What Founders Pledge does

Founders Pledge is a London-headquartered nonprofit (founded 2015, operating as a US 501(c)(3), UK registered charity, and German gGmbH) that helps technology entrepreneurs and founders direct a meaningful share of their wealth to high-impact charities. The organization serves a global community of more than 2,200 pledgers across 45+ countries, who have collectively pledged over $13.6 billion and already moved more than $1.8 billion to the charitable sector. Its core offerings combine a proprietary research methodology that screens 10M+ global charities for effectiveness with personalized philanthropic advisory services and an in-house Donor Advised Fund (DAF) operating in both the US and UK with tax-free investment options.

The platform is delivered through a member app, dedicated funds (Catalytic Impact Fund for Global Health & Development, Rapid Response Fund for crisis-driven giving, and previously the COVID-19 Global Impact & Innovation Fund), and The Foundry — a premium donor community requiring $5,000+ in annual giving. Distribution is community-led: Founders Pledge was launched from Founders Forum and relies on peer referrals, exclusive member events (26 events in 2025 with 790 attendees, including bi-annual retreats), and content marketing via annual impact reports. Membership is free; the organization is funded by Foundry donors, foundation grants (notably a $4M grant from Open Philanthropy in April 2025), and corporate partnerships (Pictet, Google, SVB).

In 2025, member-driven donations to the charitable sector reached $359M and operating expenses were $11.6M, with members funding 45.5% of those costs. The team is approximately 70+ people across offices in London (HQ), San Francisco, New York, and Berlin, with research partners including GiveWell, Happier Lives Institute, Rethink Priorities, and Schmidt Futures, plus a coalition partnership with Rockefeller Foundation and Temasek Trust on nuclear energy philanthropy.

Name

Founders Pledge

Legal name

Founders Pledge

Website

https://founderspledge.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2015

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

51–100 employees

Short description

Founders Pledge is a global nonprofit that helps technology entrepreneurs and founders commit a meaningful share of their wealth to high-impact charities, providing research-driven giving recommendations, an in-house Donor Advised Fund, and philanthropic advisory services to 2,200+ members across 45+ countries.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

London

HQ country

United Kingdom

HQ region

Europe

Offices4 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. The Foundry Membership Donations: The Foundry is a community of entrepreneurial donors committed to supporting Founders Pledge's mission by giving $5,000 or more each year. These donations support core operating costs and fund world-class research and public funds.
2. Foundation Grants: Grants from foundations including Open Philanthropy. In 2025, awarded $4 million grant from Open Philanthropy to fuel entrepreneurial giving movement.
3. General Donations: Public donations and support for Founders Pledge operations and mission. In 2025, over 45.5% of operating expenses were funded by members.
4. Corporate Partnerships: Support from corporate partners such as Pictet. Partners provide in-kind services, funding, and support for events and programming.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels7 records

Core offering

Founders Pledge is a nonprofit that bridges entrepreneurs and high-impact charities by providing rigorous research on global problems, personalized philanthropic advising, and an in-house Donor Advised Fund (DAF). Members commit a meaningful percentage of current or future wealth to charity and gain access to curated giving opportunities, tax-advantaged DAF infrastructure, and a community of peer entrepreneurs across 45+ countries.

Product overview

Founders Pledge operates as a nonprofit platform offering a unified suite of charitable giving services centered on research-driven philanthropy. The core offering combines an in-house Donor Advised Fund (DAF) with personalized Philanthropic Advisory Services to help entrepreneurs maximize their charitable impact. The platform is augmented by specialized funds including the Rapid Response Fund (emergency funding for crisis situations), the Catalytic Impact Fund (long-term systemic change in global health and development), and The Foundry (a premium donor community supporting operations). Members access these services through a digital Member App that provides giving infrastructure, event management, and portfolio tracking.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• The Foundry: A community of entrepreneurial donors committed to supporting Founders Pledge's mission by giving $5,000 or more each year. The Foundry supports core operating costs.
• Rapid Response Fund
• COVID-19 Global Impact & Innovation Fund
• Catalytic Impact Fund (CIF)

Products and services

• Founders Pledge Membership Platform
• Donor Advised Fund (DAF)
• Philanthropic Advisory Services
• Rapid Response Fund
• Catalytic Impact Fund (CIF)
• The Foundry
• Member App
• Charity Evaluation & Research

Quantifiable outcome

• $1.8B+ moved to charitable sector by members
• +5 more outcomes

Named customers11 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature3 records

Partnerships

15 partnerships are on record, tiered flagship, core and minor.

