ACE aims to find and direct funding to charities helping animals the most per dollar, using their three evaluation criteria. They conduct research into the most impactful programs (promising interventions in significant/tractable/neglected causes) lead to the most impactful outcomes, and this research informs in-depth reviews of individual charities. These reviews generally include cost-effectiveness estimates in terms of "The amount of suffering averted per dollar", "The number of animals helped per dollar", "The number of individuals or companies engaged per dollar” — they regularly conduct theory of change analysis in their research.
Each year, ACE considers hundreds of potential charities to recommend, narrowing down the list using:
One distinctive part of their approach is that one of their three criteria when assessing charities is organisational health — the main goal is to “assess whether any aspects of an organization’s governance or work environment pose a risk to its effectiveness or stability, thereby reducing its potential to help animals.” They analyse culture using their engagement survey.