Thanks to the generosity of our donors, the Happier Lives Fund (HLF) is growing, and so is its impact. We have now completed our second round of disbursements to our recommended charities, covering donations received in Q1 2026. Here is what that looks like in practice.
How much did the HLF raise in Q1 2026? What impact will it have?
Between January and the end of March 2026, the HLF raised $139,607.71. Together with direct donations to our recommended charities, the total comes to $148,699.63, which corresponds to 5,504.58 WELLBYs created.
Putting it another way, you can think of this as sparing 4,209 people from a full year of depression.
The momentum from our first disbursements in Q4 2025 is carrying into 2026, and we are pleased to see the Fund continuing to channel meaningful support to our recommended charities.
How did we allocate the funds to the charities?
Money raised through HLF is predominantly sent to our recommended charities (90% of donations), with 10% dedicated to supporting internal research, outreach and fund management at HLI. The total for this was $14,616.03.
As with everything we do, maximising impact guided our decisions in allocating funds to the charities. We drew on the evidence behind our recommendations, alongside any updated insights from our ongoing work with the charities.
We granted 67% of the total to our two Top Charities, StrongMinds and Friendship Bench, divided evenly between them. Our Top Charities are the most cost-effective we’ve found that we are also highly confident in.
The remaining 33% went to our Promising Charities, Pure Earth and Taimaka. As we consider Pure Earth notably more cost-effective than Taimaka at this stage, we allocated 60% of this share to Pure Earth and 40% to Taimaka. Our Promising Charities are likely extremely cost-effective based on research so far, but we need more evidence to increase the confidence of our recommendation.
Did we provide unrestricted or restricted funding?
For StrongMinds, Pure Earth, and Taimaka, we are providing unrestricted funding.
For Friendship Bench we are making a special grant to fund specific improvements of their programme that we’ve suggested. While the details of this project are being finalised, we are holding back the HLF payment for now, as we did last quarter. This also allows us to pool more funding before sending it, increasing the scale of the grant. We believe the wait is worth it – this approach will stretch future donations further.
The impact from our recommended charities
| Charity | What they do | Money sent | WELLBYs created | Years of depression averted |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Delivers lay-delivered group psychotherapy to people with depression or anxiety in Uganda and Zambia. |
$42,748.46 (HLF + direct donations) |
1,726 |
1,326 | |
Delivers lay-delivered psychotherapy to people with depression or anxiety in Zimbabwe. |
$3,657.23 (from direct donations). The HLF total of $61,227.50 will be paid out in a forthcoming round of disbursements ($38,966.82 from Q1 2026 + $22,260.43 from Q4 2025) |
177 |
136 | |
Works with governments and businesses to reduce exposure to toxic lead in products. We focus on their cosmetics programme in Ghana. |
$23,803.72
(HLF + direct donations) |
2,508 |
1,935 (equivalent) | |
Treats children with acute malnutrition in Gombe State, Nigeria, working through local health facilities |
$15,958.07
(HLF + direct donations) |
1,093 |
810 (equivalent) |
To learn more about our charities and how we evaluate them, visit our website.
The HLF is still young, and every new donation increases its impact. If you can, please consider donating and sharing it with others who care about effective giving. Let’s take happiness seriously, together.