Top Charities
ACE’s Top Charities work in ways that are most likely to produce the greatest gains for animals, actively evaluate and improve their programs, and have a demonstrated need for more funding. We promote them as our top giving opportunities and as excellent examples of effective advocacy.
Faunalytics
Faunalytics is a U.S.-based organization working to connect animal advocates with information relevant to advocacy. This mostly involves cоnducting and publishing independent research, working directly with partner organizations on various research projects, and promoting existing research and data for individual advocates through their website’s content library. Faunalytics was one of our Standout Charities from December 2015 to November 2021.
Click the Donate button below to make a donation to Faunalytics. Be sure to select Faunalytics after you enter your payment information.
The Humane League
The Humane League (THL) currently operates in the U.S., Mexico, the U.K., and Japan, where they work to improve animal welfare standards through grassroots campaigns, movement building, vegan advocacy, research, and advocacy training, as well as through corporate, media, and community outreach. They work to build the animal advocacy movement internationally through the Open Wing Alliance (OWA), a coalition founded by THL whose mission is to end the use of battery cages globally. THL has been one of ACE’s Top Charities since August 2012, when we used a different evaluation process and did not publish reviews. In 2014, THL was awarded Top Charity status in our first official round of ACE charity evaluations and has been renewed as a Top Charity ever since.
Click the Donate button below to make a donation to The Humane League. Be sure to select The Humane League after you enter your payment information.
The Good Food Institute
The Good Food Institute (GFI) currently operates in the U.S., Brazil, India, Asia-Pacific, Europe, and Israel, where they work to increase the availability of animal-free products through supporting the development and marketing of plant-based and cell-cultured alternatives to animal products. They achieve this through corporate engagement, institutional outreach, and policy work. They also work to strengthen the capacity of the animal advocacy movement through supporting research and start-ups focused on alternative proteins. GFI was one of our Top Charities from November 2016 to November 2021.
Click the Donate button below to make a donation to The Good Food Institute. Be sure to select The Good Food Institute after you enter your payment information.
Wild Animal Initiative
Wild Animal Initiative is a U.S.-based organization working to strengthen the animal advocacy movement by creating an academic field dedicated to wild animal welfare. They compile literature reviews, write theoretical and opinion articles, and publish research results on their website and in peer-reviewed journals. Wild Animal Initiative focuses on identifying and sharing possible research avenues and connecting wild animal welfare with more established fields. They also work with researchers from various academic and non-academic institutions to identify potential collaborators, and they recently launched a grant assistance program. Wild Animal Initiative has been an ACE Top Charity since November 2020.
Click the Donate button below to make a donation to Wild Animal Initiative. Be sure to select Wild Animal Initiative after you enter your payment information.
Standout Charities
ACE’s Standout Charities conduct strong work on behalf of animals in ways that could potentially affect large numbers of animals. We feel confident in the quality of their work, but for one reason or another we did not select them for a Top Charity recommendation.
Çiftlik Hayvanlarını Koruma Derneği (CHKD), also known as Kafessiz Türkiye, is a Turkey-based organization that is primarily dedicated to improving farmed animal welfare standards—in particular, farmed chickens and fishes. They achieve this through corporate outreach, individual outreach, and media outreach. They also engage in research, education, and capacity-building initiatives to strengthen the animal advocacy movement. CHKD received a Movement Grant from ACE in 2021. Read Review.
Compassion USA is the U.S. branch of the international organization Compassion in World Farming (CIWF), which works to improve farmed animal welfare and end all factory farming practices. Compassion USA engages in corporate outreach to encourage food companies to implement improved animal welfare policies, especially for farmed chickens. They also run a public engagement program to encourage greater consumer awareness of animal welfare issues and offer resources to encourage individuals to reduce their consumption of animal products. Compassion USA has been an ACE Standout Charity since November 2017. Read Review.
Dansk Vegetarisk Forening (DVF) is a Denmark-based organization dedicated to increasing the availability of animal-free products, strengthening the animal advocacy movement, and reducing the consumption of animal products. DVF specifically engages in policy work on agricultural reform and the right to access plant-based food, as well as corporate and institutional outreach to food companies to make plant-based options more available. They also conduct research, run a product-labeling scheme, offer an educational program for children and youth, and lead a public outreach program promoting plant-based nutrition. DVF received Movement Grants from ACE in 2020 and 2022. Read Review.
