Ultra Philanthropy
Highly Impactful Philanthropy Advice
Ultra Philanthropy partners with major donors who prioritize impact in their giving. We provide bespoke advice on impact strategy and donation portfolios, to help you build your philanthropic legacy.
Our guiding principles
Your biggest lever for impact is where you choose to give
The highest performing nonprofits are consistently measured to be 2-3 orders of magnitude more cost-effective than the average. All donors have some limit on how much they can give; but they can achieve significantly more impact by picking a better grant, without increasing how much they are donating. We specialize in finding grants that have exceptionally strong evidence of effectiveness; and which are highly cost-effective, so you can maximize the impact of your resources.
Lives & suffering matter the same everywhere
We believe that suffering is the same moral tragedy, wherever it takes place. A three-year old dying in Uganda is the same tragedy as a three-year old dying in the US. We are therefore location-agnostic, finding the highest impact grants without geographic limitations. The priority is getting the most help to the most people or animals - not where those people or animals are living. This allows us to find the best grant opportunities globally.
You should know how your portfolio is performing
If you invest money with your wealth manager, they tell you regularly how your portfolio is performing. Curiously, many nonprofits and many donation advisories expect you to give on trust. Whether you choose to base your philanthropy in sure bets or moonshots (or a mixture of the two), we will agree with you exactly how we intend to measure the impact of your giving, and report back every quarter, without you having to ask.
We specialize in values-driven, exclusive partnerships
Our clients want to prioritize impact, and understand that this requires expertise. We work to understand and inform your approach to impact, creating customized grant recommendations that align evidence-based, cost-effective grants with your own judgement. We offer partnerships, not simple service delivery. This allows us to focus on being a true thought partner to each donor, ultimately empowering you to build your impact portfolio.
Photo Credit : Heidi Scherm Fotografie
Jack Lewars, Founder
Jack has worked in the nonprofit sector for 14 years. He advises approximately $2bn in wealth through Ultra Philanthropy.
Before UP, Jack spent 5 years as Executive Director of One for the World, a global nonprofit dedicated to effective giving in extreme poverty and global health. In this role, he oversaw over $5m in grant-making in line with the latest global health research. He also personally advised donors giving up to $500k per year, building bespoke portfolios for larger donors.
A critical part of this role was also developing close relationships with leading global health evaluators and incubators, including GiveWell, Open Philanthropy, Rethink Priorities, Founders Pledge and Ambitious Impact. These relationships now inform his grant-making in global health, animal welfare, climate change and global catastrophic risk.
Before One for the World, Jack was the first member of staff at the School of Hard Knocks, a UK nonprofit that uses sport and mentoring to help at-risk children complete their education, growing it to employ 50 staff and operate in 5 countries. He has served on nonprofit boards since the age of 18, is currently the Executive Chairman of High Impact Athletes and holds an MA in Classics from the University of Cambridge.