Open Philanthropy (OP) announced it is passing over the EA university group support portfolio to the Centre for Effective Altruism’s (CEA’s) University Groups Team. We are encouraged by OP’s endorsement and are excited to continue to support EA university groups around the world.
As part of this update, Open Philanthropy (OP) shared it will only accept applications from EA university groups for their University Organizer Fellowship until December 31, 2024. After that, the Fellowship will be unavailable for EA university group organizers.
Changes in funding can be confusing and/or disappointing. In this post (mostly aimed at university group organizers), we want to clarify what the EA university group support landscape will look like after these changes.
Most importantly, after December 31st:
OP will no longer pay part-time EA student group organizers for their time. CEA is exploring whether to offer financial support for organizers in the future (and we are looking for input!).
CEA has taken over funding full-time university group organizers (currently just two), and is exploring whether to expand this.
Previously both OP and CEA offered group expense funding for EA university groups. OP will stop doing this, so CEA expects to offer a larger number of Group Support Funding (GSF) grants, which cover group expenses such as snacks at events, funding for retreats, and banners for marketing.
It is important to note that “neither of these changes reflect any change in [OP’s] thinking on the value of student groups” — or ours. CEA remains excited about the impact of EA university groups, which introduce thousands of highly talented students around the world to EA ideas, and helps them act on them. And the University Groups Team is here to support organizers!
Want to contribute to making this transition go well, and help top university groups in particular? We will consider late applications to our Strategy Lead role until December 13th!
Group expenses, such as snacks at events, funding for retreats, and banners for marketing
Funding for part-time organizers (sometimes referred to as ‘stipends’)
Funding for full-time organizers
Below, we will detail what support remains available for these categories.
Any time a potential granting opportunity ceases to be available, it can disrupt future plans. We acknowledge that this might come as a disappointment to some of you. CEA’s University Groups Team is here to help you through this shift. If you have thoughts or questions, or are worried about how these shifts will affect your ability to keep your group thriving, please reach out to us over email or the EA Groups Slack. We are also available to chat.
What will the support landscape look like now?
Here is what the support landscape for EA university group organizers will look like going forward:
Group expenses
Until December 31st, you can still apply to get your group’s expenses covered under the University Organizer Fellowship.
If you are seeking group expense funding after December 31st, we encourage you to apply to CEA’s Group Support Funding (GSF). GSF covers many of the group expenses previously funded by OP, such as snacks at events, funding for retreats, and banners for marketing. One difference is that OP’s group expense funding was flexible and not tied to specific expenses, whereas GSF provides detailed guidelines, specifying amounts for specific expenses.
Note that OP will continue to offer funding for group expenses of AI Safety groups after December 31st.
Funding for part-time organizers
Until December 31st, part-time organizers can still apply to OP’s University Organizer Fellowship to receive funding for their time spent on running their EA university group.
After December 31st, OP will no longer be accepting applications from part-time organizers to receive funding for the time they spend on running their EA university group.
CEA thinks that financial support, especially if coupled with non-monetary support, could be a valuable part of the ecosystem. At the same time, we recognize the downsides OP articulated in their post. Due to this and current capacity constraints, we are not currently setting up the systems to provide part-time organizer financial support, but we are exploring whether to offer financial support for part-time organizers in the future. We expect to publish more writing on this topic in the future, ideally by summer.
We want to strongly consider input on this topic from organizers from around the world. As always, people can reach out to us at unigroups@centreforeffectivealtruism.org, or provide anonymous feedback here. We also encourage discussion in the comment section below!
Funding for full-time organizers
This summer, CEA took over funding from OP for the two full-time EA university group organizers. As part of our efforts to expand support for ‘pilot universities’, we are investigating what should happen in this space going forward, alongside our investigation into funding for part-time organizers.
There is currently no official application portal for new full-time organizers. We recommend people interested in running an EA university group full-time to get in touch with us through unigroups@centreforeffectivealtruism.org.
Continuing to grow the EA university group ecosystem
CEA remains deeply committed to supporting the EA university groups ecosystem. EA university groups have historically been a majorsource of introducing people to the ideas of and community around effective altruism. We think university groups are especially promising places to introduce people to EA ideas, and then help them learn more about and act on them.
The landscape of university group organizing is evolving, and we are actively engaging with stakeholders to determine the best ways to support organizers and ensure the success of these groups. Our goal remains to provide resources and tools that enable university groups around the world to thrive and grow.
We welcome feedback from organizers about the kinds of support you feel are most valuable, whether through our mentorship programs, funding mechanisms, or other resources. You can always reach us at unigroups@centreforeffectivealtruism.org, or leave anonymous feedback here.
Thank you to Alistair Bugg, Catherine Low, Heidi Basarab, and others for their input on this draft.
What do Open Philanthropy’s recent changes mean for university group organizers?
TLDR
Open Philanthropy (OP) announced it is passing over the EA university group support portfolio to the Centre for Effective Altruism’s (CEA’s) University Groups Team. We are encouraged by OP’s endorsement and are excited to continue to support EA university groups around the world.
