Strategic philanthropic funding of animal welfare has grown significantly through Open Philanthropy and other major donors, with evidence-based approaches directing resources toward the highest-impact cause areas and organisations.
Philanthropic strategy for animal welfare can dramatically increase the impact of available funding by directing resources toward interventions with the greatest expected welfare benefit per dollar. Evidence-based funders compare the cost per animal helped across different interventions, identifying those with exceptional cost-effectiveness relative to their funding. Corporate campaign organisations like The Humane League achieve significant welfare commitments per dollar through targeted, evidence-tested campaigns. Wild animal welfare receives relatively little funding despite the enormous scale of potential welfare benefit, making it a particularly neglected area. Effective welfare philanthropy requires both evidence about what works and courage to fund neglected areas even when they are less emotionally salient than more visible welfare issues.