International Issues Overview

In our sector-specific work, we develop practical guidance and tools to support impact-driven philanthropists. We have identified high impact opportunities in global public health, international economic development, and international education. In these areas, we analyze available evidence to identify critical needs to target and the practices with the greatest potential to improve the lives of others. We also have an ongoing process to source and vet additional opportunities; please contact us if you would like to support our work or want to find out more. To help philanthropists understand how much change costs, we integrate considerations of both cost and impact. See also: How we calculated cost per impact in malaria.

You can download all of our products for free by visiting our Investment Analysis page and read about International Issues on our High Impact Philanthropy Blog. See below for an overview of our work to-date.

Global Children's Health: A Toolkit for Donors

View the Toolkit. We are developing a new format of guidance in the form of a donor toolkit. Over the next year, our series on child survival will provide donors with the tools they need to take action. Learn more...

Haiti: How Can I Help? Models for Donors Seeking Long-Term Impact

View the full investment guide. The devastation in Haiti has been matched by an outpouring of international generosity. Haiti: How Can I Help? Models for Donors Seeking Long-Term Impact, our latest philanthropic investment guide, was written to help donors translate that generosity into lasting recovery for the people of Haiti. The models and agents we describe are focused on areas that represent the three pillars of effective development: Health, Livelihoods, and Education. Haiti is already beginning to fade from the headlines, but for individual donors, the real opportunity to have impact has just begun. Read more...

High Impact Philanthropy for Haiti: A Series "How Can I Help?"

On January 14, 2010, two days after the earthquake, we posted a blog entitled, Haiti: How Can I Help?, which described which nonprofits are best positioned to work in the immediate aftermath of the quake. Since then, we have been following the situation closely and have posted updated advice based on developments on the ground and best practice.We created a series of online briefs to provide up-to-date information about smart philanthropic ways to help Haiti’s earthquake victims. "Haiti: How Can I Help?," “Cutting Through the Noise: Effective Donor Help During the Immediate Relief Phase,” “High Impact Technology for Disaster Relief," and more are available at http://blog.impact.upenn.edu/tag/haiti. Read full press release: http://www.upenn.edu/pennnews/article.php?id=1808.

Lifting the Burden of Malaria: An Investment Guide for Impact-Driven Philanthropy

View the Full Guide. Every 30 seconds a young child dies of malaria. Each of those deaths, however, is avoidable. With an arsenal of cost-effective tools, a consensus strategy, and global partners from all sectors, philanthropists now have an opportunity to help save millions of lives and break the cycle of sickness and poverty from malaria. Your challenge is to figure out how you can best leverage the current momentum against this devastating disease. Lifting the Burden of Malaria: An Investment Guide for Impact-Driven Philanthropy was written for philanthropists who are interested in going beyond charity by searching for opportunities to maximize the impact of their philanthropic dollars. Our multidisciplinary team synthesized data on effective malaria control strategies, considered funding trends and nonprofit performance data, and interviewed malaria specialists and public health practitioners to help you get to smarter decisions faster. In the guide, the Center provides recommended strategies to address critical unmet needs, in-depth case examples linking cost and impact, and practical advice on evaluating potential investments and assessing post-donation impact. Read more...