Scope: This analysis explores how ultra-high-net-worth individuals and institutions ($30M+) evaluate and fund organizations, focusing on global health, water/sanitation, and poverty alleviation initiatives. The goal is to identify those that are more closely aligned with funding rigorous research, cost-effectiveness, and scalability potential.
The Gates Foundation is one of the world's largest philanthropic organizations, with over $50B in endowment and $6B in annual giving. They focus on global health, agriculture, poverty, and education through evidence-based, large-scale interventions. Their grant-making process is highly selective, primarily invitation-only, and emphasizes data-driven approaches with potential for massive impact.
Wellcome Trust is a major global health research funder, providing grants ranging from £100K to £10M+ through various funding streams. They prioritize scientific excellence in areas like infectious diseases, vaccines, and mental health, with a strong emphasis on innovative approaches and evidence-based solutions.
CIFF is one of the world's largest children's foundations, having invested over $2 billion since 2002 to transform young lives. Their strategic interventions span children's health, nutrition, education, and climate action, reaching over 50 million children through evidence-based programs.
The Skoll Foundation is a leading investor in social entrepreneurship, providing substantial multi-year funding ($1.5M-$3M) to proven innovators driving systems-level change. They focus on transformative solutions across health, education, economic opportunity, and governance, requiring demonstrated success and scalability to impact millions. Their invitation-only process emphasizes unrestricted funding and connects awardees to a powerful network of changemakers.
The Rockefeller Foundation focuses on addressing global challenges in energy poverty, health, food security, and economic equity through data-driven approaches and innovative financing. They primarily work through strategic initiatives with invited partners, offering grants ranging from $100K to $10M+. Their funding approach emphasizes scalable solutions, multi-stakeholder partnerships, and milestone-based progress tracking.
The Hewlett Foundation focuses on global challenges through six main program areas, emphasizing evidence-based approaches and measurable impact. They typically provide flexible, multi-year grants ranging from $200K-$1M annually, primarily through invited proposals with a strong preference for unrestricted funding.
The Conrad N. Hilton Foundation is a major philanthropic organization focused primarily on safe water access in Africa, along with initiatives in homelessness, Catholic education, and disaster relief. The foundation awards grants ranging from $500K to $5M, with multi-year partnerships extending up to 7 years, and administers the prestigious $2.5M Hilton Humanitarian Prize.
A leading foundation focused on climate solutions, nuclear safety, and global "Big Bet" philanthropy, featuring the transformative $100M 100&Change competition. Grants range from $250K to $100M, supporting innovative, scalable solutions to critical global challenges.
ELMA Philanthropies focuses on improving the lives of African children through strategic initiatives in healthcare, education, and humanitarian relief. Their work spans from vaccine programs to early childhood development, utilizing an invitation-only funding model with grants ranging from $200,000 to $10 million.
A data-driven philanthropic organization focused on global health and development, with strategic investments in diverse areas from malaria prevention to AI safety. Their invitation-only grant process emphasizes evidence-based impact and ranges from six-figure to $10+ million commitments.
Mulago Foundation focuses on scaling high-impact solutions for the very poor through substantial unrestricted funding ($100k-300k annually). They prioritize simple, proven interventions in health, education, and livelihoods that can reach thousands at low cost while maintaining effectiveness.
The Segal Family Foundation focuses on community-driven development in sub-Saharan Africa through African-led organizations. Their work spans health, education, and youth employment initiatives, with grants ranging from $25,000 to $250,000 annually through a network-based approach.
The Peery Foundation focuses on poverty alleviation through locally-driven solutions, providing flexible funding and capacity-building support to early-stage social entrepreneurs globally and in the San Francisco Bay Area. Their approach combines unrestricted grants ($50k-$200k) with comprehensive organizational development assistance.
Recently evolved into the Dovetail Impact Foundation, this organization combines analytical rigor with patient capital to address poverty through sustainable, market-based solutions, offering grants of $100k-$500k and strategic support to high-impact initiatives.
A major education-focused foundation investing $500K-30M in transformative learning programs, primarily in Africa. They prioritize evidence-based approaches, emphasizing early childhood development, digital solutions, and scalable models that can be adopted by governments or markets.
