Really useful Charity Fund: August 2025 Replace

15 minute learn

Due to beneficiant donor assist, ACE’s Really useful Charity Fund awarded $1,837,466 to our 2024 Really useful Charities this February. This was our second-largest disbursement ever! These organizations shared how they used their grants to make a optimistic impression on animals, and we’re thrilled to share their achievements with you.

Donating to our Really useful Charity Fund helps high-impact charities that cut back the struggling of among the world’s most uncared for animals. A lot of the inspiring work highlighted under depends upon grants from this fund. Thanks for making these achievements for farmed and wild animals doable!

Really useful Charity Updates

Uncover what ACE’s Really useful Charities have completed for animals within the first half of 2025 with assist from the Really useful Charity Fund.

Aquatic Life Institute

$134,447 grant

Aquatic Life Institute (ALI) has utilized donor assist to remodel meals methods and shield aquatic animals, guided by its impression measurement framework: Recognition, Safety, and Prioritization.

• Recognition – Is aquatic animal welfare seen as related, reliable, and pressing?
  • ALI printed a peer-reviewed paper on well being and welfare in Fishes, rating within the prime 10% of analysis tracked by Altmetric, with protection in 9 media shops reaching over 736,000 readers.
  • ALI delivered an ESG session to the FAIRR Initiative, increasing investor consciousness of aquatic animals.
  • ALI launched the fourth Marine Seize Fisheries report, acknowledged by UNESCO’s Blue Thread initiative.
• Safety – Are commitments and laws being adopted to guard aquatic animals?
  • ALI performed a key position in revising the ASC Farm Customary to enhance welfare protections for an estimated 45.3 billion animals yearly.
  • ALI coordinated over 175 organizations by way of the Aquatic Animal Alliance to advocate for stronger certification requirements and suggested Lever Basis on enhancing its company seafood welfare coverage.
  • ALI supported reforms at Hilton Meals and Co-op, securing commitments to gorgeous, eyestalk ablation bans, and environmental enrichment.
  • ALI superior the Ban Octopus Farming Marketing campaign, contributing to 2 U.S. state bans, seven energetic payments, elevated worldwide strain, and the reintroduction of a federal ban on octopus farming.
    
• Prioritization – Is aquatic animal welfare embedded in long-term decision-making?

ALI has embedded welfare into analysis, certification, company coverage, funding, and governance buildings. The group additionally strengthened inner capability by hiring three new crew members and transitioning one employees member to a improvement position. Learn the 2025 Half Yr Report right here.

Çiftlik Hayvanlarını Koruma Derneği

$152,374 grant

• Kırkfırın (7 places), Joyful Moon’s (70 places), and Mado (300 places) printed new cage-free commitments.
• The Marmara Lodges and Keyveni catering reported fulfilling their cage-free commitments.
• Retailers CarrefourSA, Migros, Şok, and File launched new price-competitive cage-free barn egg merchandise.
• On the shareholder’s assembly in April, Migros CEO introduced that 45% of their egg gross sales are cage-free.
• The Future For Fish program is coordinating a brand new analysis research on the effectiveness {of electrical} gorgeous for sea bass and sea bream, scheduled for September.

Dansk Vegetarisk Forening

$188,226 grant

• Dansk Vegetarisk Forening (DVF) has secured the Danish Authorities and the EU Presidency as companions of their initiative Plant Meals Summit—a world coverage summit in Copenhagen on October 20-21, 2025 for 500 invited stakeholders from throughout Europe. Many authorities officers and farmers’ organizations have already registered. The summit goals to encourage what plant-based coverage initiatives can seem like in observe and pave the best way for an EU Motion Plan for Plant-Primarily based Meals and its subsequent authorities funding.
• DVF has launched the initiative Danish Plant-Primarily based Diplomacy, supported by a number of farmers’ associations and different mainstream stakeholders. Whereas the initiative is at the moment focusing on European nations, the ambition over time is to increase it past the EU.
• DVF has initiated long-term work to direct some World North authorities improvement and local weather funding in direction of organizations within the World South engaged on plant-based initiatives. Preliminary steps included conferences with stakeholders in Denmark and internationally, and changing into an official accomplice of Denmark’s Pavilion at COP30. It additionally consists of an occasion hosted by the Danish Embassy in Brasília forward of COP30, focusing on Brazilian politicians and stakeholders to encourage Brazil and COP30 management to contemplate prioritizing extra funding for plant-based meals. DVF began a Data Community for Plant-Primarily based Vitamin, facilitated by 4 well being professionals with experience in plant-based diet, with the primary 100 well being professionals becoming a member of inside one month. The purpose is 1,000 members. The community will create newsletters, webinars, community occasions, podcasts and guides for professionals and sufferers.
• DVF has elevated its fundraising work to get recurring particular person donors to present extra, strengthening DVF’s long-term monetary well being. Preliminary outcomes are $25,000 USD yearly, which is anticipated to rise to $75,000 USD in annual recurring worth by the top of the 12 months.

