The scale of need
Nearly 50% of the world's population lives on less than $6.85 a day, and almost 9% – or 648 million people – live in extreme poverty on less than $2.15 each day.
Our Objective
Stand up to the vast global inequalities in health, wealth, and opportunity
We direct help in the most impactful ways, to those who need it most.
While many of us have a higher life expectancy than our parents and grandparents, and while we expect to have greater wealth than generations before us, millions of people live in poverty, and billions more struggle to get by. They cannot access basic healthcare and vaccinations, making them far more vulnerable to deadly diseases. They cannot access quality education to strengthen their economic future.
The Global Health & Development Fund (GHDF) aims to:
- Significantly improve the lives of the world's most vulnerable people;
- Eliminate deaths from easily preventable disease;
- Support sustainable, systemic change.
The Global Health & Development Fund is a philanthropic co-funding vehicle that does not provide investment returns.
▲ Photo by Gene Brutty on Unsplash
Our strategy
- We maximize impact by striking a balance between scale and certainty of outcomes in the initiatives we support. We aim to be risk-neutral.
- We collaborate with other organizations to ensure the fund fills a unique gap in the ecosystem.
- We explore ways of giving that may not be easy or available to most donors, including higher-risk or time-sensitive opportunities.
We seek out the biggest gaps
We don’t restrict ourselves to pre-determined problems or regions. Some of the gaps we want to close are:
- Nearly 50% of the world lives on less than $6.85 per day
- Globally, 1 in 5 children do not have access to essential immunizations
- A pregnant woman in Nigeria is over 200 times more likely to die in pregnancy or childbirth than a woman in Sweden*
We don't solicit or accept applications for grants. Grant recipients are chosen through careful evaluations, and are based on our research and strategy.
Sources: The World Bank, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and Our World in Data
▲ Photo by CDC on Unsplash
Direct and co-funded grants
For research into sources of lead pollution
For advocacy to speed up the roll out of the malaria vaccine. Co-funded grant with $50k from GHDF and $100k from externally advised grants.
For deworming work
Advised grants
These grants have been identified, evaluated and advised on by Fund Managers; resources were deployed by external philanthropists through their giving infrastructure, separately from the Fund.
To scale up programs broadcasting locally-tailored educational content to children across Africa
Help those most in need right now
Donate Now
Founders Pledge members
Contribute through your Donor Advised Fund (DAF) easily through the member app. Don’t have a DAF or want to discuss your options? Reach out to giving@founderspledge.com.
Not a member?
Contribute through Every.org. You can also contribute from any Donor Advised Fund; for details, reach out to giving@founderspledge.com.
Our impact
Impact reports
2023 Impact ReportMeet the Fund Managers
Dominic Finelli
Dominic joined Founders Pledge in July 2021 as an Advisor after building a private philanthropy advisory in New York City. Previously, he delivered bespoke advice, built charitable solutions, and directed a cohort of international philanthropists to deploy over $100M to the charitable sector. Earlier in his career, Dominic learned from and lived with community development and NGO leaders across Sub-Saharan Africa, Central and South America, and South and Southeast Asia while working for nearly a decade on economic, education, health, and wellness improvements.
Rosie Bettle
Rosie joined Founders Pledge in March 2022 as an Applied Researcher. Her background is in evolutionary biology and cognitive science; she holds a PhD in Biopsychology from the University of Michigan and a Master’s degree in Human Evolutionary Biology from Harvard University. She has published in academic journals including Developmental Science, Current Opinion in Behavioural Sciences, and the Journal of Comparative Psychology and Animal Cognition.
Learn More
Why we’re launching a Global Health and Development Fund
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Searching for impact: How our Global Health & Development Fund fits into the development landscape
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Pursuing riskier opportunities for impact in global health and development
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