Global Development

Creating clean energy products for outdoor recreation worldwide.

Wear What You Believe In.

Transforming lives through solar products.

Open-source AI for infectious and neglected-disease research.

Send money directly to people living in poverty.

We envision a world free from extreme poverty.

Acumen is a venture philanthropy organization that invests in visionary entrepreneurs building transformational companies from seed to scale. They focus on funding bold entrepreneurs who are creating inclusive solutions across sectors like sustainable agriculture, quality education, renewable energy, healthy communities, dignified jobs, and gender equality. Their mission is to break the cycle of poverty through patient capital investments in high-innovation, high-impact enterprises. They operate by deploying philanthropic capital to shape markets and support entrepreneurs who are addressing the world's toughest poverty-related challenges, investing where traditional funders won't. Acumen Ventures has established itself as a significant force in the impact investing ecosystem since 2001, with an A to Z directory of portfolio companies spanning over two decades. They matter because they've reinvented the rules of return, prioritizing impact alongside financial sustainability and helping to demonstrate that venture philanthropy can drive meaningful systemic change in underserved communities globally.

Airbnb.org is an independent U.S. 501(c)(3) public charity that pays for free, short-term housing for people affected by disasters and other crises. The organization launched in 2020 after eight years of crisis-housing work through Airbnb's Open Homes program, which began when a host named Shell offered her home at no charge after Hurricane Sandy in 2012. Airbnb.org is legally separate from Airbnb, Inc.; Airbnb covers the charity's operating costs, supplies access to its technology platform and services, and says it does not earn money from Airbnb.org-supported stays. The operating model is housing assistance rather than conventional grantmaking. Airbnb.org works with vetted local nonprofit partners that identify and refer eligible people, volunteers, first responders, refugees, and families traveling for medical care. Airbnb.org then funds bookings on Airbnb's platform. Hosts are generally paid as they would be for an ordinary stay and receive AirCover and specialized support; some separately choose to discount a stay, offer it free, or donate a portion of their payout. An Airbnb.org emergency-stay host should therefore not be described as synonymous with Airbnb's broader commercial-host community. Airbnb.org organizes its work around emergency-response stays, medical stays, and resettlement stays. Its official site says more than 60,000 hosts have helped provide housing to more than 250,000 people since the 2012 origin of the program. It separately reports 1.6 million nights of free emergency housing since Airbnb.org launched in 2020. Those are facilitated stays and nights, not a count of unique guests, grants, or dollars deployed. For January through June 2026, Airbnb.org reported 87 disaster responses, more than 28,000 nights provided, and 5,776 hosts who donated. It also reported that an Airbnb.org booking cost an average of US$110 per night globally over the preceding five years. These organization-reported operating measures show delivery capacity, but they are not assets under management, audited grant expenditures, or a committed funding pool.

Amazon Disaster Relief is an internal Amazon corporate disaster-response initiative. It is not AmazonSmile, not a donor-advised fund, and not a separately incorporated Amazon foundation. Amazon uses its inventory, fulfillment centers, disaster-relief hubs, transportation network, cloud and communications technology, employees, and cash or product donations to support vetted humanitarian organizations before, during, and after disasters. Amazon describes sustained response activity beginning in 2017. The model is predominantly operational and in-kind. Relief hubs pre-position commonly requested items; response teams coordinate with nonprofit and public-sector partners; Amazon transports donated products from its inventory and wish lists; and AWS or technical teams may provide cloud, connectivity, mapping, and recovery support. Announced retail value, item counts, flights, truckloads, and logistics capacity are different from cash grants and should not be added together as a grant total. Amazon's current disaster-relief pages and 2026 response stories show active deployments, including relief shipments tied to floods, fires, earthquakes, and other emergencies. Partners—not the general public—typically identify priority goods and distribution needs. The public Disaster Relief by Amazon portal is a partner logistics mechanism, not a general grant application. No organization-wide open funding round, broadly applicable cheque size, or AUM exists for this internal initiative.

The ASEAN Institute is a trade facilitation organization that focuses on fostering international and intergovernmental collaborations across Southeast Asia's ASEAN trade bloc, which includes Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, and Vietnam. Their primary focus areas are technology, energy, and infrastructure sectors, where they work to create productive channels for cross-border trade and development. The organization operates by facilitating communication, knowledge exchange, and technology transfer between public and private sector stakeholders across the ASEAN region. Their mission centers on strengthening economic cooperation by connecting global partners with local opportunities, creating meaningful bridges between international investors and Southeast Asian markets through strategic initiatives and structured collaboration programs. The ASEAN Institute plays a significant role in the Southeast Asian economic ecosystem by driving economic growth and innovation through their facilitation services. They matter because they provide essential infrastructure for cross-border collaboration in critical sectors like technology and energy, helping to strengthen the overall ASEAN trade bloc's competitiveness and integration in the global economy.

Bamboo Capital Partners is an impact investing platform that provides innovative financing solutions to businesses in emerging and frontier markets serving low- to middle-income populations. They focus primarily on four key sectors: financial inclusion, access to clean energy, access to healthcare, and agribusiness, where they identify mass-market opportunities for high growth and social impact. The organization operates as the asset management arm of global impact firm Palladium, which operates in over 100 countries. They bridge the gap between seed and growth stage funding through a full suite of finance options ranging from debt to equity, which they deploy either unilaterally or through strategic partnerships. Bamboo has established itself as a significant player in the impact investing ecosystem, having impacted 260 million lives, supported 100,000 jobs including 170,000 female jobs, served millions of patients, and helped avoid significant CO2 emissions. Their comprehensive impact management process deployed throughout the investment lifecycle and their focus on technology-driven solutions for underserved populations positions them as a catalyst for lasting social and environmental change in developing markets.

BESTSELLER Foundation is a Danish commercial foundation established in 2015. It is funded by BESTSELLER, the family-owned fashion company, but operates as a separate legal entity from both BESTSELLER A/S and HEARTLAND A/S. The foundation's current strategy focuses on expanding economic opportunity for women, particularly their ability to create, work, and own. Its work is organized around three areas: Creative industries, including fashion, craft, music, and the arts Future of work, including reskilling, childcare, and workforce participation Ownership, including assets, businesses, income, and financial decision-making BESTSELLER Foundation uses both donations and impact investments and describes itself as a long-term, evergreen investor. Over its first 10 years, it reports making more than 25 impact investments and 100 donations across 25 countries. Its geographic focus includes South Asia, especially Bangladesh, as well as Sub-Saharan Africa and Europe. Current and recent partnerships have supported women artisans, small businesses, workforce participation, water resilience, and recovery efforts following major disruptions. The foundation's legal purpose is broader than its current public strategy. Its statutory mandate includes humanitarian work, poverty reduction, entrepreneurship, agriculture, and nature conservation. Earlier investment strategies also placed significant emphasis on circular economy and climate technology. Financial Snapshot At the end of 2024, the foundation reported: - DKK 109.7 million in total assets - DKK 85.9 million in equity - DKK 88.4 million in long-term investments - Approximately DKK 20 million distributed during the year - Approximately DKK 18 million invested during the year BESTSELLER's board also approved a preliminary DKK 250 million commitment for the foundation's 2024 to 2029 strategy. This represents committed future support, not capital already deployed. The foundation does not publish a standard grant size, investment check range, or formal scored application process. Potential partners can contact the team through its website.