Dharma Voices for Animals (DVA) is the only international Buddhist animal rights organization in the world. The majority of their work takes place in Sri Lanka, Thailand, Vietnam, and the U.S., but they also work in Germany, Brazil, Finland, Myanmar, and Australia. DVA’s programs align with the specific contexts and priorities of the countries where they work. Many of their programs focus on diet change; however, they also lobby for animal welfare legislation, provide veterinary care, and work with restaurant owners to encourage them to transition their business to veganism. DVA has been an ACE Standout Charity since November 2021. Read Review.
Federation of Indian Animal Protection Organisations (FIAPO) is an India-based organization that is primarily dedicated to reducing farmed animal suffering. To a lesser extent, they also work to reduce the suffering of companion animals and animals used for entertainment. Their work focuses on improving animal welfare standards, strengthening the animal advocacy movement, increasing the availability of animal-free products, influencing legislation change, and providing direct help and veterinary care to animals. They also run a vegan pledge program to encourage individuals to decrease their consumption of animal products. FIAPO has been an ACE Standout Charities since December 2019. Read Review.
Fish Welfare Initiative (FWI) is one of few organizations to work exclusively on improving the welfare standards of farmed fishes. The majority of their work takes place in India, but they also work in China and the Philippines. They run the Alliance for Responsible Aquaculture (ARA), which sets standards . FWI also engages in corporate outreach to improve fish welfare across the supply chain and conducts field research that informs standard setting for welfare improvements. Read Review
Material Innovation Initiative (MII) works to reduce farmed animal suffering by increasing the availability of animal-free products and strengthening the animal advocacy movement. They produce research on animal-free alternatives to existing materials used in the fashion, automotive, and homegoods industries, and they work with investors, corporations, and entrepreneurs to support the development of new products and production processes. They also host events, such as conferences, to create opportunities for the development of new networks in the next-gen materials industry. MII has been an ACE Standout Charity since November 2021. Read Review.
Mercy For Animals (MFA) operates in the U.S., Brazil, Canada, Hong Kong, India, and Mexico. MFA’s work focuses on strengthening the animal advocacy movement and improving animal welfare standards, as well as decreasing the consumption of animal products and increasing the availability of animal-free products. They engage in a variety of farmed animal advocacy programs, often involving the distribution of footage from their undercover investigations of factory farms, which they primarily promote via media outreach and online campaigns. MFA also engage in corporate and institutional outreach, research, lobbying, and policy work. They recruit and train volunteers and support farmers in transitioning away from animal agriculture. MFA was selected as an ACE Top Charity several times between 2014 and 2017, and they have been a Standout Charity since November 2021. Read Review.
New Harvest funds research in cellular agriculture, i.e., the development of animal products using cells instead of animals. Through grant programs, they fund graduate and postdoctoral research projects in the field of cellular agriculture, as well as undergraduate and master-level projects for researchers-in-training. They also carry out public engagement and community-building activities via their podcast, blog, research publications, and research summaries. New Harvest was selected as an ACE Standout Charity in both December 2015 and November 2021. Read Review.
Sinergia Animal operates in Indonesia, Thailand, Argentina, Brazil, Colombia, Uruguay, Chile, Ecuador, and Peru. They work to improve farmed animal welfare standards, increase the availability of animal-free products, decrease the consumption of animal products, and strengthen the animal advocacy movement. Sinergia Animal engages in corporate outreach to secure animal welfare commitments from major retailers. They also engage in investor and media outreach, policy work, investigations, individual and producer outreach, institutional outreach, and research. Sinergia Animal has been an ACE Standout Charity since November 2018. Read Review.
xiaobuVEGAN is a China-based organization working to reduce farmed animal suffering. Their work aims to increase the availability of animal-free products, strengthen the animal advocacy movement, and decrease the consumption of animal products. xiaobuVEGAN engages in institutional outreach, runs an app that provides resources about vegan options in China, and supports dietary change via their vegan challenge program. xiaobuVEGAN has been an ACE Standout Charity since November 2021. Read Review.
