When you choose to give with intention, your impact can outlast any moment. It can shape a future.
At Thrive, we believe that a school meal does more than just meeting a child’s food needs for a day. It is an investment in a legacy that strengthens families, communities, and generations.
In a world full of fleeting trends, the transformation that begins with a nourished mind endures.
The Proof of the Ripple: Shumi’s Journey
To understand the power of a legacy gift, look at Shumi.
Growing up in the Korail slums of Bangladesh, Shumi’s future was a question mark. For many families in her community, the daily reality is a heartbreaking calculation: “Do we send our child to school to learn, or do we send them to work so we can eat?” It is a cycle of poverty that has persisted for generations, fueled by the immediate, desperate need for survival.
Shumi’s family chose education because they knew that every day at her JAAGO school, a nutritious meal would be waiting for her. That single meal removed the “hunger tax” on her education. It meant her parents didn’t have to worry about where her lunch would come from, allowing them to focus on other essential needs.
Even during the global pandemic, when schools across the world shuttered their doors, Thrive’s commitment didn’t waver. Our emergency food packs ensured Shumi didn’t have to drop out to find manual labor to support her family.
Today, the girl who once relied on those school meals is a college student aspiring to be a doctor. Shumi is chasing a dream she never had to put on hold because of hunger.
When you give to Thrive, you are funding the “Shumis” of the world—children who will eventually lead their communities out of poverty and become the very doctors, teachers, and engineers their nations need.
More Than a Meal: A 35x Return on Investment
Investing in school meals is not just an act of charity; it is one of the most effective economic catalysts in the developing world. When we look at the data, the return on investment (ROI) for school feeding programs is staggering, rivaling some of the most successful venture capital investments in the private sector.
The data is clear: universal school meals yield between 2.5 and 7 times return in direct human health and economic benefits. Furthemore, when we look deeper with wider impact analyses—factoring in long-term gains in higher education attainment, social protection, and local agricultural stimulation—the benefit-cost ratio can reach as high as 35:1.
How does a simple meal create such a massive return?
- The Attendance Anchor: Nutrition is the primary driver for keeping children in the classroom. When meals are guaranteed, enrollment rates skyrocket, particularly for girls, who are often the first to be pulled from school when resources are scarce.
- Cognitive and Academic Performance: A hungry child cannot focus. Nutrition provides the literal brain power required to master complex subjects, leading to better test scores and higher graduation rates.
- Health and Longevity: By addressing malnutrition during critical developmental years, we reduce the lifetime burden of chronic illness, creating a healthier, more productive workforce for the future.
Strengthening the Local Fabric: The Community Impact
Thrive’s model goes beyond feeding. We believe that for a program to be truly sustainable, it must be rooted in the community it serves. Whether in the bustling urban centers of Bangladesh or the rural provinces of the Philippines, we build systems that empower locals.
Our “Mom-Cook” groups are a prime example of this. In many of the areas where we operate, Thrive creates jobs for local women, providing them with training in food safety and nutrition. This doesn’t just provide them with a steady income; it grants them agency and a leadership role in their child’s education.
Furthermore, we prioritize sourcing our ingredients from local smallholder farmers. By connecting school kitchens to local agriculture, your donation does double duty: it feeds a child and provides a stable market for a farmer. This circular economy ensures that your holiday gift stays within the community, building local wealth and resilience that lasts long after the meal has been eaten.
Strategic Giving in 2025: Maximizing Your Impact
Many US-based donors are looking for the most efficient ways to build their philanthropic legacy while navigating a changing tax landscape. The way you give can be just as impactful as the amount you give.
To maximize the reach of your holiday gift and potentially lower your tax burden, consider these high-impact mechanisms:
- Appreciated Securities: Donating stocks, bonds, or mutual funds that have increased in value is often more tax-efficient than giving cash. You can avoid capital gains tax while receiving a deduction for the full fair market value of the asset.
- Donor-Advised Funds (DAFs): A DAF allows you to make a significant contribution now—securing a major tax deduction for the 2025 tax year—and then recommend grants to Thrive over the coming months or years. It’s an excellent tool for long-term legacy planning.
- IRA Qualified Charitable Distributions (QCDs): For donors aged 70½ or older, a QCD is a powerful tool. You can transfer up to $100,000 directly from your IRA to Thrive. This counts toward your Required Minimum Distribution (RMD) but is excluded from your adjusted gross income, which can be a significant benefit even for those who do not itemize.
- Strategic “Bunching”: Given the 2025 deduction floors and caps, some donors are choosing to “bunch” two or three years of planned giving into a single calendar year. This allows them to exceed the standard deduction threshold and maximize their tax benefits in a single year.
The Vision: 30,000 Served by 2030
Our mission is ambitious, but with the support of our Legacy Builders, it is entirely achievable. We are currently on a roadmap to feed 30,000 children every single school day by the year 2030.
This isn’t just a numerical target; it is a commitment to 30,000 individual lives. It is 30,000 families who no longer have to choose between food and school. It is 30,000 potential stories just like Shumi’s. By scaling our operations in the Philippines and Bangladesh, we are not just providing relief; we are providing the foundation for a new era of prosperity in these regions.
Join the Legacy Builders Circle
By joining us this holiday season, you aren’t just making a donation. You are becoming an architect of a more equitable world. You are ensuring that in the communities we serve, hunger is never the reason a future doctor, teacher, or community leader has to stay home.
Give a gift that grows. Give a gift that educates.
oin our Legacy Builders Circle and watch your impact ripple for generations.
