What One for the World does

One for the World is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization founded in 2014 and headquartered in New York, with a registered UK charity entity (England & Wales, charity number 1193383) and operations supported by approximately 46 staff. The organization operates a digital pledge platform — built on the third-party Donational.org donation engine, Squarespace web infrastructure, Stripe for payments, and Auth0 for identity — that enables individuals to commit 1% (or more) of their income to a curated portfolio of GiveWell-vetted nonprofit partners. Supporting products include a Pledge Impact Calculator, a one-time donation system accepting USD/CAD/GBP/AUD, and the Chapter Leader Resource Hub (built on Crunch Labs) that supports approximately 30 student-led university chapters across the US, UK, Canada, and Australia.

OFTW's business model is structurally distinct from a conventional SaaS or commerce business: it passes 100% of pledged donations through to partner charities (Against Malaria Foundation, New Incentives, Malaria Consortium, Helen Keller International, and others), and its own operating costs are funded separately by a single major philanthropic backer — initially GiveWell via operating-cost grants from 2018-2022, and since 2022 the Open Philanthropy Project — supplemented by optional per-pledge tips from donors (typically $3-$10 or 3-5% of each pledge). Pledgers commit a percentage of income (1%, 3%, or 5%) on a monthly or annual cadence; the customer base spans individual pledgers, university students who run chapters and recruit peers, and corporate employees reached through a workplace-giving program.

The go-to-market motion is community-led and event-driven: student chapter leaders run speaker events, giving workshops, movie nights, and trivia nights; the organization also operates a corporate partnerships channel, an Instagram- and LinkedIn-driven organic social presence, and a newsletter funnel. Distribution is therefore predominantly volunteer-mediated rather than paid acquisition, with explicit cross-promotion partnerships with movement organizations Giving What We Can and Giving Multiplier. Disclosed potential conflicts include advisory and contractor relationships between past OFTW board members and GiveWell during the period in which GiveWell was OFTW's primary operating funder.

Name

One for the World

Legal name

One for the World

Website

https://1fortheworld.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

2014

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

One for the World is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit operating a pledge platform that routes donations from individual pledgers to GiveWell-vetted charity partners. Founded in 2014 in New York, it serves individual donors and supports roughly 30 student-led university chapters, with operating costs funded primarily by the Open Philanthropy Project.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Effective Philanthropy / Charitable Giving

NAICS

Grantmaking and Giving Services (81321), Grantmaking Foundations (813211)

SIC

Services-Membership Organizations (8600)

akta.pro primary industry

Donor-Advised Fund (DAF) Sponsors (BPAGAKAF)

akta.pro secondary industry

Grantmaking & Philanthropic Funds (Institutional Donors) (BPADAOAB)

Keywords

• Effective giving platform
• Charitable fundraising
• Donation facilitation
• Strategic philanthropy
• Nonprofit giving

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Individual Donations (1% Pledge): Recurring donations from pledgers who commit to giving 1% (or more) of their income. Donations are processed through the Donational.org platform and distributed to vetted nonprofit partners.
2. One-Time Donations: Individual donations made on a one-time basis, accepted in USD, CAD, GBP, and AUD.
3. Optional Tips/Operating Cost Contributions: Optional tips from pledgers to support One for the World's operating costs. The organization states that 100% of pledge donations go to nonprofits, but donors can optionally contribute to operating costs.
4. Foundation Funding: Primary operational funding from Open Philanthropy Project. Historical funding from GiveWell grants (2018-2022).

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels7 records

Core offering

One for the World operates the 1% Pledge Platform, a digital giving system that enables individuals to commit 1% (or more) of their income to a curated portfolio of GiveWell-vetted nonprofit partners working on preventable childhood disease. The organization routes 100% of pledge donations to nonprofit partners, funds its own operations through optional tips and grants from the Open Philanthropy Project, and supports pledge activity through a Pledge Impact Calculator, one-time donation system, and a Chapter Leader Program operating across roughly 30 universities.

Product overview

One for the World is an effective giving platform that enables individuals to pledge 1% (or more) of their income to highly effective nonprofit organizations. The core offering consists of a multi-step digital pledge platform (accessible via desktop and mobile) that allows users to select from a portfolio of GiveWell-evaluated nonprofit partners, set their pledge percentage, choose payment frequency, and manage their donations over time. Supporting products include the Pledge Impact Calculator (which quantifies potential lives saved), a one-time donation system, and the Chapter Leader Program (which empowers student volunteers to promote effective giving on university campuses). The nonprofit partner portfolio consists of OFTW Top Picks (curated top charities), the OFTW Discretionary Fund, and GiveWell's All Grants Fund. The Chapter Leader Program includes access to a centralized Resource Hub, staff support, and event funding. The organization is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit working to end preventable child death globally through strategic philanthropy.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• 1% Pledge Platform A digital pledge platform that allows individuals to commit 1% (or more) of their income to a curated portfolio of GiveWell-vetted nonprofit partners. Users select their charities, set pledge percentage and payment frequency (monthly or annually), connect payment methods (including Apple Pay and Google Pay), and manage ongoing donations through the pledge management portal.
• Pledge Impact Calculator An interactive calculator that shows users how many lives they can save by donating 1% of their income, by quantifying the effectiveness of donations against OFTW's Top Picks nonprofit partners. Designed to motivate prospective pledgers by translating income into concrete impact.
• One-Time Donation System A single-donation option that accepts contributions in USD, CAD, GBP, and AUD and routes 100% of the donation to OFTW's nonprofit partners, for donors who want to give immediately without taking the recurring pledge.
• Chapter Leader Program A volunteer program for student chapter leaders who organize campus events to educate peers about effective giving and recruit pledgers. Includes access to a Resource Hub, staff chapter-manager support, and funding for chapter expenses. Chapters operate at roughly 30 universities including Harvard, MIT, Tufts, Yale, Princeton, Columbia, UPenn, and LSE.
• OFTW Top Picks Portfolio A curated selection of the most cost-effective nonprofit organizations, updated yearly based on GiveWell research, including Against Malaria Foundation (bed nets), New Incentives (infant vaccinations), Malaria Consortium (anti-malarial drugs), and Helen Keller International (Vitamin A supplementation). Over 75% of donors direct their pledges to this portfolio.