One of UK's largest WASH funders, focusing on innovative market-based solutions in Africa and Asia. Provides substantial multi-year grants ($500K-$5M) targeting sustainable water and sanitation initiatives. Offers comprehensive support including funding, technical assistance, and strategic partnerships.
Cartier Philanthropy focuses on poverty alleviation and women's socio-economic development across 50+ low-income countries. The foundation provides substantial multi-year grants ($300K-$1M annually) through an invitation-only process, having distributed CHF 130M to over 80 organizations. Their approach emphasizes innovative, scalable solutions in basic services, women's economic development, sustainable livelihoods, and emergency relief.
The Vitol Foundation focuses on breaking the cycle of poverty for children and families, primarily in Sub-Saharan Africa and Asia. Through targeted investments in health, education, WASH, and livelihoods programs, the foundation has distributed $60M across 77 organizations. Their invitation-based grants range from $100k to over $1M, prioritizing scalable, sustainable interventions with clear metrics.
UBS Optimus Foundation combines traditional grant-making with innovative financing to drive maximum social impact in child health and education globally. The foundation specializes in large-scale ($1M-$5M) evidence-driven initiatives, employing rigorous evaluation methods and pioneering financing approaches like development impact bonds. Their unique blend of private sector analysis and social impact expertise has helped mobilize over $150M in additional funding for transformative projects.
Open Road Alliance provides crucial emergency funding to nonprofits and social enterprises facing unexpected challenges, offering rapid grants up to $200K and loans up to $500K. Their timely intervention has helped preserve an estimated $500M in social impact through over 300 grants and loans.
A pioneering philanthropist who has given over $14B through unrestricted, surprise gifts to underrecognized organizations. Scott focuses on equity and systemic change, using a trust-based approach that minimizes bureaucracy while maximizing impact.
Bloomberg Philanthropies deploys over $11B in strategic giving, focusing on global challenges through data-driven solutions. Their approach combines massive scale with measurable impact across public health, climate action, and urban development, emphasizing partnerships with governments and leading institutions.
With a $20B+ endowment, this foundation leads India's largest education transformation initiative, reaching 350,000+ schools while also driving significant public health and rural development programs. Implementation occurs through both direct field presence and strategic grant-making to NGO partners.
Twitter co-founder Jack Dorsey's $1B philanthropic initiative focuses on COVID-19 relief, girls' education, and universal basic income experiments. The fund operates with a uniquely transparent and agile approach, announcing all grants via Twitter and making rapid funding decisions.
Africa's largest private foundation, established in 1994 with $1.25B endowment, focuses primarily on transforming health and nutrition outcomes in Nigeria through large-scale initiatives ranging from $500K to $100M+. The foundation partners with governments and global organizations to drive sustainable impact across healthcare, nutrition, education, and economic empowerment.
The J&J Foundation, through its Center for Health Worker Innovation, strengthens global health equity by supporting frontline health workers across 23 countries. With grants ranging from $250K to $2M, they've trained 140,000 health workers and aim to reach 450,000 by 2025, focusing on innovative healthcare delivery models and sustainable impact.
The Novartis Foundation drives healthcare transformation through digital and AI innovation, focusing on low-income communities. They seek partnerships for scalable digital health solutions, offering grants of $3-5M alongside comprehensive technical support and expertise.
A $500M global initiative focused on preventing maternal deaths through improving care quality, expanding access to family planning, developing innovative health solutions, and strengthening healthcare systems. The program emphasizes addressing racial inequities and partners with various organizations to create sustainable impact.
A global foundation focused on food security, water access, and economic empowerment, providing grants ranging from $100K to $10M+ through strategic partnerships. Emphasizes sustainable, measurable impact with special attention to women's empowerment and infrastructure development.
A global philanthropic leader leveraging IKEA's retail success to combat poverty and climate change through strategic grants ranging from €5M-30M, with total giving exceeding €2 billion.