• Rockefeller FoundationflagshipStrategic or Co-development Partner · 19 May 2026Co-announced Global Coalition for Nuclear Philanthropy (GCNP) at Philanthropy Asia Summit in Singapore. Coalition aims to mobilize philanthropic capital for nuclear energy deployment globally, aligning with COP28 Declaration to Triple Nuclear Energy. Analysis by Founders Pledge shows only 0.1-0.2% of climate philanthropy supports nuclear energy.
• Temasek TrustflagshipStrategic or Co-development Partner · 19 May 2026Co-announced Global Coalition for Nuclear Philanthropy (GCNP) alongside Rockefeller Foundation. Coalition addresses significant funding gap in nuclear energy philanthropy and will work across four strategic pathways over 5-10 years.
• Blue Horizons FoundationcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 19 May 2026Member of Global Coalition for Nuclear Philanthropy (GCNP), working to support more countries in integrating nuclear into their energy mix.
• CleanEconcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 19 May 2026Member of Global Coalition for Nuclear Philanthropy (GCNP), contributing to building public support, expanding talent and institutions, de-risking financing, and strengthening governance frameworks.
• Rodel FoundationcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 19 May 2026Member of Global Coalition for Nuclear Philanthropy (GCNP), supporting countries in safely integrating nuclear power into their energy mix.
• Oppenheimer ProjectcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 19 May 2026Strategic Partner in Global Coalition for Nuclear Philanthropy (GCNP), working alongside other coalition members to advance nuclear energy deployment.
• The Life You Can SaveflagshipStrategic or Co-development Partner · 17 February 2025Joint initiative in Rapid Response Fund launched February 2025 to bridge critical funding gaps caused by foreign aid cuts. Raised over $3 million in first month, deployed $700,000 in grants with $600,000 in progress. Partners leverage combined expertise in charity evaluation and strategic philanthropy.
• Silicon Valley Bank (SVB)coreGTM or Marketing Partner · 9 February 2022Partnership to sponsor educational opportunities increasing engagement by technology leaders in philanthropic funding. SVB supported Founders Pledge since 2019, including $1 million seed donation for COVID-19 Global Impact and Innovation Fund. Partnership expanded reach of programming to SVB's global clientele.
• Pledge Ventures LimitedminorChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorCompany number 14306490, registered address 20 St Thomas Street, London. Name and email addresses of business professionals shared with Pledge Ventures based on legitimate interests of fostering membership community. Pledge Ventures may contact members about their products and services.
• Founders Forum GroupcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerLaunched out of Founders Forum - Europe's foremost network of digital and technology entrepreneurs - in 2015. Ongoing partnership providing access to entrepreneur network and referral pipeline for new members.
• GoogleminorGTM or Marketing PartnerCorporate partner providing in-kind support for Founders Pledge operations.
• GiveWellcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerResearch partner providing evidence-based charity evaluation and recommendations. Part of Founders Pledge's research network for identifying high-impact giving opportunities.
• Happier Lives InstitutecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerResearch partner providing evaluation of mental health and wellbeing interventions. Part of the research network informing Founders Pledge's giving recommendations.
• Rethink PrioritiescoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerResearch partner conducting research on pressing world problems and effective solutions. Informs Founders Pledge's strategic philanthropy approach.
• Schmidt FuturescoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerResearch partner providing analysis and recommendations on high-impact giving opportunities. Part of the evidence-based research network.

Scale indicators19 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• GiveWell: Evidence-based charity evaluator and a named research partner of Founders Pledge. Both organizations apply rigorous cost-effectiveness analysis to identify high-impact giving opportunities for donors, making GiveWell the closest comparable on the research/recommendation layer of the Founders Pledge stack.
• The Life You Can Save: Effective giving advocacy organization founded by Peter Singer; partnered with Founders Pledge on the 2025 Rapid Response Fund. Both organizations translate effective altruism research into actionable donor recommendations, serving overlapping audiences of high-impact individual givers.
• Giving What We Can: Pledge-based community that encourages members to commit a percentage of income to highly effective charities. Operates the same pledge-and-evaluate model as Founders Pledge but focuses on earned-income professionals rather than founders and entrepreneurs, making it a direct functional peer.
• Happier Lives Institute: Research partner of Founders Pledge that evaluates mental health and wellbeing interventions. A smaller, research-focused peer with similar methodology and audience overlap, illustrating the ecosystem of evidence-based giving organizations around Founders Pledge.

Broad incumbents

• Open Philanthropy: Large institutional research-oriented grantmaker that awarded Founders Pledge a $4M grant in 2025 and acts as a research partner. Operates at vastly larger scale with endowment-style grantmaking, and serves as both a key funder and a strategic influence on Founders Pledge's research direction.
• Fidelity Charitable: Largest donor-advised fund sponsor in the US, holding tens of billions in DAF assets. Directly competes with Founders Pledge's in-house DAF on tax-advantaged giving infrastructure, but does not provide research-driven recommendations or the founder community layer.
• Schwab Charitable: Major US DAF sponsor backed by Charles Schwab, competing for the same donor-advised fund dollars. Offers broad financial-services integration but lacks the high-impact research curation and entrepreneur community that differentiate Founders Pledge.
• National Philanthropic Trust: Large independent DAF sponsor that, like Fidelity Charitable and Schwab Charitable, competes with Founders Pledge's DAF offering. Operates across a broader donor base without the founder-specific community and high-impact research focus.
• Charity Navigator: Largest US charity evaluator by reach, providing ratings on financial health, accountability, and transparency. A much broader, less impact-focused peer than Founders Pledge, but relevant as the default discovery layer many donors use before considering deeper recommendations.

Emerging players

• 80,000 Hours: Effective altruism organization focused on high-impact career choice, with adjacent giving content. Serves a partially overlapping audience of high-earners interested in doing good, and represents a potential alternative entry point for the same EA-aligned donor pool that Founders Pledge cultivates.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat6 records

Key risks7 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/FoundersPledge
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/founders-pledge

Compliance3 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles8 records

Subsidiaries2 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds5 records

Investors2 records

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments2 records

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Founders Pledge