Yes. Many donors split a gift, or give to an evaluator's fund, which spreads money across several recommended charities.

Side by side · Improving wellbeing

Friendship Bench or Pure Earth?

Friendship Bench is a Happier Lives Institute Top Charity; Pure Earth is a Happier Lives Institute Promising Charity. Both figures come from the Happier Lives Institute's published table, in the same unit. We put them side by side so you can compare like with like. We don’t pick a winner.

Happier Lives Institute Top Charity

Friendship Bench

Offers one-to-one problem-solving therapy for people struggling with their mental health, delivered by trained lay health workers in Zimbabwe.

Happier Lives Institute's estimate

48.52 WELLBYs per $1,000 donated

Happier Lives Institute, published table (opens in a new tab)

Low to moderate

Strength of evidence, as rated by Happier Lives Institute

Full profile Donate

Happier Lives Institute Promising Charity

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.

Happier Lives Institute's estimate

105.43 WELLBYs per $1,000 donated

Happier Lives Institute, published table (opens in a new tab)

Not yet rated

The evaluator hasn't published an evidence rating we can quote.

Full profile Donate

Modeled, not guaranteed. This is the evaluator's best estimate of the average, built from studies and assumptions. Your gift could do more or less. How to read these figures

The details, side by side

Everything here is copied from the evaluator, with a link to the source.

Measure	Friendship Bench	Pure Earth
Evaluator's designation	Happier Lives Institute Top Charity	Happier Lives Institute Promising Charity
Approach	Problem-solving therapy	Reducing lead exposure
Strength of evidence	Low to moderate rated by Happier Lives Institute	No rating we can quote
Works in	Zimbabwe	Ghana, low- and middle-income countries
Funding gap	$3,900,000 Happier Lives Institute (opens in a new tab), as of October 1, 2026	$1,545,000 Happier Lives Institute (opens in a new tab), as of October 1, 2026
Other published figures	$16.50 per person treated Happier Lives Institute, published table (opens in a new tab) 0.8 WELLBYs per person treated Happier Lives Institute, published table (opens in a new tab) 6.4× the wellbeing per dollar of cash transfers (GiveDirectly) Happier Lives Institute, published comparison (opens in a new tab)	14× the wellbeing per dollar of cash transfers (GiveDirectly) Happier Lives Institute, published comparison (opens in a new tab)
Our follow-up record	Re-check after October 1, 2027 (Friendship Bench)	Re-check after October 1, 2027 (Pure Earth)

A WELLBY is the Happier Lives Institute's unit of wellbeing: one point of life satisfaction, on a scale from 0 to 10, for one person for one year.

What the numbers can’t tell you

Both numbers are the evaluator's modeled estimates of the average, with real uncertainty. A gap between two estimates is not a measured difference in results.
Each estimate comes from its own model, with its own places, years and assumptions, so small gaps may not mean much.
The strength of the evidence, and whether a charity can put more money to good use right now, matter as much as the headline figure.
Can't decide? Happier Lives Fund lets the Happier Lives Institute spread your gift across its recommended charities.

Questions donors ask

Which is better, Friendship Bench or Pure Earth?: We don't pick a winner. Friendship Bench is a Happier Lives Institute Top Charity; Pure Earth is a Happier Lives Institute Promising Charity. Both figures come from the Happier Lives Institute's published table, in the same unit. Both are modeled estimates, so read them together with the strength of the evidence and the charity's funding needs.
Is more wellbeing per donation always better?: Not on its own. More WELLBYs per $1,000 means the evaluator's model expects each dollar to add more wellbeing. A WELLBY is the Happier Lives Institute's unit of wellbeing: one point of life satisfaction, on a scale from 0 to 10, for one person for one year. Estimates are uncertain, so a modest gap between two charities may not reflect a real difference.
Can I give to both?: Yes. Many donors split a gift, or give to an evaluator's fund, which spreads money across several recommended charities.
Are these figures guaranteed?: No. They are modeled, not guaranteed: the evaluator's best estimate of the average, built from studies and assumptions. Your gift could do more or less.