Effective Ventures Foundation USA

Quick Stats

EIN: 47-1988398
Annual Revenue (2023): $17,476,222
Total Grants Made (AWF 2024): $23.3 million across 347 grants (Animal Welfare Fund only)
Success Rate: 9-71% (varies significantly by fund)
Decision Time: 3-8 weeks typical
Grant Range: $1,000 - $500,000
Geographic Focus: International
Application Method: Rolling basis, online portal

Contact Details

Website: https://funds.effectivealtruism.org

Location: 2443 Fillmore St 380-16662, San Francisco, CA 94115-1814

Pre-application contact: Applicants can contact fund managers before applying to discuss eligibility or ideas

Overview

Effective Ventures Foundation USA, Inc. (EIN 47-1988398) is a 501(c)(3) tax-exempt organization established to sponsor projects working to have a large positive impact in the world. The organization earned an 85% score and Three-Star rating from Charity Navigator. With annual revenue of $17.5 million (2023) and net assets of $38.5 million, EV USA operates two major programs: Effective Altruism Funds (EA Funds) and Giving What We Can (GWWC). EA Funds, which made over $23 million in grants through just its Animal Welfare Fund alone, funds small or early-stage projects focused on improving extreme poverty, animal welfare, effective altruism community development, and long-term future risks. The organization underwent significant restructuring following FTX-related events, returning $4.2 million in related funds in 2023. As of 2025, EA Funds is merging with the Centre for Effective Altruism (CEA).

Funding Priorities

Grant Programs

EA Funds operates four distinct funds, each with its own focus area and fund managers:

Animal Welfare Fund (AWF): $1,000 - $500,000 (typical range)

Reduces animal suffering by funding interventions for the world's most neglected animals
Grants made across 347 projects totaling $23.3 million (as of November 2024)
Recent grants range from $10,000 to $108,000
Application method: Rolling basis, online portal
Typical decision time: 4-8 weeks

Long-Term Future Fund (LTFF): $1,000 - $500,000 (typical range)

Addresses global catastrophic risks, especially from advanced AI and pandemics
Promotes longtermist ideas and increases likelihood future generations flourish
Application method: Rolling basis, online portal
Typical decision time: 6-8 weeks

EA Infrastructure Fund (EAIF): $1,000 - $500,000 (typical range)

Increases impact of EA projects by improving access to talent, capital, and knowledge
Provides intellectual infrastructure, runs events, disseminates information
Made $1.4M across 40 grants in 2024; $2.4M across 34 grants in 2025
Application method: Rolling basis, online portal
Typical decision time: 3-4 weeks

Global Health and Development Fund: Currently closed to new applications

Funds evidence-based opportunities for healthcare access and economic development

Priority Areas

What They Actively Fund:

Projects improving lives of people in extreme poverty
Animal welfare interventions, particularly for farmed and wild animals
AI safety and alignment research
Pandemic preparedness and biosecurity
Effective altruism community building and infrastructure
Research on global catastrophic risks
Career development for individuals working on high-impact projects
Mental health programs for effective altruism community members
Corporate animal welfare advocacy and compliance monitoring
Government policy work related to priority cause areas

What They Don't Fund

EA Funds explicitly will not make grants that:

Are outside the scope of their four funds or don't substantially address fund aims
Support irreversible or unilateralist actions without clear expert consensus
Would negatively impact the EA community (where consensus exists among stakeholders)
Could reasonably be seen as promoting violence, bigotry, racism, or hatred
Involve illegal activities or could reasonably commit illegal acts
Involve applicants who have demonstrated negligence, misconduct, financial mismanagement, or violations of duty of care

Governance and Leadership

Executive Leadership

Zach Robinson, CEO of EV US (previously Chief of Staff at Open Philanthropy, managing communications and grantmaking teams)
Jonas Vollmer, Executive Director of EA Funds
Sam Deere, Head of Tech, EA Funds

EA Funds currently operates with 2 full-time staff and 16 part-time fund managers, with additional operations support from the Centre for Effective Altruism.

Fund-Specific Leadership

Animal Welfare Fund Managers:

Karolina Sarek (Fund Chair, appointed August 2024)
Neil Dullaghan
Zoe Sigle
Urszula Zarosa
Renata Scarellis

EA Infrastructure Fund Managers:

Jonas Vollmer (Acting Interim Chairperson)
Max Daniel
Buck Shlegeris
Michelle Hutchinson

Long-Term Future Fund Managers:

Asya Bergal (Chairperson)
Oliver Habryka
Adam Gleave

Jonas Vollmer has stated about the application process: "Fund managers note that many grants they'd like to make never cross their desk because potential applicants are too intimidated or don't realize their idea would be funded."

Application Process & Timeline

How to Apply

Applications are submitted through a quick online form at https://funds.effectivealtruism.org/apply-for-funding. The form is designed to take less than 1 hour to complete (excluding planning time). Applications are always open on a rolling basis, with no fixed deadlines for three of the four funds (Global Health and Development Fund is currently closed).

