The Life You Can Save
The Life You Can Save is a 501(c)(3) effective-altruism nonprofit founded in 2013 that curates a Best Charities list of 25 vetted organizations and routes donor contributions through five pooled Cause Funds, serving individual donors, corporate matching programs, and Donor Advised Fund holders across the US, UK, Netherlands, and Australia.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded2013
- HeadquartersNovato, United States
- Headcount1–10
- GTM typeB2C
- OfferingServices
What The Life You Can Save does
The Life You Can Save (TLYCS) is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization founded in 2013 by philosopher Peter Singer and former executive Charlie Bresler, headquartered in Novato, California, with additional registered entities in Australia, the United Kingdom (via Prism the Gift Fund), and the Netherlands (as a Public Benefit Organization). The organization functions as an effective-altruism donation intermediary, curating a Best Charities list of 25 vetted, evidence-backed nonprofits working across multidimensional poverty indicators (health, education, livelihoods, and women-and-girls outcomes) and channeling donor contributions to them through five pooled Cause Funds (Maximize Your Impact Fund, Health, Education, Quality of Life, Women and Girls). Its core technology stack includes a Donorbox-powered donation website, an Impact Calculator tool for estimating donation outcomes, and a December 2025-launched AI-powered SmartAdvisor GPT chatbot for personalized giving recommendations. Operating with 1–10 employees and a 90/10 pass-through economics model (donors may allocate 10% to operations), TLYCS raised $24.07 million from over 2,500 donors in 2025, an 18.29% year-over-year increase, and has facilitated over $100 million in cumulative donations since inception.
The organization serves individual donors (first-time givers to high-net-worth philanthropists), corporate matching-program participants via Benevity/Bright Funds/YourCause, and Donor Advised Fund holders (Fidelity, Schwab, BNY). Distribution channels span bank transfer (0% fees), PayPal, cryptocurrency via Crypto for Charity, corporate matching through Double The Donation, stock, IRA, and FreeWill planned-giving integration. In 2025, TLYCS announced plans to scale operational capacity to meet demand created by foreign aid cuts, released a Health Sector Report covering 2026–2028, and operates a matching campaign for first-time donations to the Maximize Your Impact Fund. The organization reached 20 million beneficiaries across its portfolio charities' programs in 2025.
The Life You Can Save firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- The Life You Can Save
- Legal name
- The Life You Can Save
- Website
- https://thelifeyoucansave.org
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 2013
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 1–10 employees
- Short description
- The Life You Can Save is a 501(c)(3) effective-altruism nonprofit founded in 2013 that curates a Best Charities list of 25 vetted organizations and routes donor contributions through five pooled Cause Funds, serving individual donors, corporate matching programs, and Donor Advised Fund holders across the US, UK, Netherlands, and Australia.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
The Life You Can Save industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Charitable Giving Platform
- NAICS
- Grantmaking Foundations (813211), Grantmaking and Giving Services (8132)
- SIC
- Services-Social Services (8300), Services-Membership Organizations (8600)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Philanthropy & Foundations Advisory (Donor-Advised Funds, Endowments) (FSAAABAH)
- akta.pro secondary industries
- Family Offices & Philanthropic Advisors (Grantmaking) (BPAGAKAD), Federated Giving Organizations (e.g., United Way-type) (BPAGAKAG)
Keywords
Where The Life You Can Save is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Novato
- HQ country
- United States
- HQ region
- North America
Offices1 record
Markets served
The Life You Can Save business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2C
- Offering type
- Services
- Cost components
- Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Infrastructure
Revenue model
- Donations to Recommended Charities: The primary revenue stream consists of donations from individuals directing funds to vetted charities on The Life You Can Save's Best Charities list. Donors can allocate 100% to charities or choose a 90/10 split where 10% supports The Life You Can Save's operations.
- Cause Funds: Pooled donations to Cause Funds (Health, Education, Quality of Life, Women and Girls) that support multiple vetted organizations tackling related global issues. Additional $5.64 million generated through Cause Funds in 2025.
- Operations Fund (10% Option): Donors can allocate 10% of their donation to The Life You Can Save's Operations Fund, which powers the research and evaluation that identifies effective ways to transform lives. Every dollar invested in operations enables an estimated $9.19 for recommended charities.
