in 2020 and our plans for 2021.

Insights from the Research Team
Impact stories: GiveDirectly
By: Rachel Baxter
Read the story of Bahati, whose life has been transformed thanks to the work of GiveDirectly, one of our recommended high-impact charities.

Insights from the Research Team
The case for longtermism and safeguarding the future
By: Stephen Clare & Sjir Hoeijmakers
Why we care so much about the future and what this means for philanthropists

Insights from the Research Team
The implications of Biden’s victory for impact-focused climate philanthropy
By: Johannes Ackva & Anu Khan
We explore the implications of Joe Biden's recent election for climate-focused philanthropists.

Insights from the Research Team
Our Approach to Charity
By: David Goldberg
The Founders Pledge approach to charity is based on rigor, humility, and counterfactual thinking. Learn more about how we leverage hard evidence to find the most impactful charities.

Insights from the Research Team
Running the Global Health & Development Fund
By: Stephen Clare
In this final blog in our series about the Global Health and Development Fund, we discuss our plans for learning, iterating and improving.

Insights from the Research Team
Should you support animal welfare charities?
By: Stephen Clare
Discussing three key considerations that affect our decision to donate to animal advocacy organisations rather than human-focused organisations.

Insights from the Research Team
Biden’s victory: Is this a special opportunity for outsized climate impact?
By: Johannes Ackva
What do the results of the US election mean for high-impact climate philanthropy? We explore how it might affect your ability to make a difference through climate philanthropy, and what it means for our Climate Fund strategy and top recommendations.

Insights from the Research Team
Investing to Give Executive Summary
By: Sjir Hoeijmakers
This research report evaluates investing to give as a philanthropic strategy to maximize long-term impact. It concludes it is promising, mainly due to exogenous learning, compound financial returns and option value. Timing of giving matters.

Insights from the Research Team
Pursuing riskier opportunities for impact in global health and development
By: Sam Carter & Stephen Clare
We explain how we aim to maximise the impact of our Global Health and Development Fund by pursuing riskier opportunities with potential for high impact.

Insights from the Research Team
Erik Bergman challenges you to tackle climate change with €1 million match pot
By: Johannes Ackva & Anu Khan
Founders Pledge member Erik Bergman, founder of Catena Media and Great.com, is generously offering to match contributions to our Climate Change Fund up to €1 million (the equivalent of $1,200,000 or £900,000) until December 31!

Insights from the Research Team
Searching for impact: How our Global Health & Development Fund fits into the development landscape
By: Sam Carter & Stephen Clare
This blog provides an overview of the Global Health & Development funding landscape and identifies the unique role that the Founders Pledge Global Health and Development Fund will play.

Insights from the Research Team
Period Poverty: Understanding and addressing an urgent human rights issue
By: Founders Pledge Team
A look at the findings of a new research report on period poverty and how to tackle it. The report was produced by the Kulczyk Foundation in partnership with Founders Pledge.

Insights from the Research Team
Why we're launching a Global Health and Development Fund
By: Sam Carter & Stephen Clare
This blog introduces the Founders Pledge Global Health and Development Fund and is the first in a four-part series.

Insights from the Research Team
Climate Change Executive Summary
By: John Halstead & Johannes Ackva
What’s the best way to donate to fight climate change? Our researchers reviewed the evidence and found the two best charities that lower climate emissions through policy and advocacy.

Insights from the Research Team
Could psychedelics revolutionise mental health treatments?
By: Aidan Goth
Could psychedelic drugs such as magic mushrooms and MDMA revolutionise mental health treatments? The Founders Pledge research team recently investigated this question and found promising results.

Insights from the Research Team
Psychedelic-Assisted Mental Health Treatments Executive Summary
By: Aidan Goth & Sjir Hoeijmakers
This is a summary of our cause area report on psychedelic-assisted mental health treatments.

