User:Vipul/Animal Charity Evaluators

Animal Charity Evaluators (ACE) is a nonprofit organization based in San Diego in the United States that investigates charities (primarily US charities) that work in the domain of animal welfare.

History
Animal Charity Evaluators started out as Effective Animal Activism, a webpage created by Eitan Fischer for 80,000 Hours. The page was created in response to the comments on an open thread by 80,000 Hours, where commenters noted that the domain of animal welfare and animal activism was an area where 80,000 Hours currently had very little coverage.

In April 2013, the organization hired Jon Bockman as its first paid staff member. Bockman's interest in animal activism had arisen with a pamphlet he had been handed by Vegan Outreach, and he decided to join Effective Animal Activism after being frustrated at the fact that existing animal activism seemed to be accomplishing very small changes relative to the scale of the problem. Bockman also merged Justice for Animals, a nonprofit he had started, into EAA. Influential animal welfare advocate Peter Singer was on the board of EAA and helped the organization get off the ground.

In October 2013, Eitan Fischer left EAA, and the Facebook group he created, "Effective Animal Activism - Discussion", is not affiliated with the organization. In November 2013, EAA became an independent 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization incorporated in the United States. In December 2013, the name was changed to Animal Charity Evaluators, and the organization retrospectively believes that the original name choice was a mistake.

Top-rated charities
ACE's three top-rated charities (list last refreshed on December 1, 2014) are:


 * Animal Equality (top charity since December 1, 2014)
 * Mercy For Animals (standout charity since August 2012, the launch of ACE; top charity since May 14, 2014)
 * The Humane League (top charity since August 2012, the launch of ACE)

Standout charities
ACE has four standout charities:


 * The Farm Animal Protection Campaign of The Humane Society of the United States
 * Farm Animal Rights Movement (FARM)
 * Vegan Outreach (top charity between August 2012 and May 13, 2014, standout since December 1, 2014)
 * Albert Schweitzer Foundation (since December 1, 2014)

Reception
Marc Gunther reviewed ACE in an article for Nonprofit Chronicles, noting: "[T]he work of Animal Charity Evaluators (ACE) is relevant to nonprofits of all kinds. As its name suggests and, on a very modest budget, ACE evaluates animal charities. Its work could inspire those who want to evaluate charities in other sectors—education, the environment, that arts, whatever." He further noted: "The point is, Animal Charity Evaluators is asking the right questions–the kind all nonprofits should be asking themselves."

Animal welfare and effective altruism advocate Peter Singer, who sits on the board of ACE, has highlighted ACE's work in his book The Most Good You Can Do and in an online article for Salon.

Charity evaluator GiveWell conducted and published notes on a conversation with Jon Bockman, the Executive Director of ACE, as part of an investigation into animal welfare as a potential cause area to devote resources into.

The Ultimate Fundraiser blog reviewed ACE, concluding: "The suffering that animals endure often caused by human self-interest is enormous. By educating people about how they can best advocate for animals, this organization hopes to contribute to the largest possible reduction of suffering for the largest number of animals. Animal Charity Evaluators is an organization that is taking the lead in helping us progress towards effective altruism." The Effective Altruism Hub has recommended to donors interested in animal welfare that they should donate to ACE-recommended charities.