Animal Charity Evaluators Recommendations

Animal Charity Evaluators (ACE) finds and promotes effective animal charities using evidence-based research. You can recommend support to current ACE Top Charities by giving to the Animal Welfare Fund. If you wish to make a donation recommended for ACE’s Operations, or for one of ACE’s funds (Recommended Charity Fund or Movement Grants Fund), please visit the ACE – Operations donation page and follow the instructions there.

ACE Top Charities (As of November 2022)

Faunalytics

Faunalytics is a U.S.-based organization working to connect animal advocates with information relevant to advocacy. This mostly involves cоnducting and publishing independent research, working directly with partner organizations on various research projects, and promoting existing research and data for individual advocates through their website’s content library. Faunalytics was an ACE Standout Charities from December 2015 to November 2021.

Wild Animal Initiative

Wild Animal Initiative (WAI) is a U.S.-based organization working to strengthen the animal advocacy movement by creating an academic field dedicated to wild animal welfare. They compile literature reviews, write theoretical and opinion articles, and publish research results on their website and in peer-reviewed journals. WAI focuses on identifying and sharing possible research avenues and connecting wild animal welfare with more established fields. They also work with researchers from various academic and non-academic institutions to identify potential collaborators, and they recently launched a grant assistance program. WAI has been an ACE Top Charity since November 2020.

The Good Food Institute

The Good Food Institute (GFI) currently operates in the U.S., Brazil, India, Asia-Pacific, Europe, and Israel, where they work to increase the availability of animal-free products through supporting the development and marketing of plant-based and cell-cultured alternatives to animal products. They achieve this through corporate engagement, institutional outreach, and policy work. They also work to strengthen the capacity of the animal advocacy movement through supporting research and start-ups focused on alternative proteins. GFI was an ACE Top Charities from November 2016 to November 2021.

The Humane League

The Humane League (THL) currently operates in the U.S., Mexico, the U.K., and Japan, where they work to improve animal welfare standards through grassroots campaigns, movement building, vegan advocacy, research, and advocacy training, as well as through corporate, media, and community outreach. They work to build the animal advocacy movement internationally through the Open Wing Alliance (OWA), a coalition founded by THL whose mission is to end the use of battery cages globally. THL has been one of ACE’s Top Charities since August 2012, when we used a different evaluation process and did not publish reviews. In 2014, THL was awarded Top Charity status in ACE’s first official round of charity evaluations and has been renewed as a Top Charity ever since.

ACE Standout Charities (as of November 2022)

ACE’s Standout Charities conduct strong work on behalf of animals in ways that could potentially affect large numbers of animals. ACE feels confident in the quality of their work, but for one reason or another ACE did not select them for a Top Charity recommendation.

RC Forward accepts donations in support of 3 current ACE Standout Charities. See all of ACE’s standout charities on its website.

Mercy For Animals

Mercy For Animals (MFA) operates in the U.S., Brazil, Canada, Hong Kong, India, and Mexico. MFA’s work focuses on strengthening the animal advocacy movement and improving animal welfare standards, as well as decreasing the consumption of animal products and increasing the availability of animal-free products. They engage in a variety of farmed animal advocacy programs, often involving the distribution of footage from their undercover investigations of factory farms, which they primarily promote via media outreach and online campaigns. MFA also engage in corporate and institutional outreach, research, lobbying, and policy work. They recruit and train volunteers and support farmers in transitioning away from animal agriculture. MFA was selected as an ACE Top Charity several times between 2014 and 2017, and they have been a Standout Charity since November 2021.

New Harvest

New Harvest funds research in cellular agriculture, i.e., the development of animal products using cells instead of animals. Through grant programs, they fund graduate and postdoctoral research projects in the field of cellular agriculture, as well as undergraduate and master-level projects for researchers-in-training. They also carry out public engagement and community-building activities via their podcast, blog, research publications, and research summaries. New Harvest was selected as an ACE Standout Charity in both December 2015 and November 2021.

Sinergia Animal

Sinergia Animal operates in Indonesia, Thailand, Argentina, Brazil, Colombia, Uruguay, Chile, Ecuador, and Peru. They work to improve farmed animal welfare standards, increase the availability of animal-free products, decrease the consumption of animal products, and strengthen the animal advocacy movement. Sinergia Animal engages in corporate outreach to secure animal welfare commitments from major retailers. They also engage in investor and media outreach, policy work, investigations, individual and producer outreach, institutional outreach, and research. Sinergia Animal has been an ACE Standout Charity since November 2018.

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