Pricing tiers
| Model | Billing | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Other | Pay-as-you-go | 100% to Charity Option |
| Other | Pay-as-you-go | 90/10 Split Option |
| Subscription | Monthly | Recurring/Monthly Donations |
| Other | Pay-as-you-go | Matching Campaigns |
Go-to-market motion1 record
Distribution channels9 records
Marketing channels6 records
The Life You Can Save product offering
Product offeringCore offering
The Life You Can Save curates and maintains a Best Charities list of 25 evidence-backed nonprofits working on extreme poverty, and operates pooled Cause Funds (Maximize Your Impact, Health, Education, Quality of Life, Women and Girls) that allow donors to support multiple vetted organizations through a single donation. Donors can direct funds to specific recommended charities, allocate to Cause Funds, or contribute to the organization's operations via an optional 10% allocation. The organization complements this with an AI-powered SmartAdvisor tool that provides personalized giving recommendations and an Impact Calculator that estimates real-world outcomes of donations.
Product overview
The Life You Can Save is an effective altruism nonprofit organization founded in 2013 that operates a platform connecting donors with thoroughly vetted, high-impact charities. The core product is its curated Best Charities List of 25 evidence-backed organizations, complemented by five pooled Cause Funds (Maximize Your Impact Fund, Health Fund, Education Fund, Quality of Life Fund, and Women and Girls Fund) that allow donors to support multiple charities through single donations. The platform also offers two AI-powered tools: SmartAdvisor (an AI chatbot providing personalized giving recommendations) and an Impact Calculator (for estimating donation effects). Additional offerings include research reports (such as the Health Sector Report 2026-2028), an Evaluation Framework for charity assessment, and Peter Singer's book on effective giving. The organization facilitates donations through multiple channels including credit card, bank transfer, PayPal, cryptocurrency, Donor Advised Funds, and corporate matching programs.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Brands
- Maximize Your Impact Fund: Pooled donation fund supporting the entire portfolio of recommended charities across all dimensions of poverty.
- Health Fund
- Education Fund
- Quality of Life Fund
- Women and Girls Fund
- SmartAdvisor
- Impact Calculator
- Evaluation Hub
- Rapid Response Fund
Products and services
- SmartAdvisor AI-powered GPT-based chatbot that provides personalized giving recommendations to donors, helping them identify high-impact charitable opportunities based on their giving goals, values, and interests.
- Impact Calculator Interactive web tool that calculates potential real-world impact of donations across different organizations and interventions, providing tangible examples of how donations can affect individuals or communities.
- Maximize Your Impact Fund Pooled donation fund that supports the organization's entire portfolio of recommended charities across health, education, living standards, and women and girls' well-being, enabling donors to make one strategically allocated donation.
- Health Fund Cause-specific pooled fund supporting vetted charities addressing global health issues, allowing donors to support multiple health-focused organizations through a single donation.
- Education Fund Cause-specific pooled fund supporting vetted charities working on education interventions, enabling donors to support multiple education-focused organizations through a single donation.
- Quality of Life Fund Cause-specific pooled fund supporting vetted charities addressing living standards and quality of life dimensions of poverty.
- Women and Girls Fund Cause-specific pooled fund supporting vetted charities focused on improving outcomes for women and girls globally.
- Rapid Response Fund Emergency giving fund established to direct resources quickly to where they are needed most during crises or acute funding gaps.
- Best Charities List Thoroughly vetted, evidence-backed list of 25 highly effective nonprofit organizations working across multiple dimensions of poverty, including health, education, livelihoods, and women's empowerment.
Quantifiable outcome
- 18.29% increase in donations to $24.07 million in 2025
- +4 more outcomes
Companies that use The Life You Can Save
Customer profileNamed customers8 records
Segments3 records
Ideal customer profiles3 records
The Life You Can Save technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed Yes
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
AI capability2 records
Feature2 records
The Life You Can Save partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
Eight partnerships are on record, tiered minor and core.
- Traders4ACauseminorPartnership with Traders4ACause for charitable trading/marketing initiatives
- BooktopiaminorAustralian book retailer distributing Peter Singer's 'The Life You Can Save' book to readers
- BlinkistminorBook summary service offering condensed version of 'The Life You Can Save' book to reach more readers
- LyssnaminorPodcast/audio platform partnership for distributing The Life You Can Save content
- Write the WorldminorWriting platform partnership for engaging writers in effective giving content
- Against Malaria FoundationcoreLongstanding strategic partnership with Against Malaria Foundation, a key beneficiary of the Maximize Your Impact Fund. TLYCS has served as 'invaluable analyser, questioner and recommender' of AMF's work for over 14 years, helping AMF improve and maximize impact.
- Double The DonationminorIntegration with Double The Donation platform for corporate matching program discovery, helping donors find and utilize employer matching opportunities
- Prism the Gift FundcoreUK restricted fund under Prism the Gift Fund (registered charity 1099682) enabling UK donors to make tax-deductible donations to TLYCS operations and Cause Funds via JustGiving
Scale indicators6 records
Recent moves6 records
Expansion highlights5 records
The Life You Can Save competitors and assessment
Company assessmentDirect peers
- Giving What We Can: Effective-altruism pledge and giving-advocacy organization encouraging members to donate a share of income to high-impact charities. Directly comparable to TLYCS in mission and target donor segment (EA-aligned individuals).
