TLDR: Recent funding decline seems unfortunate (for EA Berlin specifically), slightly updated that relying on one major doner is riskier than I thought and that groups should maybe diversify funding sources more.
Thanks for sharing!
Some anecdotal data: From EA Berlin’s perspective, the sudden decline in funding earlier this year seemed particularly unfortunate.
I understand why funders were hesitant to fund city groups after the sexual harassment cases that came out in February, but it still seemed unfortunate that CEA withdrew the previously committed funding for EA Berlin, especially as (to my knowledge) none of the sexual harassment cases happened in Berlin or Germany, and both German and international movement builders (CEA staff etc) have said they consider the German EA community particularly friendly and healthy (I think there’s still room to improve but overall community health seems good, based on what I’ve seen).*
I’ve updated that fully relying on CEA for funding is riskier than I thought before, and diversifying funding should probably be a higher priority for city and national groups.
(I think it’s fair to fund groups less when total funding volume decreased and there are strong cases to fund cause/career groups more and broad EA groups less. Still, having the 7th largest city EA group with 100s of engaged members run by volunteers only and not even fund a part-time position seems suboptimal)
*(I was told that CEA withdrew EA Berlin funding mainly because they downprioritised city groups after the sexual harassment cases. There might be more reasons I’m not aware of)
Disclaimer: I ran EA Berlin 2019-21, funded by a CEA grant. The 2023 funding withdrawal did not affect me personally as I stopped doing paid EA meta work last year and have since only supported and advised the group. The top candidates of the “EA Berlin Community Manager” hiring round where unexpectedly left without funding, though, and the position was canceled (for now))
Thank you for sharing your observations and concerns!
I think there are a few points of context that might be helpful. First, the funding for EA Berlin was not retracted. Rather, when EA Germany approached CEA in the fall (before FTX’s collapse) we said that running a hiring round was welcome, but that funding this position would not be guaranteed and that the bar for an additional FTE in Germany would be quite high. This became even more true after FTX’s collapse and the funding situation changed. As the EA Berlin hiring proceeded after November, we conveyed that whilst the hiring process could continue, the likelihood of our financial commitment was reduced.
We found ourselves in a situation where available funding was more limited and each new position funded would involve a pretty direct tradeoff with other funding opportunities. Our review of the amount of funding already allocated to EA groups in Germany made us reassess the allocation of marginal dollars. We were persuaded by the possibility that the funding could be more beneficial if allocated to a new country or region, rather than adding an additional FTE in the same country.
The decision ultimately not to fund the EA Berlin position was not related to the recently reported incidents of sexual harassment. We regret any misunderstanding.
Regarding EA Berlin’s status, we value the significant efforts of its many dedicated members and are pleased with the size and accomplishments of this group. However, given the current circumstances, we hope you understand the tough decisions we had to make in order to maximize the impact of available funds.
We agree with your sentiment about the potential benefit for local and national groups to consider diversifying their funding sources. It’s an important strategic consideration that can help ensure the long-term stability and resilience.
I’d be more than happy to discuss in further detail if anything else remains unclear.
CEA withdrew the previously committed funding for EA Berlin
Do you think the situation is: Due to CEA not receiving (or being able to spend) previously committed funds themselves, they were forced to withdraw previously committed funding from somewhere, and EA Berlin didn’t make the cut?
If not, that seems pretty bad in the absence of EA Berlin doing anything egregiously bad (which it seems they haven’t).
TLDR: Recent funding decline seems unfortunate (for EA Berlin specifically), slightly updated that relying on one major doner is riskier than I thought and that groups should maybe diversify funding sources more.
Thanks for sharing!
Some anecdotal data: From EA Berlin’s perspective, the sudden decline in funding earlier this year seemed particularly unfortunate.
I understand why funders were hesitant to fund city groups after the sexual harassment cases that came out in February, but it still seemed unfortunate that CEA withdrew the previously committed funding for EA Berlin, especially as (to my knowledge) none of the sexual harassment cases happened in Berlin or Germany, and both German and international movement builders (CEA staff etc) have said they consider the German EA community particularly friendly and healthy (I think there’s still room to improve but overall community health seems good, based on what I’ve seen).*
I’ve updated that fully relying on CEA for funding is riskier than I thought before, and diversifying funding should probably be a higher priority for city and national groups.
(I think it’s fair to fund groups less when total funding volume decreased and there are strong cases to fund cause/career groups more and broad EA groups less. Still, having the 7th largest city EA group with 100s of engaged members run by volunteers only and not even fund a part-time position seems suboptimal)
*(I was told that CEA withdrew EA Berlin funding mainly because they downprioritised city groups after the sexual harassment cases. There might be more reasons I’m not aware of)
Disclaimer: I ran EA Berlin 2019-21, funded by a CEA grant. The 2023 funding withdrawal did not affect me personally as I stopped doing paid EA meta work last year and have since only supported and advised the group. The top candidates of the “EA Berlin Community Manager” hiring round where unexpectedly left without funding, though, and the position was canceled (for now))
Hi Manuel,
Thank you for sharing your observations and concerns!
I think there are a few points of context that might be helpful. First, the funding for EA Berlin was not retracted. Rather, when EA Germany approached CEA in the fall (before FTX’s collapse) we said that running a hiring round was welcome, but that funding this position would not be guaranteed and that the bar for an additional FTE in Germany would be quite high. This became even more true after FTX’s collapse and the funding situation changed. As the EA Berlin hiring proceeded after November, we conveyed that whilst the hiring process could continue, the likelihood of our financial commitment was reduced.
We found ourselves in a situation where available funding was more limited and each new position funded would involve a pretty direct tradeoff with other funding opportunities. Our review of the amount of funding already allocated to EA groups in Germany made us reassess the allocation of marginal dollars. We were persuaded by the possibility that the funding could be more beneficial if allocated to a new country or region, rather than adding an additional FTE in the same country.
The decision ultimately not to fund the EA Berlin position was not related to the recently reported incidents of sexual harassment. We regret any misunderstanding.
Regarding EA Berlin’s status, we value the significant efforts of its many dedicated members and are pleased with the size and accomplishments of this group. However, given the current circumstances, we hope you understand the tough decisions we had to make in order to maximize the impact of available funds.
We agree with your sentiment about the potential benefit for local and national groups to consider diversifying their funding sources. It’s an important strategic consideration that can help ensure the long-term stability and resilience.
I’d be more than happy to discuss in further detail if anything else remains unclear.
Do you think the situation is: Due to CEA not receiving (or being able to spend) previously committed funds themselves, they were forced to withdraw previously committed funding from somewhere, and EA Berlin didn’t make the cut?
If not, that seems pretty bad in the absence of EA Berlin doing anything egregiously bad (which it seems they haven’t).
From Jesse’s comment it sounds like it was neither of these, and CEA hadn’t made a commitment?