The Life You Can Save

What The Life You Can Save does

The Life You Can Save is a US-registered 501(c)(3) nonprofit founded in 2013 by philosopher Peter Singer and Charlie Bresler that curates and recommends highly effective charities working to reduce global extreme poverty. Its core product is a vetted portfolio of 23 recommended charities spanning health, education, living standards, and women & girls, evaluated through a proprietary framework examining impact, cost-effectiveness, transparency, track record, and capacity to absorb additional funding. Donors can give via three primary vehicles: the pooled Maximize Your Impact Fund, thematic Cause Funds (Education, Health, Quality of Life, Women and Girls), or direct donations to individual Best Charities. The organization operates a web-based donation platform integrated with Donorbox, Stripe, PayPal, Zelle, cryptocurrency rails, Donor Advised Funds (Fidelity, Schwab, BNY), and workplace giving platforms (Benevity, Bright Funds, YourCause), with tax-deductible giving enabled in 13+ countries via regional entities and local partner organizations. Supporting tools include an Impact Calculator, SmartAdvisor chatbot (built on Chatbase), Personal Giving Portfolio advisory service, and an Evaluation Hub publishing sector reports such as the Health Sector Report 2026-2028.

Revenue mechanics are atypical for a commercial business: the organization does not charge fees on charity-designated donations and instead funds operations through an optional 90/10 donor allocation (10% to operations, 90% to chosen charities) and independent operational fundraising. Since founding, the organization has facilitated over $100 million in donations to recommended charities, and reports a 9.19:1 three-year leverage ratio (2023-2025), meaning each $1 invested in operations generated $9.19 in donations to recommended charities. The customer base is long-tail individual donors globally, with a secondary corporate/institutional donor segment via workplace giving and corporate matching programs. Operations are lean, with 1-10 employees and a commodity SaaS technology stack (HubSpot CRM, Zoho support, Google Analytics, Hotjar, Segment), reflecting a content-and-community-led go-to-market model anchored on Peter Singer's brand authority and the effective altruism movement.

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 US 501(c)(3) nonprofit founded in 2013 by Peter Singer that curates 23 evidence-backed charities fighting global extreme poverty. It enables donor giving via pooled Cause Funds, direct charity donations, and matching campaigns across 13+ countries, having facilitated over $100 million since founding.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Philanthropic Advisory Services

NAICS

Grantmaking Foundations (813211), Grantmaking and Giving Services (8132)

SIC

Services-Social Services (8300)

akta.pro primary industry

Public Charities & Grantmaking Intermediaries (BPAGAKAE)

akta.pro secondary industries

Federated Giving Organizations (e.g., United Way-type) (BPAGAKAG), Philanthropy & Foundations Advisory (Donor-Advised Funds, Endowments) (FSAAABAH)

Keywords

• Charity evaluation services
• Effective altruism platform
• Poverty reduction donations
• Philanthropy advisory services
• Global health giving

Headquarters

HQ city

Washington

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Donor Contributions (Operations Fund): The organization independently fundraises for operational costs through optional 10% allocation from donations. Donors can choose to give 100% to chosen charities or allocate 90/10 split with 10% supporting The Life You Can Save's operations.
2. Matching Campaign Contributions: Time-limited matching campaigns where donors match first-time and recurring donations, driving additional giving to the Maximize Your Impact Fund.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion3 records

Distribution channels5 records

Marketing channels8 records

Core offering

The Life You Can Save curates a vetted list of evidence-backed nonprofits working against extreme poverty and operates donation platforms that route donor contributions to these charities. It offers pooled cause funds, direct-to-charity donations, personalized giving portfolios, matching donation campaigns, and research-driven evaluation frameworks (Charity Evaluation Framework, Evaluation Hub, Multidimensional Poverty Index) to maximize charitable impact across health, education, living standards, and women & girls dimensions.