Quantifiable outcome

• $5 can provide 1 anti-malaria bed net; $50 can provide 25 bed nets
• +4 more outcomes

Named customers3 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

Integration7 records

Partnerships

Nine partnerships are on record, tiered minor and core.

• RC ForwardminorOthers · 1 January 2021Canadian effective giving platform that has regranted OFTW pledgers' donations to GiveWell charities since 2021. The Global Health Fund makes quarterly disbursements to OFTW's Nonprofit Partners.
• GiveWellcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2018GiveWell is One for the World's primary charity evaluator. GiveWell conducted year-round evaluation of recommended nonprofit organizations and published recommendations that OFTW follows. From 2018-2022, GiveWell provided grants to OFTW's operating costs. The partnership includes alignment on charity selection criteria and mutual promotion.
• Against Malaria FoundationcoreOthersTop Pick charity partner that distributes long-lasting insecticide-treated bed nets to prevent malaria transmission. Each bed net costs $5. AMF is one of OFTW's most popular nonprofit partners, with over 75% of donors choosing OFTW Top Picks including AMF.
• New IncentivescoreOthersTop Pick charity partner that provides cash transfers to incentivize caregivers to bring babies to clinics for routine childhood vaccinations. Costs around $15 to vaccinate an infant.
• Malaria ConsortiumcoreOthersTop Pick charity partner that distributes preventive anti-malarial drugs to children 3-59 months old. A full course costs $7 and can reduce malaria incidences by over 60%.
• Helen Keller InternationalcoreOthersTop Pick charity partner that provides Vitamin A supplementation to at-risk children. A supplement costs just $1 and significantly reduces child mortality from vitamin-A deficiency.
• Giving What We CanminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerMovement partner that promotes the 10% Pledge. OFTW partners with Giving What We Can to encourage 1% Pledgers to consider upgrading to a 10% Pledge. Approximately 9,000 people have committed to the 10% Pledge through Giving What We Can.
• Giving MultiplierminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerMovement partner created by researchers at Harvard University and the University of Oxford. Allows people to give to favorite charities and a GiveWell-recommended charity, with Giving Multiplier adding to the total donation amount.
• Double Up DriveminorGTM or Marketing PartnerPartnership for Giving Tuesday Double Impact Night. Double Up Drive matches donations to amplify impact during special fundraising events.

Scale indicators9 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Emerging players

• GiveDirectly: A flagship effective giving charity that operates cash transfer programs directly to recipients. Comparable as a top-tier GiveWell-recommended organization and a natural donor alternative within the same EA evidence-based giving frame.
• Effective Altruism Foundation: A movement organization supporting the EA community through events, grants, and infrastructure. Shares OFTW's donor and volunteer base and is a thematic peer in the broader effective altruism ecosystem.
• Every.org: A nonprofit donation platform offering zero-fee giving and donor-advised fund functionality. Competes with OFTW in the donor experience and pass-through donation infrastructure layer.
• Charity Navigator: A long-standing charity evaluation service that rates nonprofits on financial health and accountability. An adjacent donor-research player that competes for the 'help donors pick effective charities' use case that OFTW solves via GiveWell curation.

Broad incumbents

• GiveWell: OFTW's primary charity evaluator and historical operating funder (2018–2022). A larger, research-driven incumbent in the same EA ecosystem that determines which charities OFTW can feature.
• Open Philanthropy: OFTW's primary operational funder since 2022. A large, EA-aligned grantmaker operating across the same cause areas and donor networks that feed into OFTW's movement.

Direct peers

• RC Forward: A Canadian effective giving platform that has regranted OFTW pledger donations to GiveWell charities since 2021 via the Global Health Fund. Operates a near-identical regranting model with regional concentration.
• Giving What We Can: A pledge-based effective giving organization that runs the 10% Pledge, the same EA-aligned mechanism OFTW partners with to upgrade 1% pledgers. Directly comparable in mission, pledge mechanics, and target donor segment.

Others

• charity: water: A high-profile nonprofit focused on clean water access with sophisticated donor engagement and marketing. Operates in a different cause area but represents a comparable model of branded, story-driven recurring giving.
• Against Malaria Foundation: One of OFTW's most popular Top Picks charities, distributing long-lasting insecticide-treated bed nets. A program-level partner rather than competitor, but highly relevant as a flagship outcome for OFTW's impact narrative.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/one-for-the-world
• Instagraminstagram.com/1fortheworld

Compliance2 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles3 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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

M&A

Investments

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

Frequently asked questions about One for the World