2025 has been a challenging year for the fight against extreme poverty. Funding cuts around the world have put essential programs and lives at risk.
In response, this community stepped up. Donors gave when it mattered most. Our partner nonprofits stayed focused on life saving work. Volunteers shared their time and skills. And our team moved quickly to protect as much progress as possible.
As we look to 2026, the need remains clear. Hundreds of millions of people are still living in extreme poverty. They deserve healthy, dignified lives with real opportunities to thrive.
And so, our commitment continues. In the year ahead, we will keep growing our donor community, strengthening our research, and operating as efficiently as possible so every dollar can do the most good.
Thank you for being part of this work. Your support is truly what makes it possible. On behalf of our team, we wish you and your loved ones Happy Holidays.
With gratitude,
Jessica and Andrea La Mesa,
Co-CEOs, The Life You Can Save
Non-Profit Spotlight
GiveDirectly Match Campaign
Help send cash to 120 families in a village in Kilifi County, Kenya. Every dollar you donate to GiveDirectly will be matched up to $50,000—doubling your impact.
Each family will receive ~$850 through GiveDirectly's cash transfer program to address their most pressing needs: building a home, starting a business, paying school fees, or investing in their future however they choose.
Historical data shows a $1,000 GiveDirectly transfer cut infant deaths by 48% and generated 2.5x in local economic value. Ten years later, recipients are still building on that foundation.
Make your holiday giving count as the year draws to a close, and give where your impact is certain.
Direct your generosity to evidence-based organizations fighting extreme poverty with interventions proven to save and improve the most lives.
Choose from live match campaigns doubling your impact, cause funds managed for maximum reach, or support individual best charities. All donations are tax-deductible before December 31st.
Thank You to Our Volunteers for Building Hope in Challenging Times
For years, our volunteers have been essential to our mission, contributing ideas that shaped our strategy, creating content that strengthened donor relationships, supporting critical research and evaluation work, and stepping in wherever they were needed most.
In 2025 it was no different. We were fortunate to count on a number of volunteers who contributed their time and talent to move us forward.
In this article, you can read Co-CEOs Jessica and Andrea La Mesa reflecting on the important contributions of our volunteers, and thanking each one of them on behalf of our team.
Seeing Our Recommendations in Action: A Trip to Rwanda and Kenya
Our research team has recently spent two weeks on the ground with some of our recommended nonprofits, observing first hand how they operate and ultimately create the impact we see in the numbers.
They met families that received GiveDirectly's cash transfers two years ago and found they are now able to afford health insurance, school fees and healthier meals. They visited Village Enterprise business groups that expanded from 3 to 45 members, lending capital to their communities. They shadowed Living Goods community health workers transforming government healthcare through digitization.
What they saw is what your donations help create: measurable impact that lasts.
Ever wondered how we choose which charities to recommend? We have just launched our new Evaluation Hub, where we share the full research behind our recommendations. This is a new level of transparency for our work.
The Evaluation Hub gives you access to the documentation produced by our research team, including evaluations of all 22 recommended nonprofits, our criteria across seven key areas, and insights from our latest three-year review.
Want to understand the evidence behind cash transfers, malaria prevention, or micronutrient fortification?
Unsure where your donation will have the most impact?
SmartAdvisor provides personalized, evidence-based guidance to help you find the most effective organizations and interventions aligned with your values and goals.
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