High Impact Giving Guide 2019

Welcome to our annual High Impact Giving Guide, designed to help donors make a bigger difference with their philanthropic gifts. This year, our analysts focused on organizations working with society’s most vulnerable — and arguably forgotten — people: those recovering from substance abuse, hard-to-reach communities lacking basic healthcare, and students at various stages of life at risk of being left behind. In some cases, many of these individuals are considered the hardest to help. The programs and organizations we profile demonstrate daily that it can be done. We’ve also updated our Disaster Relief guide, highlighting how to help in the wake of multiple recent disasters.

When we launched CHIP, people asked us, “Why are you focused on how philanthropy could create greater social impact?” Today, we’re asked “How can we all achieve greater social impact?” The opportunities in this guide are one way to start and represent just a sampling of what’s available on our website. On behalf of our team, we hope this guide helps you translate your generosity and good intentions into high impact.

— Katherina Rosqueta
Founding Executive Director

Center for High Impact Philanthropy High Impact Giving Guide

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Nonprofits Making a Difference

Here you’ll find eight high impact opportunities analyzed for evidence of impact and cost-effectiveness. With each opportunity, we provide background on a specific cause, an organization working effectively in that space, ways to contribute to the charity, and additional organizations doing similar work. This year our analysts focused on organizations working with society’s most vulnerable — and arguably forgotten — people: those recovering from substance abuse, hard-to-reach communities lacking access to basic healthcare, and students at various stages of life at risk of being left behind.

Two men in serious discussion, one in a gray suit jacket and the other in a blue shirt with tattoos visible on his forearm

children in school uniforms watching their hands outside a school

Baby with head supported being checked by phone by telemedicine health provider

Community health worker sitting with a mother and young child outside a home on a Peruvian hillside,with homes visible in the distance

Laughing mother and young boy in a classroom with another woman smiling beyond

Young men wearing BAM, Becoming a Man, black t-shirts, embracing and clasping hands

Two young people in a classroom looking at college materials

Disaster Relief

In the wake of major disasters, the human spirit mobilizes many of us to do something. The images of the devastation can be heartbreaking, prompting us to ask, “How Can I Help?” Since needs remain long after the media camera crews pack up, we discuss how you can support both immediate relief and rebuilding. We’ve updated our Disaster Relief guide, highlighting how to help in the wake of multiple recent disasters.

Program Models Worth Noting

Here we profile noteworthy models that focus on two separate stages in a student’s career: reading literacy and real-world experiences. In addition to supporting strong programs, high impact philanthropy can also include advocacy, awareness raising, and providing support to public systems. The two models profiled here — while vastly different in who they serve — are examples of how donors can get involved in creating larger, systemic change at a population level. They both have a large geographical scope and allow donors to engage in coalition-building.