Cause
Improving wellbeing
Programs judged by how much they improve how people feel about their lives, such as therapy for depression, measured by the Happier Lives Institute.
Short on time? Which charities do the most for people's wellbeing? Read the short answer
Highest-rated charities
Listed by evaluator designation, with each one's headline figure exactly as published.
Friendship Bench
Offers one-to-one problem-solving therapy for people struggling with their mental health, delivered by trained lay health workers in Zimbabwe.
48.52 WELLBYs per $1,000 donated
Happier Lives Institute, published table
StrongMinds
Runs group talk therapy for people with depression, led by trained lay counsellors, in countries including Uganda and Zambia.
40.37 WELLBYs per $1,000 donated
Happier Lives Institute, published table
Pure Earth
Works to cut people's exposure to lead, a poison that harms children's development; the evaluator's analysis looks at lead in cosmetics in Ghana.
105.43 WELLBYs per $1,000 donated
Happier Lives Institute, published table
Taimaka
Treats children with acute malnutrition in north-east Nigeria using ready-to-use therapeutic food.
66 WELLBYs per $1,000 donated
Happier Lives Institute, published table
Let an evaluator decide
What works, and how we know
Group talk therapy for depression
Group therapy for depression, led by trained lay counsellors rather than doctors, which keeps the cost low.
Evidence: Low to moderate (Happier Lives Institute)
Problem-solving therapy
One-to-one talk therapy that helps people work through their problems, delivered by trained lay health workers.
Evidence: Low to moderate (Happier Lives Institute)
Reducing lead exposure
Policy and market work to remove lead from everyday products and places.
Treating acute malnutrition
Treating severely malnourished children at home with ready-to-use therapeutic food.
Compare side by side
Two charities at a time, measured the same way by the same evaluator.
Questions donors ask
- What is the most effective charity for improving wellbeing?
We don't pick a winner ourselves. The highest-rated charities here are Friendship Bench, StrongMinds, Pure Earth, Taimaka, based on what GiveWell and the Happier Lives Institute publish. Each charity page shows the figures, the source and how strong the evidence is.
- Should I give to one charity or a fund?
Both are reasonable. A fund run by an evaluator lets them direct your gift to where they judge the need is greatest; giving to one charity lets you choose the program yourself.
- Are these figures guaranteed?
No. They are evaluators' modeled estimates of the average. Real results can be higher or lower, and evaluators update them as they learn.