I strongly agree with- “One vision I have for the effective altruism community is that its members can function like a people’s foundation: any individual donor on their own might not have that much power, but if the community acts together they can have the sort of influence that major foundations like the Gates Foundation have. ” Creating a structure which enables leaders of the EA community to heavily influence the manner in which non EA-charities and other organisations operate could be immensely beneficial. I believe some form of centralisation would help achieve this. I currently donate to AMF directly, but I think it would empower CEA more if all that money was funnelled through CEA itself. For example All EA members could be encouraged to pay into the EA trust (specifying their chosen charity or fund) and the trust then sends a monthly payment to each chosen charity. This way the community appears to act as one while still retaining freedom for individuals to choose the charities should they desire. EA Funds would in turn be a useful part of this structure.
Creating a structure which enables leaders of the EA community to heavily influence the manner in which non EA-charities and other organisations operate could be immensely beneficial.
I would be mildly concerned about centralizing funding power in the hands of a small number of individuals, but strongly in favor of centralizing funding under the EA brand.
If EA Funds provides a stable, identifiable source of funding for nonprofits that focus on effectiveness I think we’ll see more excellent nonprofits and more talented people working on improving the world.
I strongly agree with- “One vision I have for the effective altruism community is that its members can function like a people’s foundation: any individual donor on their own might not have that much power, but if the community acts together they can have the sort of influence that major foundations like the Gates Foundation have. ” Creating a structure which enables leaders of the EA community to heavily influence the manner in which non EA-charities and other organisations operate could be immensely beneficial. I believe some form of centralisation would help achieve this. I currently donate to AMF directly, but I think it would empower CEA more if all that money was funnelled through CEA itself. For example All EA members could be encouraged to pay into the EA trust (specifying their chosen charity or fund) and the trust then sends a monthly payment to each chosen charity. This way the community appears to act as one while still retaining freedom for individuals to choose the charities should they desire. EA Funds would in turn be a useful part of this structure.
I would be mildly concerned about centralizing funding power in the hands of a small number of individuals, but strongly in favor of centralizing funding under the EA brand.
If EA Funds provides a stable, identifiable source of funding for nonprofits that focus on effectiveness I think we’ll see more excellent nonprofits and more talented people working on improving the world.