Added October 2022: From 2020 to 2022 we used the name "Maximum Impact Fund" to refer to the fund used to support the highest-priority funding needs among our top charities each quarter. In September 2022, we changed the name of this fund to the "Top Charities Fund" to better describe what opportunities this fund supports; more information here.
We have published a more recent version of this page. See our most recent version of this page.
Updated: April 2021
Donors may choose to support the Maximum Impact Fund when they make a donation to GiveWell.
GiveWell takes zero fees and will apply its judgment to allocate the Maximum Impact Funds among our recommended charities. We take into account charities' funding needs and donations they have received from other sources. We then make these grants to the highest-value funding opportunities we see among our recommended charities.
We list all of our Maximum Impact Fund grants (formerly known as "Grants to recommended charities at GiveWell's discretion") made starting in 2014 below. We began publishing blog posts announcing these grants in 2017, and will include these going forward. As of October 2020, we also include grants made with flexible funding provided to us (but not given to the Maximum Impact Fund), such as unrestricted gifts that were granted to our recommended charities. These are indicated separately below.
| Grant date | Using donations received in | Amount (rounded to nearest $0.1 M) | Recipient(s) | Write-up |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| March 2021 | October to December 2020 | $26.9 million | Against Malaria Foundation | Forthcoming |
| December 2020 | July to September 2020 | $3.8 million | Malaria Consortium’s seasonal malaria chemoprevention program | November 19, 2020: Our recommendations for giving in 2020 |
| September 2020 | January to June 2020 | $23.3 million | $15.3 million to the Against Malaria Foundation (including $3.6 million from an unrestricted donation). We also granted $8 million from a donor who gave us flexible funding to Malaria Consortium's seasonal malaria chemoprevention program. | October 13, 2020: Maximum Impact Fund update: Q1 and Q2 2020 |
| March 2020 | October to December 2019 | $13.4 million | $11.9 million to Malaria Consortium’s seasonal malaria chemoprevention program and $1.5 million to Helen Keller International’s vitamin A supplementation program | March 17, 2020: Allocation of discretionary funds from Q4 2019 |
| December 2019 | July to September 2019 | $2.6 million | Helen Keller International's vitamin A supplementation program | December 19, 2019: Allocation of discretionary funds from Q3 2019 |
| August 2019 | April to June 2019 | $2.3 million | Against Malaria Foundation | August 21, 2019: Allocation of discretionary funds from Q2 2019 |
| June 2019 | January to March 2019 | $4.7 million | Against Malaria Foundation | June 12, 2019: Allocation of discretionary funds from Q1 2019 |
| March 2019 | October to December 2018 | $7.6 million | Malaria Consortium's seasonal malaria chemoprevention program | March 29, 2019: Allocation of discretionary funds from Q4 2018 |
| November 2018 | July to September 2018 | $1.1 million | Malaria Consortium's seasonal malaria chemoprevention program | November 26, 2018: Our updated top charities for giving season 2018 |
| August 2018 | April to June 2018 | $4.1 million | 70% to Against Malaria Foundation and 30% to Schistosomiasis Control Initiative | August 28, 2018: Allocation of discretionary funds from Q2 2018 |
| May 2018 | January to March 2018 | $3.0 million | 70% to Against Malaria Foundation and 30% to Schistosomiasis Control Initiative | June 4, 2018: Allocation of discretionary funds from Q1 2018 |
| March 2018 | October to December 2017 | $5.6 million | Schistosomiasis Control Initiative | April 6, 2018: Allocation of discretionary funds from Q4 2017 |
| November 2017 | July to September 2017 | $0.7 million | Evidence Action's Deworm the World Initiative | November 27, 2017: Our top charities for giving season 2017 |
| August and September 2017 | March to June 2017 | $2.3 million | Evidence Action's Deworm the World Initiative | August 30, 2017: Why we’re allocating discretionary funds to the Deworm the World Initiative |
| August 2017 | January to February 2017 | $2.5 million | Against Malaria Foundation | April 3, 2017: Allocation of discretionary funds and new recommendation for donors |
| April 2017 | October to December 2016 | $2.1 million
$0.5 million |
Against Malaria Foundation
Evidence Action's Deworm the World Initiative | April 3, 2017: Allocation of discretionary funds and new recommendation for donors |
| December 2016 | July to September 2016 | $0.5 million | Against Malaria Foundation | |
| September 2016 | May to June 2016 | $0.3 million | Against Malaria Foundation | |
| June 2016 | March to April 2016 | $0.2 million | Against Malaria Foundation | |
| April 2016 | January to February 2016 | $1.0 million | Against Malaria Foundation | |
| February 2016 | December 2015 | $1.6 million | Against Malaria Foundation | |
| January 2016 | October to November 2015 | $0.8 million | Against Malaria Foundation | |
| December 2015 | June to September 2015 | $0.6 million | Against Malaria Foundation | |
| July 2015 | January to May 2015 | $1.0 million | 66.7% to the Against Malaria Foundation, 13.3% to each GiveDirectly and the Schistosomiasis Control Initiative, and 6.7% to Evidence Action's Deworm the World Initiative | |
| March 2015 | November to December 2014 | $2.2 million | 66.7% to the Against Malaria Foundation, 13.3% to each GiveDirectly and the Schistosomiasis Control Initiative, and 6.7% to Evidence Action's Deworm the World Initiative | |
| December 2014 | July to October 2014 | $0.1 million | 66.7% to the Against Malaria Foundation, 13.3% to each GiveDirectly and the Schistosomiasis Control Initiative, and 6.7% to Evidence Action's Deworm the World Initiative | |
| August 2014 | April to June 2014 | $0.1 million | 60% to GiveDirectly, 20% to the Schistosomiasis Control Initiative, and 20% to Evidence Action's Deworm the World Initiative | |
| May 2014 | January to March 2014 | $0.2 million | 55% to GiveDirectly, 40% to the Schistosomiasis Control Initiative, and 5% to Evidence Action's Deworm the World Initiative |
We also made these grants prior to 2014 and would be happy to provide information about those grants upon request.
January 22, 2018 Update: An original version of this page contained several errors, which have been corrected.