Thanks for your comment. We’re always happy to answer questions about our impact!
It’s difficult to make a direct comparison between the impact of GFI’s work in alternative proteins and that of other animal advocacy organisations because the theory of change is so different. Advocacy campaigns can generate short-term wins for animals, but they don’t address the root causes of factory farming. GFI’s focus is on long-term, systemic change, transforming the entire food system by finding an alternative to conventional animal products that can feed the world with a fraction of the harm. This kind of change inevitably takes longer, but the potential scale of impact is much greater. GFI’s role is basically to make this transition faster and achieve this impact more quickly.
You shared an article comparing the impact of donating to The Humane League with investing in alternative proteins, but flagged that you think it’s likely that supporting GFI is more effective than investing in individual companies, and therefore, this would be a better comparison of impact. We agree. Investing in alternative proteins by directly funding a pilot plant or factory can help one company scale faster, but it doesn’t solve the barriers holding back the sector, like missing infrastructure, unclear regulations, or limited public funding.
Philanthropic support for GFI fills that gap. We help governments recognise alternative proteins as a strategic priority, direct investors toward opportunities, and support companies with the data, insights, and regulatory clarity they need to scale sustainably. Without this work, alternative proteins wouldn’t be seen as a credible or fundable opportunity by governments or investors, meaning every donated euro or dollar can have an outsized catalytic effect.
It’s also worth saying that GFI has a broad base of supporters, with 80% of our donors giving between $1 and $1,000 each year. Collectively, those gifts have a much bigger impact than they could alone, giving us the flexibility to move quickly when new opportunities arise and to direct funding where it will have the most impact.
In terms of scale, GFI’s total annual budget is about $40 million across seven organisations, with Europe receiving just under $5 million. That European funding supports work across 44 countries in science, policy, and industry, which amounts to just over a hundred thousand dollars per country, weighted towards our priority countries.
With this budget, we have significant impact. In 2025 so far, GFI Europe has directly influenced more than $55 million in R&D funding for the alternative protein ecosystem, excluding new government commitments that haven’t yet been spent. And globally, every $1 donated to GFI catalyses roughly $25–30 in follow-on public R&D funding.
For context, the ClimateWorks Foundation estimates that the world needs about $10.1 billion per year in public funding just for alternative protein R&D and scale-up. While GFI isn’t the recipient of that funding, our role is to help make those investments happen, so our budget and fundraising goals correspond with the size of the opportunity and need.
Finally, you asked why GFI is not recommended by ACE. GFI was reviewed and recommended by ACE for several years, and we remain appreciative of their important work in the space, but in recent years, we’ve chosen not to participate in the formal evaluation process. The main reason is capacity; it’s an intensive process that requires significant input from staff across all seven of our independent organisations. Because of our size and structure, the process is substantially more involved for GFI than for many other charities ACE evaluates. We’ve instead prioritised dedicating that time to programmatic work and strategy development. GFI is still closely aligned with ACE’s mission, and it has continued to reference GFI’s work positively in broader landscape analyses.
We’ve also been recommended by Giving Green, which evaluates climate impact, as one of their top climate nonprofits for 2025-2026, for the fourth year running. They conduct a thorough analysis of an organisation’s theory of change, assumptions, capacity to create systems change, and room for funding so that climate funders can make informed decisions about the most high-impact philanthropic opportunities in the sector. In addition, FarmKind uses Giving Green’s figures to estimate our animal welfare impact, and GFI performs strongly there as well.
We completely agree that the movement could benefit from more cost–benefit analyses across different intervention types. It’s something we’re very open to and would be happy to contribute to.
Thanks again for your comment. I’ll keep an eye out for your post.
Hey Pablo,
Thanks for your comment. We’re always happy to answer questions about our impact!
It’s difficult to make a direct comparison between the impact of GFI’s work in alternative proteins and that of other animal advocacy organisations because the theory of change is so different. Advocacy campaigns can generate short-term wins for animals, but they don’t address the root causes of factory farming. GFI’s focus is on long-term, systemic change, transforming the entire food system by finding an alternative to conventional animal products that can feed the world with a fraction of the harm. This kind of change inevitably takes longer, but the potential scale of impact is much greater. GFI’s role is basically to make this transition faster and achieve this impact more quickly.
You shared an article comparing the impact of donating to The Humane League with investing in alternative proteins, but flagged that you think it’s likely that supporting GFI is more effective than investing in individual companies, and therefore, this would be a better comparison of impact. We agree. Investing in alternative proteins by directly funding a pilot plant or factory can help one company scale faster, but it doesn’t solve the barriers holding back the sector, like missing infrastructure, unclear regulations, or limited public funding.
Philanthropic support for GFI fills that gap. We help governments recognise alternative proteins as a strategic priority, direct investors toward opportunities, and support companies with the data, insights, and regulatory clarity they need to scale sustainably. Without this work, alternative proteins wouldn’t be seen as a credible or fundable opportunity by governments or investors, meaning every donated euro or dollar can have an outsized catalytic effect.
It’s also worth saying that GFI has a broad base of supporters, with 80% of our donors giving between $1 and $1,000 each year. Collectively, those gifts have a much bigger impact than they could alone, giving us the flexibility to move quickly when new opportunities arise and to direct funding where it will have the most impact.
In terms of scale, GFI’s total annual budget is about $40 million across seven organisations, with Europe receiving just under $5 million. That European funding supports work across 44 countries in science, policy, and industry, which amounts to just over a hundred thousand dollars per country, weighted towards our priority countries.
With this budget, we have significant impact. In 2025 so far, GFI Europe has directly influenced more than $55 million in R&D funding for the alternative protein ecosystem, excluding new government commitments that haven’t yet been spent. And globally, every $1 donated to GFI catalyses roughly $25–30 in follow-on public R&D funding.
For context, the ClimateWorks Foundation estimates that the world needs about $10.1 billion per year in public funding just for alternative protein R&D and scale-up. While GFI isn’t the recipient of that funding, our role is to help make those investments happen, so our budget and fundraising goals correspond with the size of the opportunity and need.
Finally, you asked why GFI is not recommended by ACE. GFI was reviewed and recommended by ACE for several years, and we remain appreciative of their important work in the space, but in recent years, we’ve chosen not to participate in the formal evaluation process. The main reason is capacity; it’s an intensive process that requires significant input from staff across all seven of our independent organisations. Because of our size and structure, the process is substantially more involved for GFI than for many other charities ACE evaluates. We’ve instead prioritised dedicating that time to programmatic work and strategy development. GFI is still closely aligned with ACE’s mission, and it has continued to reference GFI’s work positively in broader landscape analyses.
We’ve also been recommended by Giving Green, which evaluates climate impact, as one of their top climate nonprofits for 2025-2026, for the fourth year running. They conduct a thorough analysis of an organisation’s theory of change, assumptions, capacity to create systems change, and room for funding so that climate funders can make informed decisions about the most high-impact philanthropic opportunities in the sector. In addition, FarmKind uses Giving Green’s figures to estimate our animal welfare impact, and GFI performs strongly there as well.
We completely agree that the movement could benefit from more cost–benefit analyses across different intervention types. It’s something we’re very open to and would be happy to contribute to.
Thanks again for your comment. I’ll keep an eye out for your post.
Alex
Eco Resilience Initiative also recommends GFI as the best donation opportunity to fight biodiversity loss.