Live totals for the Animal Welfare Fund, updated continuously from the Race for Impact fundraising platform.
If today's total were split equally across the four Animal Welfare charities, this is the modelled impact. Impact is modelled by converting euros to US dollars at US$1 = €0.9039 before applying each charity's per-dollar estimates.
Funds raised by Race for Impact athletes help power a fund of four of the world's most effective animal welfare organisations. Each has been evaluated for cost-effectiveness and real-world impact. Together, they represent a coordinated strategy to reduce suffering for billions of farmed animals.
Sinergia Animal, The Humane League, and Anima International all work toward the same goal: reducing the suffering of farmed animals through corporate campaigns, investigations, and advocacy. By securing binding commitments from major food companies, building public pressure, and pursuing legislative change, they have improved conditions for millions of animals across their regions. Between them they run campaigns across Latin America, Southeast Asia, North America, Europe, and beyond, covering most of the world's major animal agriculture markets. On average, $1 donated to the fund helps around 5 animals.
The Good Food Institute is building the science and policy conditions for a world beyond factory farming by supporting research and development for alternatives to animal products. As demand shifts away from conventional animal products, fewer animals are bred into factory farming systems, which is why its impact is counted in both animals and carbon.
Examples are illustrative. Race for Impact retains discretion on charity selection and to allocate funds within each cause-area fund, guided by impact, independent advisors, and current evidence. Impact metrics are based on cost-effectiveness data from external researchers.
FarmKind notes that 3 out of every 5 animals raised for food globally are in Asia, Africa, and South America, where animal welfare protections are often limited. Yet much of the animal welfare funding available today is concentrated in Europe and North America. Sinergia Animal was built to close that gap.
Sinergia Animal is an international animal protection organisation working in countries of the Global South to reduce the suffering of farmed animals and promote more compassionate food choices. Born and raised in South America, the organisation now operates in nine countries across Latin America and Southeast Asia, with teams in Brazil, Argentina, Colombia, Chile, Indonesia, Thailand, and beyond. Sinergia Animal notes that their programmes impact over 100 million animals each year.
Animal Charity Evaluators has recognised Sinergia Animal as a recommended charity for seven consecutive years, one of the longest track records of any organisation in the sector.
Sinergia Animal runs six strategic programmes. Its core work is corporate campaigning, targeting two of factory farming’s most widespread practices. On eggs, Sinergia secures formal commitments from major food companies to eliminate battery cages. Based on that success, they advocate for nationwide legislative bans. According to Sinergia Animal, over 800 million egg-laying hens are subjected to intensive farming systems in the countries where they operate. On pigs, Sinergia works with companies across the supply chain in Brazil, the world’s fourth-largest pork producer, to eliminate gestation crates and painful mutilations of piglets performed without anesthesia. Their approach combines direct corporate partnerships with targeted public pressure campaigns.
Undercover investigations are central to creating the public pressure that makes corporate change possible. After exposing welfare conditions in animal transportation in Colombia, Sinergia Animal was invited to join a government working group to enforce legislation and address animal cruelty directly. Their investigations have reached millions of people across Latin America and Southeast Asia.
Sinergia Animal also runs Nourishing Tomorrow, an institutional meat reduction programme that helps universities, government bodies, and prisons reduce animal product consumption by 20 to 40%, and a Financial Institution Reform programme that pressures banks and development funds to divest from factory farming and incentivise higher-welfare alternatives.
According to our subject matter expert, corporate cage-free campaigns have driven the US from under 10% cage-free in 2012 to over 46% today (USDA, March 2026). Sinergia Animal applies this same proven model across Latin America and Southeast Asia, regions where the corporate welfare movement is still relatively new and the opportunity for change is large. Animal Charity Evaluators has recognised Sinergia Animal as a recommended charity for seven consecutive years, reflecting consistent, measurable results across their programmes.
Based on the observed track record of cage-free corporate campaigns globally, $1 donated through the Animal Welfare Fund to a corporate-campaign charity helps an average of 6 animals. For Sinergia specifically, there are factors that could push cost-effectiveness in either direction. Campaigning costs in Latin America and Southeast Asia are lower than in North America or Europe, which could make each dollar go further. At the same time, corporate campaign success rates in these regions have historically been less consistent than in more established markets, which could affect the pace of change. On balance, FarmKind recommends Sinergia Animal as one of the world’s most impactful giving opportunities for donors who want to support animal welfare in regions where it is greatly needed.
