We have decided to pause our recommendation of Friendship Bench, as its status as a Top Charity might be changing in the near future. This is due to two reasons: data-sharing restrictions in Zimbabwe, and an update to our methodology.
- Friendship Bench is currently unable to share their most recent data due to changes in the data-sharing policies of the Government of Zimbabwe. We had agreed to fund an R&D project to improve their monitoring and evaluation with money raised through the Happier Lives Fund; however, without access to up-to-date data, this is impossible for now.
- As outlined in our 2026 research agenda, we are updating our methodology and, in particular, how we weigh different sources of evidence. We think there is a reasonable chance this could impact our cost-effectiveness results, particularly of Friendship Bench.
The combination of these two factors led us to pause Friendship Bench’s recommendation until the end of November 2026. During this period, we will review our methodology for charity evaluations, its implications for our evaluation of Friendship Bench, and assess how the lack of access to M&E data affects it.
What this means in practice
This development has a few practical implications:
- We are pausing our fundraising for Friendship Bench for the time being. If you want to continue to support them during this period, you can donate directly through their website.
- Friendship Bench will return the HLF funds we’d allocated for the R&D project. We will hold this money until we have reached a decision on their recommendation, then allocate it where it can do the most good.
- We will also not send Friendship Bench any money in the Q3 HLF disbursement. We will withhold the share of money that would otherwise have gone to them as a Top Charity, alongside the returned funds.
- However, we will send Friendship Bench donations made specifically to them through HLI before fundraising was paused on 15 October 2026.
As a research organisation, we regularly update our evaluations as our methods and evidence improve, and always aim to communicate about that openly. We commit to sharing a new update on Friendship Bench by the end of November 2026, so donors have clear, up-to-date recommendations to rely on before Giving Season begins. In the meantime, donations to the HLF will continue to support our recommended charities.