Our model

100% for impact

We pride ourselves on being an impact multiplier, and we’ve become even more efficient and effective over time.

In 2020, the ratio of our operational budget to money granted to our high-impact recommendations was 1:2. In 2023, it was 1:11; and in 2024, it was 1:16.

This means that for every $1 invested in our mission last year, $26 was donated to the charitable sector, and $16 was granted to our recommendations.

Discover covers producing research and providing philanthropic advising.
Connect covers programming and hosting events designed to inspire and connect.
Give covers infrastructure for global giving, including a Donor Advised Fund.

Pledge covers growing our community.
Operations covers powering the impact machine.
Percentages above have been rounded to the nearest whole number.

Our work is made possible by the support of generous donors who believe in our ability to multiply their impact.

As a charity ourselves, these donations enable us to deliver our high-impact research, execute a content-rich program of events, offer our international grantmaking infrastructure, and plan for the organization’s future. We're grateful that a third of our operating expenses were covered by our members in 2024.

As our community grows, so do the costs of providing quality support to our members. A few years ago, we uncovered a transformational way to build stronger foundations for our continued growth and operations: Pledge Ventures.

Launched in 2022, Pledge Ventures is an innovative venture fund. It invests exclusively in our members' companies, and is designed to be an economic engine to power our work. Pledge Ventures donates 85% of carried interest to Founders Pledge. The fund is rules-based in its approach, co-investing alongside top-tier funds in high-growth companies. This unique model could fundamentally change how we sustain ourselves —so far, we’ve received three donations, totaling almost $500K. Learn more in their January update.

What our supporters say

“Supporting Founders Pledge’s operating costs isn’t just a donation—it’s an investment in their research, advisory, and community engagement that unlocks incredibly high-impact philanthropy. As an entrepreneur and investor I'm intrigued by exponential impact and growth - in this respect I strongly believe in Founders Pledge operational model and can see its powering transformative change on a global scale.”
Andreas Haug
Trustee and Founders Pledge member

“We made the decision to support Founders Pledge because of the incredible effect that our gift would have on making world-changing good possible. By donating to Founders Pledge, our gift has 11x the impact than it would have elsewhere, an impressive philanthropic return. We are proud to be Foundry members and to help steer the future of philanthropy by investing in this community of founders and entrepreneurs who want to make the world a better place for current and future generations.”
Moaffak Ahmed & Anne Badan
Founders Pledge members

“Supporting Founders Pledge as part of our giving strategy is the highest leverage option available from our perspective. Being part of the community alone has had a significant impact on us as people, even before having liquidity. The best thing we could do is to help Founders Pledge reach out to more people in the hope that the simple act of pledging has a positive impact on others.”
Nick Popovici & Charley Gloerfelt
Founders Pledge members