Faunalytics

$179,263 grant

Faunalytics has produced the next analysis research, analyses, and knowledge visualizations (up to now!) this 12 months:

• Case Examine of Meals System Schooling and College students’ Subsequent Influence: Insights into the impression of a meals system training program on college students’ careers, instructional decisions, advocacy, and views concerning meat consumption.
• Management Turnover In The Animal Advocacy Motion: Why former Government Administrators of animal organizations left their positions and what boards can do to retain leaders.
• Exploring Gen Z’s Attitudes In the direction of Animals And The Surroundings: Trying throughout the U.S., China, Indonesia, and Thailand, this research examines Gen Z’s attitudes, motivations, profession concerns, and boundaries to motion.
• The Financial Impacts Of A Plant-Primarily based Transition: This research examines two hypothetical progress eventualities and outcomes of a shift towards large-scale plant-based meat consumption, in addition to its financial impression on the U.S.
• Efficient Communication With Political Staffers: A framework for a way animal advocates can most successfully talk with political staffers to advance animal safety insurance policies.
• World Slaughter Statistics & Charts: New evaluation and visualization of tendencies in animal slaughter.
• What Don’t Extra Advocates Speak About Geese? This weblog highlights the shortage of advocacy for the second most slaughtered land animal on the planet.
• Huge Ag, Huge Bucks: How USDA subsidies and grants feed market inequality and political affect.
• How To Message Plant-Primarily based Diets And Merchandise In Southeast Asia: In partnership with Good Development Co., region-specific messaging frameworks that resonate with shoppers contemplating plant-based choices.
• Cross-Motion Collaboration For Farmed Animal Advocates In Southeast Asia: Alternatives for coalition-building and useful resource sharing between animal advocacy organizations and different social justice actions.
• Ways In Apply: The analysis behind what makes for efficient interventions, with new editions on vegan challenges and protests and demonstrations.
• 25 Years of Informing Animal Advocacy: Faunalytics celebrated their twenty fifth anniversary!

Authorized Influence for Chickens

$80,668 grant

• Authorized Influence for Chickens (LIC) achieved a significant victory by efficiently proving in courtroom that SPCAs can sue to cease agricultural cruelty. A California courtroom dominated that LIC’s lawsuit towards Alexandre Household Farm needs to be allowed to proceed. The lawsuit alleges that Alexandre violated California animal safety legal guidelines by pouring salt into cows’ eyes, dragging motionless animals throughout concrete, ravenous cattle, and extra. The eight-page ruling acknowledged LIC’s energy, as a California society for the prevention of cruelty to animals (SPCA), to forestall cruelty by way of civil litigation.
• LIC additionally efficiently settled a false promoting lawsuit on behalf of its consumer Animal Outlook. The meals generally known as “foie gras” comes from dangerously force-feeding a duck or a goose. The lawsuit argued {that a} DC butcher store was deceptively promoting foie gras as humane. As a part of the settlement, the defendant agreed to cease promoting foie gras.
• LIC petitioned the North Carolina Supreme Court docket to listen to LIC’s animal cruelty lawsuit towards KFC-supplier Case Farms.
• LIC submitted testimony in favor of a Maryland invoice to ban preserving egg-laying hens in cages or promoting eggs from caged hens within the states, and a remark urging the Arizona Division of Agriculture to not push again the implementation deadline for Arizona’s cage-free invoice.
• LIC filed a criticism towards Perdue with the Federal Motor Provider Security Administration after a retired police officer discovered chickens strewn concerning the street for a number of miles.
• LIC employees spoke about utilizing the legislation to guard farmed animals at three conferences, in 5 universities, and on two podcasts.
• LIC employed a brand new supervising legal professional, Drew Givens. Drew is an Military veteran and a former prosecutor. With over a decade of expertise in prison legislation, Drew offers priceless perception on how LIC can implement animal safety legal guidelines within the agricultural business.

New Roots Institute

$170,300 grant

New Roots Institute has made a pivotal strategic shift to maximise cost-effectiveness and scalability of pupil outreach. Over the previous six months they’ve undertaken the next work:

• Breakthrough Analysis → Greater-Leverage Technique
  Organizational analysis discovered that embedding a New Roots Institute fellow inside a college neighborhood yields 23 instances extra impression than a single educator-led lesson. This proof drove a shift towards higher-leverage, extra sturdy interventions. The transition is supported by a brand new Analysis & Design Division, guaranteeing all strategic selections stay rigorously data-driven. Be taught extra concerning the concept of change right here.
  
