UPDATE: Peter Singer’s Best Charities for 2018
We’re excited to announce our 2016 list of Best Charities working against global poverty. Our 17 recommended charities do innovative and cost-effective work to bring food, vital nutrients, medical services, and economic opportunities to some of the 702 million people living in extreme poverty today. These organizations work tirelessly to level the playing field, using world class research and evidence-backed interventions to give new hope to some of the world’s neediest men, women, and children.
On this year’s list, you’ll see that we’ve added One Acre Fund, a nonprofit that helps small farmers in East Africa maximize their farm productivity. We’re confident that One Acre Fund offers our supporters one of the best giving opportunities for 2016, and hope that you’ll spend some time learning more about the organization’s farming program and environmental conservation efforts.
2015 has been a groundbreaking year for The Life You Can Save and for all of us who care deeply about poverty reduction. For the first time in human history, the percentage of the global population living in extreme poverty dropped below 10 percent. That’s great news, but there’s much more work to be done in 2016 and beyond as we work to wipe out extreme poverty.
People often ask me, “What can I do to help the poor? Can one person’s donation really make a difference?” I firmly believe that every donation, when given to the right charity, has the potential to have powerful impact. Last year, individual donations from Americans totaled more than the amount given to charity by corporations, bequests, and foundations combined. But less than 5 percent of those donations were earmarked for international interventions. That means that the majority of individual donor money never made it to the developing world, where people need help the most.
Each of us has the potential to have a positive impact on the lives of the global poor. If you haven’t already done so, consider taking The Life You Can Save’s giving pledge to donate a portion of your 2016 income to effective poverty relief, or update your pledge amount as part of your New Year’s resolutions to improve your personal giving best. Then find out what your donation could buy through one of our charities, using our interactive Impact Calculator. And don’t forget to help us share the word! December 1 is #GivingTuesday, and presents a great opportunity to use social media to go public with your pledge to give during the holidays and in 2016.
From all of us at The Life You Can Save, thank you for helping us move closer to realizing our vision of a world free of poverty.
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Peter Singer’s landmark essay “Famine, Affluence and Morality” is available in hardcover on December 1 from Oxford University Press and includes two of Singer’s New York Times essays on the same subject, a new preface by Singer, and a foreword by Bill and Melinda Gates. The slim volume, priced at only $9.95, would make an ideal holiday season gift for a thoughtful person.
Do you have a question for Peter Singer and The Life You Can Save? Peter will be hosting a Product Hunt LIVE chat at 3 PM Eastern on December 1, and a Reddit Ask Me Anything at 3 PM Eastern on December 10. The Life You Can Save’s executive director Charlie Bresler will be co-hosting a Reddit AMA with Development Media International’s CEO Roy Head on December 3 at 2 PM Eastern. Come with questions and join us for thought-provoking, inspiring conversation!
