Unorthodox Philanthropy (UP) funds social impact ideas that have the potential to achieve outsized impact with a finite amount of philanthropic capital. We uncover ideas through a diverse network of scouts – creative thinkers, connectors, and agitators in their fields – and consider ideas from any sector or geography.
UP is sponsored by the Lampert Byrd Foundation in San Francisco, and grew out of our previous efforts to identify extraordinary ideas, including a 2010 challenge that helped to launch GiveDirectly, our 2013 Unorthodox Prize awarded to Evidence Aid, and our seed support of New Incentives. UP works closely with the team at the Global Development Incubator to source, vet, and support our awardees.