As part of this update, Open Philanthropy (OP) shared it will only accept applications from EA university groups for their University Organizer Fellowship until December 31, 2024. After that, the Fellowship will be unavailable for EA university group organizers.
Changes in funding can be confusing and/or disappointing. In this post (mostly aimed at university group organizers), we want to clarify what the EA university group support landscape will look like after these changes.
Most importantly, after December 31st:
OP will no longer pay part-time EA student group organizers for their time. CEA is exploring whether to offer financial support for organizers in the future (and we are looking for input!).
CEA has taken over funding full-time university group organizers (currently just two), and is exploring whether to expand this.
Previously both OP and CEA offered group expense funding for EA university groups. OP will stop doing this, so CEA expects to offer a larger number of Group Support Funding (GSF) grants, which cover group expenses such as snacks at events, funding for retreats, and banners for marketing.
Various other CEA support services also remain available in the EA university groups ecosystem: our Organizer Support Program (OSP), the EA Groups Resource Centre, and the EA Groups Newsletter.
It is important to note that “neither of these changes reflect any change in [OP’s] thinking on the value of student groups” — or ours. CEA remains excited about the impact of EA university groups, which introduce thousands of highly talented students around the world to EA ideas, and helps them act on them. And the University Groups Team is here to support organizers!
Want to contribute to making this transition go well, and help top university groups in particular? We will consider late applications to our Strategy Lead role until December 13th!
What is changing?
As announced here, Tuesday, December 31, 2024 is the last day you can apply for OP’s University Organizer Fellowship.
The fellowship covered three kinds of expenses:
Group expenses, such as snacks at events, funding for retreats, and banners for marketing
Funding for part-time organizers (sometimes referred to as ‘stipends’)
Funding for full-time organizers
Below, we will detail what support remains available for these categories.
Any time a potential granting opportunity ceases to be available, it can disrupt future plans. We acknowledge that this might come as a disappointment to some of you. CEA’s University Groups Team is here to help you through this shift. If you have thoughts or questions, or are worried about how these shifts will affect your ability to keep your group thriving, please reach out to us over email or the EA Groups Slack. We are also available to chat.
What will the support landscape look like now?
Here is what the support landscape for EA university group organizers will look like going forward:
Group expenses
Until December 31st, you can still apply to get your group’s expenses covered under the University Organizer Fellowship.
If you are seeking group expense funding after December 31st, we encourage you to apply to CEA’s Group Support Funding (GSF). GSF covers many of the group expenses previously funded by OP, such as snacks at events, funding for retreats, and banners for marketing. One difference is that OP’s group expense funding was flexible and not tied to specific expenses, whereas GSF provides detailed guidelines, specifying amounts for specific expenses.
Note that OP will continue to offer funding for group expenses of AI Safety groups after December 31st.
Funding for part-time organizers
Until December 31st, part-time organizers can still apply to OP’s University Organizer Fellowship to receive funding for their time spent on running their EA university group.
After December 31st, OP will no longer be accepting applications from part-time organizers to receive funding for the time they spend on running their EA university group.
CEA thinks that financial support, especially if coupled with non-monetary support, could be a valuable part of the ecosystem. At the same time, we recognize the downsides OP articulated in their post. Due to this and current capacity constraints, we are not currently setting up the systems to provide part-time organizer financial support, but we are exploring whether to offer financial support for part-time organizers in the future. We expect to publish more writing on this topic in the future, ideally by summer.
We want to strongly consider input on this topic from organizers from around the world. As always, people can reach out to us at unigroups@centreforeffectivealtruism.org, or provide anonymous feedback here. We also encourage discussion in the comment section below!
Funding for full-time organizers
This summer, CEA took over funding from OP for the two full-time EA university group organizers. As part of our efforts to expand support for ‘pilot universities’, we are investigating what should happen in this space going forward, alongside our investigation into funding for part-time organizers.
There is currently no official application portal for new full-time organizers. We recommend people interested in running an EA university group full-time to get in touch with us through unigroups@centreforeffectivealtruism.org.
Continuing to grow the EA university group ecosystem
CEA remains deeply committed to supporting the EA university groups ecosystem. EA university groups have historically been a major source of introducing people to the ideas of and community around effective altruism. We think university groups are especially promising places to introduce people to EA ideas, and then help them learn more about and act on them.
The landscape of university group organizing is evolving, and we are actively engaging with stakeholders to determine the best ways to support organizers and ensure the success of these groups. Our goal remains to provide resources and tools that enable university groups around the world to thrive and grow.
We welcome feedback from organizers about the kinds of support you feel are most valuable, whether through our mentorship programs, funding mechanisms, or other resources. You can always reach us at unigroups@centreforeffectivealtruism.org, or leave anonymous feedback here.
Thank you to Alistair Bugg, Catherine Low, Heidi Basarab, and others for their input on this draft.