Product overview

The Life You Can Save is a nonprofit charitable giving platform that curates and recommends high-impact organizations fighting extreme poverty. The core offering consists of the Maximize Your Impact Fund (the primary recommended pooled fund), Cause Funds (thematic funds for Education, Health, Quality of Life, and Women & Girls), and a vetted list of 22 Best Charities. Supporting tools include an Impact Calculator for estimating donation effects, SmartAdvisor chatbot for personalized recommendations, Personal Giving Portfolio advisory services, and the Evaluation Framework/Hub for research-backed decision making. The platform enables donations through multiple payment integrations (Stripe, PayPal, Donorbox, Zelle, cryptocurrency, DAFs) and offers matching campaigns to amplify donor impact. Founded in 2013 by philosopher Peter Singer and Charlie Bresler, the organization has facilitated over $100 million in donations to recommended charities.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Maximize Your Impact Fund A pooled donation fund that distributes contributions across The Life You Can Save's recommended-charity portfolio covering health, education, living standards, and women & girls. Donors can allocate 100% to charities or opt for a 90/10 split directing 10% to the organization's operations. Used by individual donors and, via matching campaigns, by donors seeking to amplify gift impact.
• Cause Funds Thematic pooled donation funds (Education Fund, Health Fund, Quality of Life Fund, and Women and Girls Fund) that allow donors to support a portfolio of charities working on a specific cause area with a single gift. Each fund aggregates donations and distributes them to multiple vetted, evidence-backed organizations addressing related interventions.
• Best Charities A curated directory of 22 vetted, evidence-backed nonprofit organizations working across multiple dimensions of poverty, evaluated through the organization's published Charity Evaluation Framework. Each charity has a profile page documenting intervention, evidence, and impact, and supports direct donation routing.
• Impact Calculator An interactive tool that estimates the real-world impact of donation amounts across different organizations and interventions, giving donors tangible examples of outcomes per dollar given for purposes of donation decision-making.
• SmartAdvisor An AI-powered chatbot that provides customized giving recommendations matched to a donor's giving goals, values, and interests, available to both seasoned philanthropists and first-time donors.
• Personal Giving Portfolio Advisory service in which The Life You Can Save advisors help donors tailor giving strategies aligned with their goals and values, accommodating both data-driven and personal-motivated approaches.
• The Life You Can Save Book Peter Singer's book on effective altruism and charitable giving, distributed as an ebook and celebrity-narrated audiobook, explaining why and how to improve lives through more effective giving.
• Charity Evaluation Framework The published methodology used to identify most effective giving opportunities, scoring candidates on impact, cost-effectiveness, transparency, track record, and ability to productively use additional funding.
• Evaluation Hub A research and publications platform hosting individual charity evaluations, sector reports (including the Health Sector Report 2026-2028), and evidence-based analysis on interventions against poverty.

Quantifiable outcome

• Over $100 million donated to high-impact charities since 2013
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers10 records

Segments2 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration9 records

Feature4 records

Partnerships

21 partnerships are on record, tiered minor, regional and core.