Sinergia Animal has secured over 190 cage-free commitments across Latin America and Southeast Asia, building coalitions with local organisations in Argentina, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, Uruguay, Indonesia, and Thailand (FarmKind). In Brazil, the world’s fourth-largest pork producer, Sinergia has secured commitments from major food companies affecting over 26 million pigs annually, covering the elimination of gestation crates, piglet castration without pain relief, tooth clipping, ear notching, and tusk removal without anesthesia.
The Nourishing Tomorrow programme has resulted in over 370,000 plant-based meals served annually across schools, universities, government cafeterias, and prisons, with participating institutions reducing animal product consumption by 20 to 40%. Sinergia’s undercover investigations have been seen over 8 million times, providing footage to media outlets across Latin America and Southeast Asia and generating the public pressure that has directly supported corporate welfare commitments.
The Humane League (THL) is one of the world’s largest and most established animal welfare organisations, running corporate pressure campaigns across six continents. THL holds major food companies accountable for inhumane farming practices, pressuring them to commit to phasing out battery cages, gestation crates, and the use of breeds that suffer under their own rapid growth.
Beyond its own campaigns, THL built the global infrastructure for cage-free advocacy through the Open Wing Alliance, a coalition of 90 partner organisations across 70 countries.
Animal Charity Evaluators has recommended THL as a top charity every year for the past decade, one of the longest track records of any organisation in the sector.
THL’s core work is corporate campaigning: identifying major food companies that have not yet committed to better welfare practices, building public and shareholder pressure through coordinated consumer campaigns, and negotiating binding commitments. Due to its global reach, THL is uniquely positioned to target multinational players whose commitments cascade across dozens of countries simultaneously. The Humane League notes that companies including McDonald’s, Starbucks, Walmart, Conagra, General Mills, PepsiCo, Kellogg’s, Unilever, Subway, Burger King, and hundreds more have all made welfare commitments following THL campaigns. The practices THL targets include confining egg-laying hens to cages where they can never spread their wings, immobilising mother pigs in gestation crates where they can barely move, and raising selectively bred chickens who grow so fast their legs can fracture under their own weight.
THL also leads the Open Wing Alliance, launched in 2016 with the goal of ending battery cage confinement for hens worldwide. According to FarmKind, the Alliance now comprises 90 partner organisations across more than 70 countries, each running cage-free campaigns in their own markets using THL’s proven training and playbook. By coordinating efforts globally, the Open Wing Alliance enables local advocates to achieve far more than they could independently, and is currently expanding into new initiatives across Africa, Asia, and Latin America.
THL also campaigns for legislative change. THL supported the passage of California’s Proposition 12, described as the most progressive animal protection law in US history. THL coordinates advocacy groups through the Animal Policy Alliance, pursuing bans on veal crates and cage confinement for hens at state and local levels.
According to our subject matter expert, corporate cage-free campaigns have driven the US from under 10% cage-free in 2012 to over 46% today (USDA, March 2026). THL’s campaigns have been central to that shift. Animal Charity Evaluators has recommended THL as a top charity every year for the past decade.
Based on the observed track record of cage-free corporate campaigns globally, $1 donated through the Animal Welfare Fund to a corporate-campaign charity helps an average of 6 animals. For THL specifically, there are factors that could push cost-effectiveness in either direction. THL operates primarily in high-income markets where campaign success rates are well-documented and corporate commitments are more predictable, which could make its results more reliable. Its multinational focus also means a single commitment from a company like Walmart or McDonald’s improves conditions for animals across dozens of countries simultaneously, multiplying the impact of each campaign win. At the same time, operating costs in North America and Europe are higher than in the regions where Sinergia and Anima work. On balance, FarmKind rates THL as one of the world’s most cost-effective giving opportunities for animal welfare.
