Saturday is international & global development day on The Grant Brief.

Three very different doors into global-development funding: a multi-billion-dollar science and global-health funder, an evidence-driven innovation fund, and a small family foundation working in East Africa. Very different scales and odds, all genuinely open.

What we know: Open Philanthropy rebranded to Coefficient Giving in November 2025 and has directed more than $4 billion in grants across global health, scientific R&D, and pandemic preparedness. Its former program areas are now "funds" open to outside donors. It accepts unsolicited proposals through its apply form, but most of its grantmaking is proactively sourced, so a cold application is a long shot. The most concrete near-term opening is a live RFP, "Improving Global Health and Wellbeing in an Era of Transformative AI," which closes August 21, 2026. Coefficient is unusually transparent and unusually demanding on cost-effectiveness evidence.

Realistic fit: research, policy, and implementation organizations with rigorous, cost-effectiveness-oriented global-health work, especially anything touching the AI-and-health RFP. Strongest if your case is quantitative and your team is known in the field.

What we know: DIV is an evidence-driven, open innovation fund backing solutions that cost-effectively improve the lives of people living in poverty. It funds in three tiers: Stage 1 pilots up to $200,000, Stage 2 testing up to $500,000 (exceptional cases to $750,000), and Stage 3 scaling up to $1.5 million. Applications are rolling, and the bar is rigorous evidence: a credible path to measuring impact and scaling cost-effectively, not just a promising idea.

Realistic fit: innovators, researchers, and implementers with a testable intervention in a low- or middle-income country and a real plan to generate evidence and scale. Genuinely winnable on the merits; the gate is the strength of your evidence.

What we know: A small family foundation, 24 grants totaling $6.2 million in its latest year, with an $18,500 median. Most disclosed giving goes to Minnesota organizations, but it runs a dedicated international program funding work throughout Africa, especially the Iringa area of Southern Tanzania, often in partnership with Daughters of Charity International Project Services. Intake is through a Letter of Inquiry.

Realistic fit: organizations already operating in East Africa, particularly Tanzania, or working alongside Daughters of Charity. Given its size and family-directed giving, treat this as a relationship-driven ask, not a cold application.

The honest read: only DIV is winnable primarily on the strength of your proposal. Coefficient rewards a quantitative, field-credible case; the King Foundation rewards an existing footprint in the region.