• Traders4ACauseminorGTM or Marketing PartnerPartner organization supporting the effective altruism movement and charitable giving.
• BooktopiaminorGTM or Marketing PartnerAustralian book retailer selling The Life You Can Save book (10th anniversary edition).
• BlinkistminorGTM or Marketing PartnerBook summary platform offering summary of The Life You Can Save book.
• LyssnaminorGTM or Marketing PartnerPartner organization in the effective altruism ecosystem.
• Write the WorldminorGTM or Marketing PartnerPartner organization supporting writing and education initiatives.
• Effective Altruism New ZealandregionalChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorLocal partner enabling tax-deductible donations in New Zealand for Against Malaria Foundation, Evidence Action, GiveDirectly, Fred Hollows Foundation, and SCI Foundation.
• Ayuda Efectiva (Spain)regionalChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorSpanish partner enabling donations to recommended charities with potential tax benefits.
• Ge Effektivt (Sweden)regionalChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorSwedish partner for Helen Keller International, Malaria Consortium, and New Incentives donations.
• Effektiv Spenden (Germany/Czech Republic)regionalChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorGerman/Czech partner enabling donations to recommended charities including Against Malaria Foundation, GiveDirectly, Helen Keller International, Malaria Consortium, and New Incentives.
• RC Forward (Canada)regionalChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorCanadian partner for GiveDirectly, Malaria Consortium, New Incentives, and other charity donations.
• Benefficienza (Italy)regionalChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorItalian partner for Against Malaria Foundation, Helen Keller International, and New Incentives donations.
• Transnational Giving EuroperegionalChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorEuropean network enabling cross-border charitable giving with tax benefits, particularly for Italian donors.
• JustGiving (UK)regionalChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorUK giving platform (operated under Prism the Gift Fund) enabling donations to The Life You Can Save operations and all cause funds with UK tax deductibility.
• Double The DonationminorGTM or Marketing PartnerCorporate matching tool enabling employees to find and utilize employer matching programs.
• FreeWillminorGTM or Marketing PartnerFree will creation tool partnership enabling donors to include The Life You Can Save in estate planning.
• DonorboxcoreTechnology or IntegrationPrimary donation processing platform powering credit card donations with tax-deductible giving options.
• StripecoreTechnology or IntegrationPayment processing for credit card transactions on donation pages.
• PayPalcoreTechnology or IntegrationPayPal Giving Fund (zero fees) and PayPal Direct for one-time and recurring donations.
• HubSpotcoreTechnology or IntegrationCRM and marketing automation platform for donor communications and analytics.
• ZohocoreTechnology or IntegrationCustomer service and support platform for donor inquiries.
• Crypto for CharitycoreTechnology or IntegrationCryptocurrency donation processing enabling Bitcoin and Ethereum contributions with zero processing fees.

Scale indicators5 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Broad incumbents

• Charity Navigator: Largest US charity rating platform with broader financial/accountability-based scoring rather than outcome-effectiveness research; competes for donor attention and is a more general-purpose alternative to TLYCS's deeper effectiveness evaluation.
• Candid (formerly GuideStar): Nonprofit transparency and data platform (Seal of Transparency, 990 data, Foundation Directory); broader incumbent in nonprofit information services that TLYCS donors might use for due diligence alongside TLYCS's research-backed recommendations.
• Open Philanthropy: Large-scale EA-affiliated research and grantmaking organization funding high-impact global health and poverty interventions; effects on the same donor and charity ecosystem as TLYCS, but operates as a research-and-grantmaking body rather than a public donation platform.

Others

• GiveDirectly: Cash-transfer charity featured on TLYCS's Best Charities list; represents the underlying delivery model many TLYCS donors ultimately fund, and a comparable proof point for EA-style direct giving that strengthens TLYCS's marketing of its portfolio.
• GivingTuesday: Global generosity movement organizing annual giving-day campaigns and data on cross-sector charitable participation; broader ecosystem participant that drives donor activation volumes which TLYCS's matching campaigns (e.g., Maximize Your Impact Fund Match) plug into.

Direct peers

• Giving What We Can: Effective altruism giving pledge and research community founded by Toby Ord; closely aligned with TLYCS philosophically, recommends an overlapping set of charities, and competes for the same HNW and mid-level donor giving decisions.
• GiveWell: Best-in-class charity evaluator that researches and recommends high-impact global health and poverty interventions; TLYCS overlaps directly on its curated list of recommended charities (Against Malaria Foundation, Evidence Action, GiveDirectly) and competes for the same EA-motivated donor.
• Founders Pledge: Workplace and founder-led giving platform encouraging entrepreneurs to pledge a percentage of proceeds; shares TLYCS's evidence-based evaluation approach and channels founder/employee donations into a partially overlapping charity portfolio.
• EA Funds: Open Philanthropy-affiliated pooled giving funds (Global Health and Development, Animal Welfare, Long-term Future) that pool EA donor contributions and grant to high-impact charities; directly comparable pooled-fund model to TLYCS's Maximize Your Impact Fund and Cause Funds.

Emerging players

• 80,000 Hours: Effective altruism career-impact organization founded by Will MacAskill; shares the EA donor base with TLYCS and educates high-earners about directing both career and giving capital toward high-impact causes, often channeling donors to overlapping charities.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/LifeYouCanSave
• Facebookfacebook.com/TheLifeYouCanSave
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/the-life-you-can-save

Compliance2 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles2 records

Subsidiaries1 record

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 The Life You Can Save