Our Story
Mieux Donner, founded in June 2024 by Jennifer and Romain, was born of a shared desire to help as many people as possible. We realised that many people want to make a difference but lack information about what works best, particularly in France where there is little research available in French on the effectiveness of charities. Our mission is to fill this gap by working with independent, internationally recognised evaluators of charities, whose research we bring to the French-speaking world in an accessible way.
Our approach
How do we choose our recommended charities?
Given the complexity of identifying the most effective charities, we do the research for you. Our rigorous selection covers the fields of global health, development, animal welfare and climate change, allowing you to optimise your donations without tedious research.
The charities we recommend have been meticulously assessed by recognised experts: GiveWell for global health, EA Animal Welfare Funds for animal protection, and Giving Green for climate change. Their considerable positive impact is backed up by thousands of hours of in-depth studies and solid evidence.
The Founders
Romain Barbe
After developing sustainable solutions at an electric bicycle startup, Romain's path took a transformative turn. He discovered how effectiveness principles could be used to help others, and he committed to donating 10% of his income to high-impact organizations and sought ways to multiply his positive influence on the world.
Today, as a co-founder of Mieux Donner, Romain combines his engineering expertise with his passion for social impact, helping French speakers maximize their charitable giving.
Jennifer Stretton
After leading marketing for a UK financial company, Jen's love for the mountains drew her to the French Alps in 2017. There, she built a successful marketing consultancy while becoming an International Mountain Leader. A transformative moment came in 2021 when Peter Singer's "The Life You Can Save" opened her eyes to the possibilities of strategic giving, leading her to pledge 10% of her income to high-impact organizations.
At Mieux Donner, Jen leads marketing strategy and provides guidance to English-speaking donors, combining her business acumen with her dedication to effective altruism. When not optimizing charitable impact, you'll find her exploring mountain trails or on meditation retreats.
The Team
Ombline is a 360° communications professional, combining editorial strategy, press relations and social networking. She manages Mieux Donner's communications strategy, from the design of action plans to their operational implementation.
Jaspreet is an experienced UX designer with expertise in user research and interaction design. He is responsible for the UX design of the Mieux Donner website.
Astrid Casadei
Astrid is a volunteer for Mieux Donner, and generously offers her time to proofread content.
Advisory board
Anne Schulz
Anne is co-founder of Effektiv Spenden, the organization we partner with to offer tax deductibility to Swiss donors. She has worked for the Boston Consulting Group and SEEK Development, an international development strategy consultancy.
Steve is co-founder of Training for Good and Program Director for AIM, a charity incubator that has successfully launched over 30 effective charities. He has 20 years’ experience in entrepreneurship, business consulting, leadership development and coaching.
Mata'i heads up several animal rights NGOs in France and is the general delegate for the World Day for the End Fishing. He provides tax advice to our donors and is our legal adviser.
Activity Reports
We are part of a global 'effective
generosity' movement.
FAQ
We are independently funded by philanthropic donors. In July 2024, our founders took part in a charity incubation program and secured €86,000 in donations in order to fund our operations for one year. By the end of year 1, our ambitious goal is to raise €1m for the most effective charities in the world. At the very least, we aim to raise twice as much for charity as we spend in year one. Contact us if you would like to support our work.
(Donations to Mieux Donner’s operations are tax deductible in France)
The majority of our costs are related to staff salaries, operations (CRM, bank charges, website, etc.), transport and events. The salaries of the co-founder are as follows
Full-time remuneration for the co-founder, Romain Barbe, €1,975 gross plus allowances (mobility, teleworking, value-sharing bonus)
2/3-time salary for co-founder Jennifer Stretton, €0 gross. Jennifer is a mountain guide. She works almost every day during the 3 summer months and January, which allows her to volunteer the rest of her time for Mieux Donner.
We try to keep the running costs of Mieux Donner to a minimum and our annual budget is less than 120,000 euros.
In June 2024 Romain and Jennifer both took part in AIM’s charity incubator program. This competitive three month program takes entrepreneurial types from around the world, matches them with a cofounder and sends them off to launch a high impact charity. In July 2024 Romain and Jennifer successfully secured €86,000 in donations in order to fund Mieux Donner’s operations for one year. Their goal is to help as many people and animals as possible by educating people in France and Switzerland about the most effective charities to donate to.
If you are motivated to have a huge impact, work with likeminded people and shape a new organisation. We’re looking for volunteers with some of the following skills;
Enthusiastic generalists!
Web development
Copywriting skills
Social media marketing
BOTEC calculation of charity impact
Event volunteers
French language proficiency (not necessary for all of our volunteers)
Connections
If you know any people who live in France or Switzerland who would be interested in donating to effective charities, being an ambassador on social media or volunteering with us. Please put them in touch.
Mieux Donner was founded by Romain Barbe and Jennifer Stretton. They are supported by their legal board, team of volunteers and board of advisors.
Yes – Mieux Donner is a registered 1901 non profit in France: SIREN : 93040775400017. Donations to finance our operational costs are tax-deductible.
Questions?
If you have any questions or would like to talk to Jennifer or Romain about giving advice, please don't hesitate to contact us.