1% for Humanity exists to inspire sustainable, diversified Humanitarian giving that fights extreme poverty and injustice. 


why 1% of income?

Just one-tenth of 1% of income in the United States is donated to international affairs charities. Meanwhile over $400 billion is given to charitable causes within our borders.*

We're inviting you to join a sustainable, committed movement of increased humanitarian giving. When donors determine and commit to giving a consistent percentage of their income that is both appropriate to their values and sustainable for their budget, they are enabled to give most effectively over the long-term in a way which is most beneficial for recipient field organizations who do the life-saving work we support.

The 1% figure is a minimum standard that a large number of participants can afford to maintain as a regular part of their budget. We realize that many individuals give to other areas outside the focus of extreme poverty and injustice and would like to simply suggest that at least 1% should be donated to address these most urgent, persisting global crises. 1% may not sound like much but as you can see above it’s actually ten times the current average. Our hope is that many people will step into the 1% commitment as an intentional way of acknowledging and addressing these ongoing issues.

*Sources: Giving USA and The World Bank

PLEASE NOTE: Statistics and data above were last updated in 2018


why global causes?

95% of charitable giving from the U.S. private-sector supports non-profit causes within the U.S, with a fraction of a fraction of one percent of Americans' income being donated to organizations for work addressing extreme poverty in the world's poorest places. 

Annually, the people and companies of the U.S. donate over $427 billion to charity and we believe a higher proportion of these gifts should be used to support work that alleviates the most urgent forms of poverty and injustice around the world. A few statistical examples to illustrate the distribution of absolute poverty from a global perspective:

  • 99.5% of the world's child deaths (over 15,000 per day, under the age of five) occur outside of the U.S. with the vast majority of preventable deaths occurring in developing countries. More than half of these deaths are considered to be preventable (7,500+ child lives per day could be saved).

  • 99% of maternal mortality (830 mothers per day) occurs in developing countries. Most of these deaths can be prevented when obstetric care is provided.

  • Wealthy countries have reduced mother-to-child transmission of HIV to under 1%. Transmission rates in poor countries range between 25% to 45%. These rates can be reduced to below 5% with interventions during pregnancy, delivery and infancy.

  • 663 million people still lack access to clean water globally.

  • 2.3 billion people (1 in 3 worldwide) lack access to an adequate toilet or sanitation.

  • 52 million children under the age of five suffer from acute malnutrition worldwide and 97% of these children are in Africa or Asia.

  • Worldwide there are 65.6 million forcibly displaced people who have fled their homes due to conflict or persecution, and 99% of them live outside of the U.S.

  • 45.8 million people are trapped in modern slavery worldwide and 99% of them live outside of North America.

With limited resources to give, we believe it makes sense to prioritize the most urgent levels of need. We're asking for everyday people to recognize the absolute need that exists in other parts of the world and to adjust their charitable giving strategy to include long-term support for work that literally saves lives and helps people who experience the worst forms of extreme poverty and injustice.

Sources: Giving USA, World Health Organization, MSF, UNHCR, Global Slavery Index

PLEASE NOTE: Statistics and data above were last updated in 2018


why monthly giving?

Consistent, committed donations sustain nonprofit programs and allow recipient organizations to budget most accurately and effectively long-term. Hence, monthly recurring gifts help donors to maximize their impact and we encourage them to choose a sustainable giving amount that works long-term within their personal monthly budget.