• Excessive-Multiplier Interventions in Motion
  Throughout the Tutorial Yr Fellowship, fellows led campaigns that straight engaged 20,000+ folks and reached over 1 million by way of media protection. These campaigns focused high-priority trigger areas with outsized potential for long-term systemic change, equivalent to institutional plant-based initiatives, legislative advocacy for animal welfare, and academic outreach. Examples embody:

• Counterfactual Influence Via a Distinctive Expertise Pipeline
  As of June, New Roots alumni are working, volunteering, and interning at 394 organizations in 459 roles, contributing 27,000+ hours in This autumn alone to efforts combating manufacturing facility farming. This demonstrates substantial counterfactual impression past participation in New Roots Institute’s management improvement packages that, in lots of instances, wouldn’t have occurred with out the coaching, community, and assist.

Shrimp Welfare Venture

$215,116 grant

Company Engagement:

• Shrimp Welfare Venture partnered with 4 new producers by way of their Humane Slaughter Initiative. They’ve signed a complete of 21 agreements to supply free electrical stunners, rendering shrimps unconscious throughout harvest.
• These new partnerships will enhance the lives of a further ~757 million shrimps per 12 months, bringing the whole variety of shrimps helped yearly to ~4 billion.
• 4 main UK retailers — Co-op, Iceland, Morrisons, and Waitrose — printed shrimp welfare insurance policies following discussions and partnership with Shrimp Welfare Venture. In whole, 9 grocery store chains have dedicated to humane slaughter and banning eyestalk ablation.

Farmer Help:

• Their Sustainable Shrimp Farmers of India initiative improved circumstances for ~36 million shrimps yearly throughout the primary 100 acres of its sludge elimination program, which improves water high quality and lowers stocking densities. To this point this 12 months, a further 55 acres have been accomplished, which is anticipated to assist ~19.8 million shrimps.
  • Whereas these numbers are smaller than the HSI numbers, the depth of impression is important—some exterior estimates counsel that the per-shrimp impression is ~20x larger than that of HSI, because it addresses continual struggling all through shrimps’ lives. This twin method permits Shrimp Welfare Venture to deal with each acute and long-term struggling in shrimp farming.

Outreach:

• Shrimp welfare landed a major time highlight on The Day by day Present, when Co-Founder and Board Chair Andrés Jiménez Zorrilla was interviewed by comic Ronny Chieng for a hilarious but surprisingly insightful section.
• Shrimp Welfare Venture attended a number of conferences, together with the Barcelona Seafood Expo—the place Chief Programmes Officer Krzysztof Wojtas spoke on a shrimp welfare panel—and EAG London, the place The Day by day Present section was featured throughout the opening remarks.
• Analysis & Coverage Lead Shannon Davis co-authored a ebook with Ren Ryba, Yip Fai Tse, and Peter Singer, “Shrimp and Prawn Welfare within the Wild-Caught Fishing Trade,” which is scheduled to be printed on September 26, 2025.

Sinergia Animal

$161,337 grant

Between February and July 2025, Sinergia Animal superior high-impact packages that enhance the lives of farmed animals worldwide:

• Company Commitments: Sinergia Animal helped safe 15 new company commitments to enhance animal welfare. Highlights embody a world cage-free egg dedication from Juan Valdez (a Colombian espresso chain with 630 shops worldwide) for 2030, and a cage-free egg coverage from ONYX Hospitality Group throughout 4 Asian nations.. After a six-month marketing campaign in Brazil, Aurora Coop dedicated to a system that confirms being pregnant earlier than implantation in new models, that means that every one three main pork producers (BRF, JBS, and Aurora) within the nation will section out gestation crates for breeding sows upon being pregnant affirmation in new farms.
• Institutional Food plan Change: Via its Nourishing Tomorrow program in Argentina, Sinergia secured agreements to implement plant-based kiosks in 28 municipal faculties (serving 10,000 youngsters) and supply day by day plant-based meals to six,714 youngsters below three. This achievement has the potential to interchange animal merchandise with plant-based alternate options in over 524,000 meals yearly.
• World Advocacy: As a part of the World Day of Motion, Sinergia and accomplice teams urged the World Financial institution Group to cease financing manufacturing facility farming through demonstrations on the Financial institution’s workplaces in a number of nations. In coalition with the Cease Financing Manufacturing facility Farming marketing campaign, Sinergia helped block a €40 million funding by the European Financial institution for Reconstruction and Improvement into fast-food chains like Burger King and Popeyes, a major victory within the combat to make sure public funds with low rates of interest are usually not used to increase manufacturing facility farming.
• Investigations & Public Consciousness: Sinergia Animal launched impactful investigations, together with exposing deceptive caged eggs offered as “Joyful Eggs” in Argentina, and documenting stunning circumstances at an egg provider of Productos Ramo, Colombia’s 4th largest producer of industrialized baked merchandise. In Brazil, Sinergia’s crew marked one 12 months since its Danone dairy investigation was launched with avenue protests.
• Motion Constructing: Sinergia continued to increase its communities in Latin America and Southeast Asia, forming and empowering a neighborhood of over 500 new activists, to strengthen the attain and impression of its campaigns.

