Nick Kristof Names Helen Keller Intl as 2025 Holiday Impact Prize Honoree
Helen Keller will receive $380,000 award plus reader donations and a $500,000 match from the Reaching the Last Mile Fund
Bloomberg Philanthropies will match all reader donations to the 2025 Holiday Impact Prize campaign, benefiting three honoree organizations
For Immediate Release
NEW YORK, November 22, 2025 – Nicholas Kristof, two-time Pulitzer Prize winner and New York Times columnist, announced that Helen Keller Intl will be honored as a recipient of this year’s Holiday Impact Prize. Kristof’s annual holiday columns have helped bridge a philanthropic gap between readers who want to help but didn’t know how and heroic organizations that need resources but are off donors’ radars. Helen Keller is proud to be recognized for our efforts to combat and eliminate neglected tropical diseases.
Affecting more than one billion people worldwide, neglected tropical diseases can cause a host of disabling conditions. For over 70 years, Helen Keller has partnered with governments and communities to provide simple, but effective medications to help free tens of millions of people from the threat of these devastating illnesses. But abrupt funding cuts have put the lives of more than 100 million people and decades of progress at dire risk. Restarting critical drug treatments will help prevent the resurgence of disease and ensure healthier futures for generations to come.
“Helen Keller’s optimism that some of these neglected tropical diseases can be eliminated in our lifetimes is a powerful reminder of what’s possible when determination meets collective action,” New York Times columnist Nicholas Kristof said. “On my first trip to West Africa in 1982, I saw people infected with river blindness and trachoma, reduced to begging while their children were pulled from school to guide them. The suffering was immense, yet the solutions were so inexpensive. For the cost of a postage stamp, we can end needless suffering – and empower communities.”
As one of three honorees, Helen Keller will receive an initial cash award of $380,000 plus donations from readers, who helped raise more than $17 million collectively for last year’s honorees. For the first time in the prize’s history, Bloomberg Philanthropies will generously match all reader donations to the Holiday Impact Prize campaign through January 31, 2026, to help these three remarkable organizations further their impact.
In addition, the first $500,000 raised for Helen Keller, either through our own website or KristofImpact.org, will be matched dollar for dollar by the Reaching the Last Mile Fund.
“Today, millions of children and families are struggling to stay safe from blinding and debilitating diseases. A whole generation is at risk. Now is the time to draw on the courage of our founder, who overcame great odds to courageously stand with her fellow human beings,” said Sarah Bouchie, President and CEO of Helen Keller Intl. “We’re calling on all generous people to step into this moment together and ensure a healthy future for millions of people.”
Since 2009, Kristof’s annual “holiday gift guide” in The New York Times has raised the profiles of little-known organizations making an impact on issues he covers – health, education, climate, human rights and women’s rights.
Over the past six years, the annual appeal has raised more than $59 million for those nonprofits and created transformative impact for over 2.1 million people around the world who have benefited from their services.
Learn more and donate at KristofImpact.org.
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About Helen Keller Intl
Guided by its founder’s remarkable legacy, Helen Keller Intl works to improve the lives of people around the world by protecting vision, enhancing nutrition, and fighting disease. Working in 20 countries – across Africa, Asia, Europe, and the United States – and together with a global community of supporters, the organization helps to ensure millions of children and family members have the opportunity – as Helen did – to reach their true potential.
About the Holiday Impact Prize
Since 2009, two-time Pulitzer Prize winner and New York Times columnist Nicholas Kristof has written an annual “holiday gift guide” column to bridge a philanthropic gap: readers who want to help but don’t know how, and nonprofits that are not on most donors’ radar but deliver high impact and can do much more if they have the resources. The column has helped raise the profiles of organizations that work on the very issues he covers in his journalism—health, education, human rights and women’s rights, both domestically and abroad.
Since 2019, Kristof has awarded a Holiday Impact Prize to the nonprofits he showcases. The prize includes an initial cash award plus donations from readers who have helped raise more than $59 million over the past seven years.
Anyone looking to join in and make a difference can donate through January 31, 2026, by visiting KristofImpact.org.
About Bloomberg Philanthropies
Bloomberg Philanthropies invests in 700 cities and 150 countries around the world to ensure better, longer lives for the greatest number of people. The organization focuses on creating lasting change in five key areas: the Arts, Education, Environment, Government Innovation, and Public Health. Bloomberg Philanthropies encompasses all of Michael R. Bloomberg’s giving, including his foundation, corporate and personal philanthropy as well as Bloomberg Associates, a philanthropic consultancy that advises cities around the world. In 2024, Bloomberg Philanthropies distributed $3.7 billion. To sign up for our Impact Newsletter, please visit bloomberg.org/newsletter. For more information, please visit bloomberg.org or follow us on Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, Twitter and LinkedIn.
About the Reaching the Last Mile Fund
The Reaching the Last Mile Fund (RLMF) is a global coalition of countries, donors, and partners collaborating to accelerate the elimination of two neglected tropical diseases – onchocerciasis, or river blindness, and lymphatic filariasis – in Africa and Yemen. Guided by the expertise and priorities of African governments and local partners, RLMF works hand-in-hand with countries to fast-track national NTD programs, providing funding, tools, and technical expertise to accelerate progress toward elimination. Learn more at www.ReachingtheLastMileFund.com
About King Philanthropies
King Philanthropies backs high-performing organizations working to solve the world’s toughest challenges. Deploying grants and impact investments, King Philanthropies seeks to make a meaningful difference in the lives of the world’s poorest people by combating barriers to economic development and multiplying the impact of extraordinary leaders and organizations.
About Focusing Philanthropy
Focusing Philanthropy, a 501(c)3 nonprofit that finds and funds high-impact, scalable programs around the world, provides the platform for this initiative by processing readers’ contributions, monitoring and reporting on results, and replenishing credit card transaction costs of donations made on KristofImpact.org so that 100 cents on the dollar will support the winning organizations.