The Coca-Cola Foundation has invested over $1 billion since 1984 in sustainable community initiatives. The foundation focuses on three key areas: water stewardship, women's empowerment, and community well-being. Through both global and local grant programs, they support projects that demonstrate measurable impact and scalability.
Google.org focuses on five key areas including digital initiatives, education, economic opportunity, crisis response, and AI for social good. Projects must leverage Google's technology for scalable impact, with funding available through Impact Challenges ($500k-$2M) and strategic grants ($5M-$10M). Support includes both financial backing and technical expertise from Google employees.
A major philanthropic initiative focused on enabling 30 million African youth to secure meaningful employment by 2030 through large-scale programs in education, entrepreneurship, and workforce development, with grants ranging from $5M to $50M.
GiveWell's Maximum Impact Fund channels donations to thoroughly vetted charities working in global health and poverty, focusing on evidence-backed interventions like malaria prevention, deworming, and direct cash transfers. The fund uses rigorous research to identify the most cost-effective opportunities to save and improve lives.
A unique philanthropic community where members commit to evidence-based giving across global health, climate change, and development. Their research-driven approach and flexible funding model enables highly effective charitable giving through personalized advisory services.
A collaborative funding initiative that drives large-scale systems change in health, education, and economic opportunity through multi-year grants of $10M+ to initiatives that transform existing systems and address root causes of inequity.
The Global Innovation Fund is a hybrid impact fund that invests in breakthrough innovations across multiple development sectors to improve lives of those living on under $5/day. Using a venture capital-inspired approach, it provides flexible funding from $230K to $15M through various financial instruments, supporting innovations from early-stage pilots to scaled implementation.
The Global Fund is a major international financing organization that focuses on combating three critical infectious diseases through comprehensive funding programs. It provides large-scale grants to eligible countries, requiring strong national commitment and community engagement while emphasizing sustainable, integrated healthcare solutions.
Gavi is a global health partnership that increases vaccine access in low-income countries through strategic funding and partnerships. The alliance combines vaccine subsidization with co-financing requirements to create sustainable immunization programs. Since 2000, Gavi has helped immunize over 888 million children and prevented more than 15 million future deaths through its comprehensive approach.
The END Fund is a partnership-driven initiative combating neglected tropical diseases across Africa and Asia. Through mass drug administration programs costing just $0.50 per person, they've successfully treated over 140 million people while investing in prevention and sustainable community health solutions.
USAID Development Innovation Ventures (DIV) is an open innovation program that funds breakthrough solutions across all development sectors. Using a tiered funding approach from $25,000 to $15 million, DIV supports evidence-based innovations through proof of concept, testing, and scaling phases.
Grand Challenges Canada is an innovation funding platform that supports breakthrough solutions in global health, with a focus on maternal and child health, mental health, and climate-health initiatives. They provide tiered funding from CAD$100K to CAD$1M through competitive rounds, emphasizing scalable solutions that can create significant impact in underserved communities.
A regional development platform that connects impactful, scalable initiatives across Asia with philanthropic donors. The Alliance focuses on health, education, climate, and livelihood projects, requiring strong implementation plans and proven capabilities, while facilitating funding through an annual summit and ongoing matchmaking events.
Dubai Cares is a UAE-based global philanthropic organization focused on providing quality education access, particularly in sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia. The organization provides multi-year grants ranging from $500,000 to $5 million, emphasizing comprehensive school health programs, girls' education, and emergency education response in conflict zones.
These major multilateral funds focus on children's wellbeing, education, and health systems. UNICEF emphasizes WASH and education programs, while the World Bank's Global Financing Facility targets maternal and child health. Both require government partnerships and evidence-based approaches.
FID is a French development fund that supports evidence-based innovation projects globally, with special emphasis on Francophone Africa. The fund offers three tiers of funding ranging from €200k for pilots to €4M+ for large-scale implementations, focusing on areas such as climate resilience, gender equality, and digital innovation.
Analysis identified 47 potential funders offering grants from $50K to $1M+, primarily focused on health, poverty, and education initiatives. Strong alignment exists between funder priorities and Evidence Action's approach, with potential to secure $10-15M in additional funding over 24 months.