Our criteria:
Each charity's name links to a brief summary of its activities, below. The column headers link to more information about each factor and its significance.
Village Reach (Gold Medal): VillageReach aims to improve the logistics - particularly tracking and distribution of supplies - for health systems in rural areas in Africa. Its programs include both technical support staff and changes in logistical setups (such as moving from a system in which health clinics collect their own supplies to a centralized delivery system).
VillageReach is a relatively small and young organization. Based on results from its pilot project, we believe its model has significant impact, well under $1000 per infant death averted. It anticipates a significant funding gap for the coming year.
Stop Tuberculosis Partnership (Silver Medal): The Stop Tuberculosis Partnership aims to increase access to life-saving tuberculosis treatment, primarily by providing government health programs with TB drugs through its Global Drug Facility. Stop TB has a monitoring process for determining whether drugs are used as intended, but we have questions about the effectiveness of this monitoring process.
The Partnership is a very large entity that we believe has a significant funding gap.
Against Malaria Foundation (Silver Medal): The Against Malaria Foundation provides insecticide-treated nets (for protection against malaria) in bulk to nonprofits who then distribute them in Africa.
Unlike other net distribution organizations, AMF is extremely transparent, publishing the status of each distribution on its website along with post-distribution photos. We have questions about whether nets continue to be used appropriately over the long run, but net distributions have had repeated success in the past, at a cost of under $1000 per infant death averted. We believe that AMF has a significant funding gap.
Small Enterprise Foundation (Silver Medal): SEF is a microfinance institution operating primarily in the Limpopo province of South Africa.
SEF shows a strong focus on collecting the information necessary to assess its social impact, including (a) data on how many clients are dropping out of the program (and why); (b) data on whether SEF is succeeding in its attempt to target people with very low incomes. Nevertheless, we have concerns about SEF's social impact, particularly regarding its substantial dropout rates.
Village Enterprise Fund (Silver Medal): VEF aims to provide grants (as opposed to loans) directly to extremely poor individuals living in the developing world. It also provides business training and mentoring services.
Village Enterprise Fund stands out for its clear targeting of extremely poor clients (and data collection to ensure that the targeting is working), addressing a key concern about cash grants. At the same time, we are concerned that some of VEF's funds may not reach the intended recipients
Chamroeun (Silver Medal): Chamroeun is a microfinance institution in Cambodia.
Like the Small Enterprise Foundation, Chamroeun shows a strong focus on collecting the information necessary to assess its social impact, including (a) data on how many clients are dropping out of the program (and why); (b) data on clients' satisfaction with the program; (c) data on whether Chamroeun is succeeding in its attempt to target people with low incomes. Nevertheless, we have concerns about Chamroeun's social impact, particularly regarding its substantial dropout rates and whether clients become over-indebted.