The Humane League

$233,042 grant

• The Humane League (THL) is laser-focused on holding firms accountable for finishing their transition to cage-free housing methods by the top of 2025. Between February-July, public accountability studies like THL’s 2025 eggposé and hard-hitting campaigns pressured 87 firms to report on the progress they’re making in direction of their commitments, revealing a further 4.9 million hens that had been spared from cages final 12 months.
• As of July, within the US, over 45% of the egg-laying flock lives free from cages for the primary time—practically 100 million extra hens than when THL started their work a decade in the past.
• The Open Wing Alliance (OWA) awarded $1,689,461 in grants to 23 organizations throughout 20 nations and administered $858,018 in second-year 2024 grants—over 25 instances extra grant funding than OWA’s first granting 12 months in 2017.
• The OWA printed the European Rooster Dedication (ECC) Progress Report. They discovered that greater than 260 million chickens raised for meat are spared from among the worst and most widespread abuses on manufacturing facility farms, and practically 400 company commitments will spare 1.3 billion chickens as soon as fulfilled.
• The OWA hosted dynamic marketing campaign accelerator workshops in Africa, Asia, and Latin America, deepening THL’s international impression and strengthening alliances.
• In June, THL launched The World’s Largest Egg Investigation with investigators in 37 nations. In response, 8 firms reported progress towards their cage-free targets and three fulfilled their commitments. An egg farm housing over 46,000 hens in Bulgaria completely shut down after an OWA member group introduced investigation footage to native authorities.
• THL joined a coalition, led by the Humane World for Animals, as an intervenor in a brand new lawsuit making an attempt to overturn California’s Proposition 12, filed by the US Division of Justice. THL can be mobilizing supporters to contact Congress to maintain dangerous language out of the Farm Invoice.

Wild Animal Initiative

$242,005 grant

• Wild Animal Initiative introduced at high-impact conferences, together with:

• AI for Animals and AI, Animals & Digital Thoughts, exploring intersections between AI and wild animal welfare.
• Worldwide Congress for Conservation Biology, selling welfare-integrated conservation and administration.
• Seminars had been held at UC Davis and UCLA, the place researchers introduced core ideas of untamed animal welfare science and mentioned case research.
• The NYU Wild Animal Welfare Summit, strengthening collaboration throughout academia.
• Wrapped up our five-part seminar sequence on Wild Animal Lives Via a Welfare Lens, co-delivered with the Royal Veterinary School and the Institute of Zoology as a part of their MSc in Wild Animal Biology.
• Hosted a Europe-based grantee meetup and digital grantee espresso hours to construct neighborhood and share methodological insights.
• Introduced our grantees for the newest Name for Proposals with precedence subjects equivalent to welfare indicators, interspecies interactions, juvenile welfare, and fish and invertebrate welfare.
• Superior key analysis initiatives, together with
  • The EU-funded COST Motion ‘LIFT’ venture, which identifies long-term welfare biomarkers (e.g., oxidative stress) and promotes educational collaboration.
  • A evaluate of veterinarians’ roles in wild animal analysis and coaching 14 UniLaSalle college students in wild animal welfare strategies.
  • Their in-house area research on home sparrows, validating area welfare indicators in sparrows and assessing city environmental impacts.
  • A evaluate on accidents and deformities in wild fish as potential welfare indicators, resulting in an instructional paper on the topic.
  • A forthcoming analysis agenda on pesticides to information future insect welfare research.
  • A commentary encouraging behavioral scientists to combine affective states into research design for extra moral, dependable knowledge.
• Printed a number of new weblog posts, together with a highlight on Analysis Supervisor Michaël Beaulieu, reflections on 2025 Spring internships, an expanded Core Ideas sequence, and a bit on a grantee’s analysis targeted on growing near-term welfare interventions.

We hope that you’re impressed by these achievements! If you wish to gas extra optimistic progress for uncared for animals, please assist ACE’s Really useful Charity Fund and share this replace with a buddy. Your motion right this moment will assist cut back animal struggling tomorrow. Thanks!

About Heather Herrell

Heather joined ACE in 2018, persevering with her skilled profession within the nonprofit sector. A lifelong animal advocate and donor, she is dedicated to making a extra compassionate world for all creatures. Heather is happy to make use of her fundraising experience in a context the place these abilities can assist obtain the best optimistic impression for animals.

ACE is devoted to making a world the place all animals can thrive, no matter their species. We take the
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167
Recipients engaged on promising initiatives

42
Nations throughout six continents.

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Donations inside the animal advocacy motion.