THL and the Open Wing Alliance have secured commitments from over 2,200 companies globally, including General Mills, PepsiCo, Kellogg’s, Unilever, Starbucks, Subway, Burger King, KFC, Chipotle, Walmart, and hundreds more. In the US, this has helped increase the proportion of cage-free hens from under 10% in 2012 to over 46% today, liberating over 100 million hens from battery cages. Over 185 companies have committed to phasing out fast-growing broiler breeds under THL’s Better Chicken Commitment, addressing a practice that causes lameness, organ failure, and early death in millions of birds. THL supported the passage of California’s Proposition 12, described as the most progressive animal protection law in US history, reducing suffering for an estimated 37 million animals. Through grassroots activism, THL has mobilised thousands of individuals to send over 1.1 million messages to decision-makers about improving the treatment of farmed animals worldwide.
Anima International is an animal rights organisation working across Europe, connecting advocates in Poland, Norway, Denmark, France, the UK, and Bulgaria. Founded in 2018, the organisation runs corporate campaigns, undercover investigations, and legislative advocacy to reduce the suffering of farmed animals.
Europe is home to significant animal agriculture industries, yet in many of its countries the corporate campaign movement is only recently gaining traction. Poland, for example, is one of Europe’s leading producers of pork, eggs, and broiler chickens, and Anima International has been building the campaign infrastructure there from the ground up. Beyond its own campaigns, Anima International invests in building the broader European animal advocacy movement, having organised three international animal rights conferences, delivered over 50 training events, and shared resources with more than 50 organisations globally.
A cost-effectiveness analysis by an experienced EA researcher found that Anima’s programmes compare favourably against the cost-effectiveness threshold used by leading animal welfare charity incubators.
Anima International runs five interconnected programmes. Its cage-free campaign works to eliminate battery cages for egg-laying hens by securing and enforcing corporate commitments, then using that momentum to advocate for legislative bans. Its broiler programme pursues corporate pledges under the European Chicken Commitment (ECC), a science-based standard for higher welfare broiler farming. Alongside chicken welfare, Anima runs a Stop the Farms programme, supporting local communities in opposing the construction of new intensive chicken and pig farms. According to the cost-effectiveness analysis, Poland is especially suited to this strategy due to the scarcity of locations far from residential areas, giving communities meaningful legal leverage.
Undercover investigations are central to Anima’s model. Anima International notes that the organisation has released over 50 investigations across more than 10 countries, exposing conditions in factory farms, fur farms, and slaughterhouses. The footage has been used by partner organisations worldwide and has directly generated the public pressure needed to drive corporate commitments and policy change.
Anima International is the only organisation in this fund running campaigns against the fur industry. According to the cost-effectiveness analysis, around 3.4 million minks are currently farmed in Poland alone.
According to our subject matter expert, corporate cage-free campaigns have driven the US from under 10% cage-free in 2012 to over 46% today (USDA, March 2026). Anima International applies this same proven model across Europe, in markets where the corporate campaign movement is still developing and the opportunity for change remains large. The fund’s inclusion of Anima International is supported by a cost-effectiveness analysis from an experienced researcher commissioned by Anima International itself.
Based on the observed track record of cage-free corporate campaigns globally, $1 donated through the Animal Welfare Fund to a corporate-campaign charity helps an average of 6 animals. For Anima specifically, there are factors that could push cost-effectiveness in either direction. Operating costs in Poland and the countries where Anima International works are lower than in Western Europe and North America, and the corporate campaign market is less saturated, meaning more untapped commitments are available. The cost-effectiveness analysis found that all five of Anima’s evaluated programmes help multiple animals per dollar spent, and that the results were within one order of magnitude across all interventions. At the same time, some of Anima’s programmes, particularly broiler welfare in Poland, have a limited track record so far, and several estimates rely on subjective judgements about the likelihood of future success.
On balance, Anima International’s combination of corporate campaigns, investigations, legislative advocacy, and movement building makes it a distinctive and well-rounded addition to the fund, operating in a region where its work is greatly needed.
Anima International states that the organisation has secured over 300 cage-free commitments from companies, retailers, and restaurants, and 15 companies have committed to higher welfare standards for broiler chickens under the European Chicken Commitment. The fur campaign has secured fur-free pledges from over 380 companies globally. Over 700 companies and restaurants now include more plant-based options following Anima’s campaigns.
Additionally, Anima International notes that the organisation’s programmes have reached a traditional media audience of 1.5 billion people, with over 50 investigations released across more than 10 countries. Anima is active in 53 coalitions and has trained more than 50 organisations globally through its movement building work.
