About Animal Charity Evaluators
What is Animal Charity Evaluators?
Animal Charity Evaluators (ACE) says its mission is "to find and promote the most effective ways to help animals." It works toward that by "identifying where donations can best help animals and awarding grants to promising projects that help animals around the globe." Its charity evaluations produce a list of Recommended Charities each year, and its Recommended Charity Fund and Movement Grants programs award grants to animal advocacy groups. It describes itself as a "501(c)(3) nonprofit registered in the United States with a globally distributed team."
The 32-hour week
On April 1, 2025, ACE "launched a one-year trial of a 4-day, 32-hour workweek". Its blog post of 4 October 2026 reports that the trial "has now concluded" and that its Board of Directors has "approved a 32-hour week default as permanent policy." During the trial all staff took part and the organization "closed entirely on Fridays". The post reports 19 of 21 KPIs met, a staff experience score of 8.08 out of 10 against a target of 7.5, all but one staff member voting to continue, and zero departures linked to the trial. Its quarterly wellbeing surveys, which compared staff against their own pre-trial baselines, showed burnout down 11.1% and work-life balance up 11.8%.
The post also says what changes now. Teams and individuals "can now structure their 32 hours differently", whether that means keeping the four-day week, spreading hours evenly across five days or taking a partial Friday, and "Fridays remain free of internal meetings for everyone". Directors can designate "peak periods" capped at 8 weeks a year when a team returns to 40 hours, which "works out to roughly a 33-hour week" averaged across the year. The post says "a 32-hour week at full pay" is, in effect, a raise.
Where will I work?
ACE's Join Our Team page says "We offer a fully remote environment with flexible schedules, a competitive salary and benefits, and a supportive, collaborative culture", and notes that "all positions are remote". Its postal address is in Covina, California, but the organization works from a virtual office. At the time of writing the page lists no open staff or fellowship positions; its last posting was a Researcher role at "32-40 hours/week".
What is the ACE team like?
ACE asks team members to share its guiding principles: "We are anti-speciesist", "We seek evidence", "We welcome diverse perspectives", "We do the most good that we can", "We are transparent" and "We are compassionate". Its Transparency pages publish its policies, board minutes and financials, and its blog explains the reasoning behind decisions such as the move to a shorter week.
Work-Life Balance
The 32-hour week is the main measure: full pay for four days, or the same hours spread across five, with meeting-free Fridays for everyone. The post also names "permanent uncapped sick leave" among the wellbeing measures, and says Friday and Saturday public holidays are observed on the Friday.
Perks and Benefits
- A permanent 32-hour default workweek
- Fully remote work from a virtual office
- Fridays free of internal meetings
- Permanent uncapped sick leave
- Friday and Saturday public holidays observed on the Friday