Animal Charity Evaluators (ACE) is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit registered in the United States with a globally-distributed team dedicated to effective animal advocacy. Our philosophical commitments—anti-speciesism, promoting welfare, and following empirical evidence and logical reasoning—are the foundation of our work.
Our Mission and Vision
Our mission is to find and promote the most effective ways to help animals. Ultimately, our vision is a world in which no individual is given less than full moral consideration on the basis of any morally irrelevant feature of their identity, including species membership.
Our Guiding Principles
In our collaboration with each other and with external stakeholders, we use the following principles to guide us in the execution of our theory of change:
WE ARE ANTI-SPECIESIST.
We give all individuals who have the capacity for subjective experiences moral consideration.
WE SEEK EVIDENCE.
We follow a rigorous process and use logical reasoning and empirical evidence to make decisions. When we encounter new information, we update our thinking accordingly.
WE WELCOME DIVERSE PERSPECTIVES.
We include the ideas of people with varying experiences and expertise. We solicit input from others and listen openly, seeking to understand their point of view.
WE DO THE MOST GOOD WE CAN.
We prioritize actions with the greatest potential to help animals.
WE ARE TRANSPARENT.
We are open about our reasoning, decisions, and processes. We share information and hold ourselves accountable.
WE ARE COMPASSIONATE.
We treat people and nonhuman animals with kindness and empathy.
Our Programs
We prioritize our efforts based on available research and the scale, tractability, and neglectedness framework. We support effective interventions within farmed animal advocacy and wild animal welfare via the following programs:
Charity Evaluations: We conduct annual charity evaluations to identify the most effective animal charities working in high-priority cause areas. Each November, we publish lists of recommended charities to promote organizations that would likely produce the greatest gains for animals with additional donations. We are transparent about our charity evaluation process and make improvements to it each year.
Grantmaking: We award grants via our Recommended Charity Fund and Movement Grants program. The Recommended Charity Fund is for anyone who wishes to support ACE’s recommended charities through a single donation. Funds are dispersed twice a year, in January and July, to our Top Charities and Standout Charities working on a diverse range of effective interventions.
Each June, we award Movement Grants to organizations and individuals working on various approaches to animal advocacy—especially those that lack funding, target large numbers of animals, or operate in regions with a small animal advocacy movement. This allows us to reach organizations that are too small or novel to be considered in our Charity Evaluations program, ensuring that we can support the growth of a broad range of effective organizations.