The Good Food Institute (GFI) is an international nonprofit think tank working to make alternative proteins, plant-based, cultivated, and fermentation-derived, so good, so affordable, and so widely available that they become the convenient default for consumers globally. GFI accelerates that transition through open-access research, industry support, and government policy. As demand shifts away from conventional animal products, fewer animals are bred into factory farming systems.
GFI advances open-access research to drive scientific breakthroughs, empowers entrepreneurs and businesses to build the alternative protein sector, and convinces governments to provide fair policies and public funding so that alternatives can compete with factory-farmed products on a level playing field.
FarmKind notes that GFI designs the structural changes needed to make factory farming obsolete, rather than fighting its symptoms. GFI has been independently verified by both an animal welfare evaluator and a climate evaluator, recognised by FarmKind and Giving Green respectively.
GFI operates through three interconnected programme areas. Its science and technology work funds and publishes open-access research on the most critical unsolved problems in alternative protein development, from the texture and flavour of plant-based products to the scaffolding and cell culture conditions required for cultivated meat. Because all research outputs are open-access, every dollar invested benefits the entire sector, not just one company. According to FarmKind, GFI has expanded the Alt Protein Project to 70 university chapters across 11 countries, building a pipeline of researchers and entrepreneurs dedicated to alternative protein development. Giving Green notes that GFI also delivers catalytic grants that enable early data collection, helping scientists outside of GFI apply for subsequent government funding and de-risking research areas for the wider sector.
GFI’s industry support team works with entrepreneurs and businesses to help them navigate the regulatory, supply chain, and commercial challenges of bringing alternative protein products to market. According to Giving Green, GFI also works with large agri-food companies to encourage investment in alternative protein products, and conducts market research to develop open-access reports that support the entire sector. Since 2019, GFI has awarded over $21 million in grants across 21 countries to support open-access research, with an initial $1.8 million in grant funding catalysing $16.9 million in subsequent government support.
GFI’s policy team engages governments to secure public funding for alternative protein research and a clear regulatory path to market for cultivated meat, working across the US, EU, UK, India, Israel, and other major markets. Giving Green notes that GFI campaigns for fair-label laws that protect alternative protein producers from legislation restricting their use of familiar food terms, and actively challenges bans on cultivated meat in markets where they have been introduced.
Giving Green evaluates GFI as one of its top recommended nonprofits for addressing climate change. Their analysis estimates that a dollar donated to GFI can be expected to offset roughly 0.3 tonnes of CO2e, equivalent to the annual food transport footprint of an average person. Giving Green notes that livestock emissions currently represent 11 to 17% of global greenhouse gas emissions, and reducing demand for conventional animal products is one of the most meaningful levers available for bringing that figure down.
Giving Green acknowledges that this estimate carries significant uncertainty. The timeline for alternative proteins reaching cost and taste parity with conventional meat is unclear, and consumer adoption depends on social and cultural factors beyond price alone. Nevertheless, Giving Green maintains GFI as a top recommendation, citing the potential upside and GFI’s track record of securing public funding.
For donors thinking in terms of animals helped, FarmKind has translated GFI’s expected impact into animal welfare terms, estimating that $1 donated to GFI helps 5 animals. As alternative proteins displace conventional meat, fewer animals are bred into factory farming systems. The animal welfare and climate benefits are two consequences of the same work.
According to FarmKind, GFI has helped secure first-ever regulatory approval for cultivated meat in Israel, achieved halal certification for cultivated meat in Singapore, and influenced India’s BioE3 policy to include smart protein as a national development priority. GFI Europe’s advocacy secured a £15 million UK government commitment to a National Alternative Protein Innovation Center, a $51 million Biden-Harris administration award to advance precision fermentation, and a $90 million Bezos Earth Fund investment to launch Sustainable Protein Centers at multiple universities.
Further, Giving Green notes that GFI’s advocacy has helped increase public funding for alternative protein research to $523 million globally in 2023. Since 2019, GFI has awarded over $21 million in grants across 21 countries, with an initial $1.8 million in grant funding catalysing $16.9 million in subsequent government support. GFI has also secured legal victories against labelling laws that would have restricted alternative protein producers in Louisiana and Arkansas, and has helped establish alt proteins as a priority in national bioeconomy strategies in the US, India, and Israel.