- Founders Pledge: Philanthropic platform helping startup founders and tech employees pledge a portion of their wealth to high-impact causes. Comparable donor persona and effective-altruism-aligned thesis, with a corporate/workplace giving angle TLYCS is also developing.
- Open Philanthropy: Major EA-aligned grantmaking organization that conducts cause prioritization and funds high-impact interventions globally. Overlaps with TLYCS on global health and poverty causes and on shared research frameworks.
- 80,000 Hours: Effective-altruism organization providing career advice to maximize social impact. Shares the same donor/EA community and thought leadership, and frequently cross-recommends charities also featured in TLYCS's Best Charities list.
- GiveWell: The dominant effective-altruism charity evaluator and recommender, publishing in-depth research on top charities. TLYCS competes for the same donor mindshare with a smaller research team but a more consumer-facing brand and donation platform.
Broad incumbents
- GlobalGiving: Global crowdfunding marketplace connecting individual donors with vetted nonprofits worldwide. A broader, less curated alternative to TLYCS's evidence-driven Best Charities approach, with more projects but less impact evaluation rigor.
- Charity Navigator: The largest mainstream US charity rating platform, evaluating financial health, accountability, and transparency across hundreds of thousands of nonprofits. TLYCS's evaluation framework is a more evidence-driven, impact-focused alternative to Charity Navigator's governance-oriented ratings.
- BBB Wise Giving Alliance (Give.org): Established US charity accountability evaluator setting standards for governance, results reporting, and fundraising practices. Represents the incumbent trust-based evaluation approach that TLYCS competes with by emphasizing cost-effectiveness and measured outcomes.
Emerging players
- ImpactMatters (now Charity Navigator's Impact Matters): Charity-effectiveness evaluator focused on outcome measurement rather than financial overhead ratios. Highly comparable methodology overlap with TLYCS's multidimensional poverty framework, and an emerging alternative for impact-driven donors.
Others
- Giving Tuesday: Global generosity movement organizing annual giving campaigns and matching programs. TLYCS explicitly times SmartAdvisor and Cause Fund launches around Giving Tuesday, making it a strategic ecosystem participant rather than a direct competitor.
Market position
Strengths5 records
Weaknesses5 records
Competitive moat5 records
Key risks6 records
Key highlights7 records
Customer concentration
The Life You Can Save social profiles
Digital presenceThe Life You Can Save financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
The Life You Can Save leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles3 records
The Life You Can Save funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
The Life You Can Save M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about The Life You Can Save
What does The Life You Can Save do?
The Life You Can Save curates and maintains a Best Charities list of 25 evidence-backed nonprofits working on extreme poverty, and operates pooled Cause Funds (Maximize Your Impact, Health, Education, Quality of Life, Women and Girls) that allow donors to support multiple vetted organizations through a single donation. Donors can direct funds to specific recommended charities, allocate to Cause Funds, or contribute to the organization's operations via an optional 10% allocation. The organization complements this with an AI-powered SmartAdvisor tool that provides personalized giving recommendations and an Impact Calculator that estimates real-world outcomes of donations.
Is The Life You Can Save a public or private company?
The Life You Can Save is a private company. It is classified as nonprofit foundation owned and is currently operating.
When was The Life You Can Save founded?
The Life You Can Save was founded in 2013. It employs 1 to 10 people.
Where is The Life You Can Save based?
The Life You Can Save is headquartered in Novato, United States, in the North America region.
How does The Life You Can Save make money?
Three revenue lines are on record. Donations to Recommended Charities are the primary driver. The others are cause Funds and operations Fund (10% Option).
Who are The Life You Can Save's main competitors?
Direct peers on record are Giving What We Can, Founders Pledge, Open Philanthropy, 80,000 Hours and GiveWell. Broad incumbents are GlobalGiving, Charity Navigator and BBB Wise Giving Alliance (Give.org). ImpactMatters (now Charity Navigator's Impact Matters) is listed as an emerging player. Giving Tuesday is listed as an others.
Does The Life You Can Save have an API?
No public API is recorded for The Life You Can Save.
What industry is The Life You Can Save in?
The Life You Can Save's product category is Charitable Giving Platform. Its primary akta.pro industry code is FSAAABAH, Philanthropy & Foundations Advisory (Donor-Advised Funds, Endowments), with a secondary code of BPAGAKAD, Family Offices & Philanthropic Advisors (Grantmaking). Its NAICS code is 813211 and its SIC code is 8300.