Insights from the Research Team
Our plans for seed funding promising nonprofits
By: Callum Calvert
This post lays out what we’ve done so far to find funding opportunities in the space of seed funding nonprofits, and what we plan to do next.

Insights from the Research Team
Seed funding nonprofits: a high-risk, high-reward approach
By: Callum Calvert
In this post, we explore seed funding new or early-stage nonprofits and how it this approach can create impact.

Insights from the Research Team
Our thoughts on tackling homelessness
By: Stephen Clare
We introduce our new recommendations for homelessness charities and discuss how homelessness fits into our cause prioritisation.

Insights from the Research Team
COVID-19 in low- and middle-income countries. It’s time to take action.
By: Sam Carter & Stephen Clare
We look at how different low- and middle-income countries have been impacted by the pandemic and highlight the best opportunities we’ve found for philanthropy to make a meaningful difference.

Insights from the Research Team
Is Sweden’s COVID-19 strategy paying off?
By: Aidan Goth
Discussion of Sweden's aims, whether the health system is coping and whether Sweden will soon reach herd immunity.

Insights from the Research Team
Why improving housing affordability is one of the best causes to support in England
By: Stephen Clare
An analysis of the housing crisis in England, its social, economic, and environmental effects, and our recommendation for supporting effective solutions.

Insights from the Research Team
Saving lives vs. saving the economy
By: John Halstead
A look at how we can compare the health costs and economic costs of COVID lockdown.

Insights from the Research Team
Housing Affordability in England Executive Summary
By: Stephen Clare
This is a summary of our cause area report on Housing Affordability in England.

Insights from the Research Team
COVID-19: Insights from the Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security
By: The Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security
Insights about the COVID-10 pandemic from the team at the Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security.

Insights from the Research Team
COVID-19 Global Impact & Innovation Fund
By: Anu Khan
We are excited to announce the launch of the COVID-19 Global Impact & Innovation Fund, in partnership with Silicon Valley Bank.

Insights from the Research Team
COVID-19: It’s not too late to act
By: John Halstead
A look at humanity’s response to COVID-19, the action we can take, and how to reduce the risk of the next pandemic.

Insights from the Research Team
Climate and Lifestyle: policy matters
By: John Halstead & Johannes Ackva
Advice on how to live a climate-friendly lifestyle is typically dominated by adjectives rather than numbers. We might, for example, be told that reusing plastic bags and switching to a plant-based diet have a huge effect on the climate.

Insights from the Research Team
Climate and Lifestyle: donations and offsetting
By: John Halstead & Johannes Ackva
Emissions per person vary considerably even across rich countries: the average American emits 18 tonnes of CO2 per year, whereas the average Swede emits only 7 tonnes.

Insights from the Research Team
Education Executive Summary
By: Callum Calvert
Education executive summary

Insights from the Research Team
Beyond the Pledge: Our Charity Matching Pilot
By: Stephen Clare
Giving time and skills to non-profits can feel fulfilling, but it’s difficult to know just how impactful these collaborations actually are, and how to do them well. So last year, we decided to find out.

Insights from the Research Team
Our Value Discovery Approach
By: Sjir Hoeijmakers
When it comes to philanthropy, there’s no ‘one size fits all.’ Our researchers dig deep, to help you match your intrinsic values to the latest evidence on effectiveness. Learn more.

Insights from the Research Team
Safeguarding the Future Executive Summary
By: John Halstead
As technology reaches new heights, the risk of humanity’s self-destruction also rises. What are the most pressing existential risks we face, and how can donors prevent them? We review the evidence.

Insights from the Research Team
Deworming Children Summary and Giving Recommendations
By: GiveWell
These deworming interventions are some of the most effective ways of increasing children’s health and education. Learn more about this unexpected evidence with Founders Pledge and GiveWell research.

Insights from the Research Team
Animal Welfare Cause Report
By: Stephen Clare
We discuss global animal welfare issues and how donors can help address them