From lead-acid battery recycling to proven “great buys” in education—introducing our latest recommendations

Introducing our newest recommended ideas

Applications are now open to Charity Entrepreneurship’s August 2025 and February 2026 cohorts. As part of this, we are excited to share five new recommendations—each a promising opportunity for a co-founding pair looking to create high-impact organizations that help people live longer, healthier, and more fulfilling lives. 

In the latter half of 2024, we explored two key ideas:

1. Income and economic-growth-generating interventions

2. Potential replication of past recommendations  

   
   

Our latest recommendations span multiple sectors and approaches, including: 

• Evaluating existing organizations

• Scaling proven, cost-effective education interventions

• Expanding access to robust neonatal treatments

• Reducing risks from informal lead-acid battery recycling 

Below is a brief summary of each recommendation, with links to further details on our website. Full reports will be published in the week of February 17th. 

We extend our deep appreciation to the dozens of experts who contributed their time and insights and to the group of AIM Research Program fellows who supported this research agenda: Ashley Motta, Christine Tan, Emma Richardson, Karam Elabd, Micaella Rogers, Mitchell Laughlin, Soemano Zeijlmans, Thijs Jacobs, Vasco Amaral Grilo, and Veevek Doolabh.

Establishing an evaluator of livelihood-focused non-profits

We believe a pair of skilled co-founders with research and marketing expertise should launch a non-profit evaluator focused on interventions aimed at improving livelihoods, particularly for people living in low-resource settings. While several strong evaluators operate in this space, their moral weights often (though not always) prioritize saving lives over improving them. This may not align with the moral commitments or focus areas of some philanthropic funders.

We are excited by the prospect of contributing to a broader and more dynamic market of evaluators—one that ultimately drives increased donations to the very best non-profit work out there. 

More details and report (forthcoming)

Differentiated learning for foundational literacy and numeracy 

We recommend launching a non-profit that implements differentiated learning (DL) in neglected settings. Based on the Teaching at the Right Level program developed by NGO Pratham, DL groups children by learning level rather than age, providing targeted instruction to improve foundational literacy and numeracy. It is one of the most extensively studied education interventions in LMICs and consistently ranks among the most effective and cost-effective.

While it has been adopted in multiple countries, there remains a need for more high-quality implementers in new geographies—a gap we would be excited to help close. 

More details and report (forthcoming)

Kangaroo Care (KC) for low-birth-weight babies 

Following the incubation and early signs of success of AIM-incubated charity Ansh, we would be excited to see another new charity working to expand access to Kangaroo Care (KC).

KC is a low-cost, easy-to-administer neonatal care intervention proven to reduce neonatal mortality and morbidity. It involves skin-to-skin contact between low birth-weight babies and caregivers, offering a simple yet transformative solution—particularly in low-income countries that lack access to incubators. With nearly 1.9 million babies dying prematurely every year—80% of whom were born underweight—KC could have a significant impact.

We estimate that by embedding KC capacity in hospitals in high-burden countries like Pakistan, a new charity could reach 18,000 babies annually at scale, averting one disability-adjusted life year (DALY) for as little as $50. 

More details and report (forthcoming)

Advocacy for used lead-acid battery recycling regulation

The recycling of used lead-acid batteries (ULABs) is likely one of the largest sources of lead exposure. ULABs can be recycled in various ways, ranging from highly polluting, informal recycling sites to well-managed, formal recycling plants. This proposed charity would work with governments in LMICs to implement regulatory solutions that reduce the environmental and health hazards associated with ULAB recycling. Despite the magnitude of this issue, very little effort is currently directed toward solving it.

Building on the past incubation of the Lead Exposure Elimination Project (LEEP) and Lead Research for Action (LeRA), we would be eager to support a dedicated team focused specifically on ULAB recycling regulation.

More details and report (forthcoming)

Using mass communication to improve learning outcomes

Providing information about the benefits, costs, and quality of education—particularly when these factors are not widely recognized—has been shown in multiple studies to be a low-cost way to improve both attendance and learning outcomes. The Global Education Evidence Advisory Panel (GEEAP) highlights these interventions as “great buys” due to their evidence base and cost-effectiveness.

Despite their endorsement by experts and promising pilot studies, we feel there is a lack of cost-effectiveness-minded organizations delivering these interventions at scale and supporting other actors to do so. 

More details and report (forthcoming)

Apply to our program to help launch these organizations 

Unfamiliar with our program? The Charity Entrepreneurship Incubation Program is a free 2-month training program that helps you find an evidence-based idea for a new charity, a talented co-founder to build a new organization with, and up to $200,000 in seed funding. We have successfully incubated 40 charities, reaching 35+ million people and 1+ billion animals. Read about the success stories of some of our charities, or learn more about what it’s like to be on the program.

Apply Now