Other Reviews We Conducted in 2022
Charities that ACE evaluates all show evidence of running effective programs and engaging in highly impactful work. While the following charities did not receive a recommendation from us this year, we recognize that they are still among the most effective charities in their space, and we are delighted to highlight their work and link to their comprehensive reviews (shared with their permission).
Anima International is an umbrella of several organizations working primarily in Poland, Ukraine, Denmark, Norway, the U.K., and France. Their work aims to improve animal welfare standards via corporate outreach and policy change. They engage in media outreach and institutional (and corporate) vegan outreach to decrease animal product consumption and increase the availability of plant-based options. Additionally, they work to strengthen the animal advocacy movement through capacity-building initiatives such as running a network of volunteers and mentorship programs, conducting research projects, and building alliances. Anima International was an ACE Top Charity from December 2019 to November 2020 and a Standout Charity from November 2020 to November 2022. Open Cages, a founding member of Anima International, was selected as a Standout Charity from November 2017 to December 2019. To learn more, read our comprehensive review of Anima International.
Animal Advocacy Careers (AAC) is a U.S.-based organization that works to address career and talent bottlenecks in the effective animal advocacy movement, especially in farmed animal and wild animal advocacy. They provide a recruitment service, a job board, an online course, a career advising service, and a fundraising work placement program, all with the aim of strengthening the animal advocacy movement. AAC received an ACE Movement Grant in 2020. To learn more, read our comprehensive review of Animal Advocacy Careers.
Aquatic Life Institute (ALI) is a U.S.-based organization that works to improve the welfare standards of farmed fishes and aquatic invertebrates (e.g., shrimps and octopus), as well as wild-caught aquatic animals. They run the Aquatic Animal Alliance, a coalition of organizations that aims to improve seafood certification standards, engage global institutions to achieve global reforms, and engage aquaculture certifiers to improve the welfare standards of farmed fishes and shrimps. To learn more, read our comprehensive review of Aquatic Life institute.
Essere Animali operates in Italy, where they work to improve the welfare standards of farmed animals (including farmed fishes) by investigating factory farms and using that footage to support legal actions and corporate campaigns. They run an individual outreach program and an institutional vegan outreach program to decrease animal product consumption and increase the availability of animal-free options. Additionally, they engage in media outreach and capacity-building activities that help strengthen the animal advocacy movement. Essere Animali received an ACE Movement Grant in the spring of 2019 and was an ACE Standout Charity from November 2020 to November 2022. To learn more about their work, read our comprehensive review of Essere Animali.
Humánny pokrok operates in Slovakia, where they work to improve farmed animal welfare standards by running corporate campaigns and engaging in government outreach and lobbying. They also work to strengthen the animal advocacy movement through investigations and capacity-building activities, such as running a vegan festival and training activists. Additionally, they run a plant-based outreach program that encourages companies to provide more plant-based options and supports individuals in decreasing their animal product consumption. To learn more, read our comprehensive review of Humánny pokrok.
Sociedade Vegetariana Brasileira (SVB) operates in Brazil, where they work to decrease the consumption of animal products via public awareness campaigns and other individual outreach actions. They also run a Meatless Monday program targeting private and public institutions, facilitate a vegan product labeling scheme, and engage the food service brands to increase the availability of plant-based products and reduce animal product consumption. Additionally, they work to strengthen the animal advocacy movement through supporting a network of volunteers. SVB was an ACE Standout Charity from November 2018 to November 2022. To learn more, read our comprehensive review of Sociedade Vegetariana Brasileira.
Vegetarianos Hoy operates in Chile, Argentina, Mexico, Colombia, and Peru. They work to strengthen the animal advocacy movement through policy work to change the legal status of animals and research about the treatment of farmed animals in Latin America. They also help increase the availability of plant-based products via a vegan product labeling scheme and institutional outreach, and they help decrease the consumption of animal products through individual outreach initiatives, such as vegan challenges. Additionally, they work to improve the welfare standards of farmed animals via corporate cage-free campaigns and policy change efforts. Vegetarianos Hoy received ACE Movement Grants in 2019 and 2020, and they were an ACE Standout Charity from November 2020 to November 2022. To learn more about their work, read our comprehensive review of Vegetarianos Hoy.
Considered Organizations
Since we began our charity evaluations in 2014, we have considered over 3,000 charities in total. For more details, see our list of reviewed charities.
