I think it is easy to underestimate the effect of the long tail. See Chalmers’ comment on the value of the LW and EA communities in his recent AMA.
Notably, it’s easy for me to imagine that people who work at foundations outside the EA community spend time reading OpenPhil’s work and the discussion of it in deciding what grants to make. (This is something that could be happening without us being aware of it. As Holden says, transparency has major downsides. OpenPhil is also running a risk by associating its brand with a movement full of young contrarians it has no formal control over. Your average opaquely-run foundation has little incentive to let the world know if discussions happening in the EA community are an input into their grant-making process.)
Notably, it’s easy for me to imagine that people who work at foundations outside the EA community spend time reading OpenPhil’s work and the discussion of it in deciding what grants to make. (This is something that could be happening without us being aware of it. As Holden says, transparency has major downsides. OpenPhil is also running a risk by associating its brand with a movement full of young contrarians it has no formal control over. Your average opaquely-run foundation has little incentive to let the world know if discussions happening in the EA community are an input into their grant-making process.)