Application Process:

Submit application via online form
Primary investigator assigned to evaluate proposal
Investigator assigns rating and writes evaluation notes
Fund managers vote on applications
Scores averaged to determine if proposal meets funding bar

Eligibility:

Open to individuals, nonprofits, academic institutions, and other entities
International applicants welcome (no requirement to be US or UK-based)
No requirement to be a registered charity (though easier for 501(c)(3)s or UK charities)

Special Features:

Can apply for multiple projects in one application (evaluated separately)
Can propose multiple funding levels to increase consideration likelihood
Can apply for grants solely to develop ideas or flesh out proposals
Acceptable to apply to multiple funders simultaneously (note in application)
Time-sensitive requests can email funds@effectivealtruism.com for expedited review

Decision Timeline

Initial response: Varies by fund

Animal Welfare Fund: 4-8 weeks typical
EA Infrastructure Fund: 3-4 weeks typical
Long-Term Future Fund: 6-8 weeks typical
General target: 2 months under normal circumstances; most within 3 weeks

Funding disbursement: Once approved, 3-8 weeks until payment (expedited payouts possible if due diligence completed promptly)

Success Rates

Success rates vary significantly by fund and time period:

EA Infrastructure Fund (EAIF): 71% acceptance rate (2021 data)

Excludes desk rejections and withdrawn applications
Consistently maintained ~71% acceptance rate across multiple 4-month periods in 2021

Long-Term Future Fund (LTFF): ~50% acceptance rate (2021 data)

25 approved out of 53 non-desk-reject applications (December 2021)

Animal Welfare Fund (AWF): 9.7% overall acceptance rate (Q1 2025)

36.8% excluding desk rejections (Q1 2025)
27% acceptance rate for non-desk-rejects (May 2022 - March 2024 period)
Only 9% of applications evaluated were approved in an average 3-month period in 2024

Note: "Desk rejections" are applications immediately rejected for obvious irrelevance. Success rates excluding desk rejections represent applications that received substantive evaluation.

Reapplication Policy

Applicants should wait at least 6 months before reapplying with similar proposals. However, EA Funds encourages iteration and refinement of ideas—unsuccessful applicants can resubmit with improved proposals or substantially different approaches without the 6-month waiting period.

Application Success Factors

Based on guidance from EA Funds managers and community resources, successful applications demonstrate the following:

Submit Early and Imperfectly Fund managers explicitly state: "Applications are meant to take less than 2 hours to write (excluding planning time), and polish isn't important." Some successful grantees spent just 10 minutes on their application. You can "jump straight to applying with rough ideas and flag in the application that you're happy to resubmit if what you submitted is insufficiently detailed."

Consider Pre-Application Discussion EA Funds encourages applicants to contact fund managers before applying. As fund managers note, "many grants they'd like to make never cross their desk because potential applicants are too intimidated or don't realize their idea would be funded." Contact funds@effectivealtruism.org to discuss eligibility or ideas.

Clearly Demonstrate Your Qualifications "Clearly write out the evidence that you're a good candidate for the grant, which can include conventional credentials, past projects, and references." Don't assume evaluators will infer your capabilities—make them explicit.

Be Flexible on Grant Size "Not all applications are approved at the original requested size—some are approved in smaller versions, but some are approved in larger versions." Consider proposing multiple funding levels or describing what a scaled-up version could look like, as grantmakers may suggest adjustments rather than outright rejection.

Focus on Substance Over Form The emphasis is on the quality and impact potential of your idea, not presentation polish. Fund managers care about understanding your project's theory of change, evidence of effectiveness, and your capability to execute.

Examples of Recently Funded Projects:

Animal Welfare Fund:

$108,000 for creation of local "bad-cop" groups in Asia to drive corporate compliance with 2025 cage-free commitments
$50,000 for Planet for All Hong Kong to continue driving changes in government aquaculture standards
$100,000 for Brazilian organization working on corporate welfare washing in cage-free accountability
$30,000 for 10 months of funding to launch farmed fish welfare charity implementing pre-slaughter electrical stunning in Greece

EA Infrastructure Fund:

Stipend support for first paid CEO at Effective Altruism Australia to grow EA movement
Funding for proven mental health program for ~175 EAs (well-being & productivity gains worth ~30 FTEs/year)
6-month salary for prioritization research and community building focused on reducing extreme pain in humans
12-month budget to grow and promote effective fundraising platform in Poland

Long-Term Future Fund:

6-month stipend to create language model tools to aid alignment research
Research & pilot program on humane chill-killing at Indian shrimp farms to inform global certification standards

Key Takeaways for Grant Writers

Don't self-reject: EA Funds managers explicitly state many grants they want to make never get submitted because applicants assume they won't be funded. When in doubt, apply or reach out first.
Speed over polish: Applications should take less than 2 hours to write. Some successful applicants spent only 10 minutes. Rough, substantive applications are preferred over polished but less clear proposals.
Success rates vary dramatically by fund: EAIF approves ~71% of substantively evaluated applications, while AWF approves only ~10% overall (37% excluding desk rejections). Choose the most appropriate fund for your project.
Contact before applying: Fund managers welcome pre-application discussions. Use funds@effectivealtruism.org to clarify eligibility or discuss ideas—this can save time and improve your application.
Grant size flexibility is real: Propose multiple funding levels. Some applications get approved for less than requested, others for more. Grantmakers will work with you to find the right funding level rather than simply rejecting.
Different funds, different timelines: EAIF responds in 3-4 weeks; AWF in 4-8 weeks; LTFF in 6-8 weeks. Plan accordingly if you have time-sensitive needs, and flag urgency in your application.
Reapplication is encouraged: If unsuccessful, wait 6 months for similar proposals, but can reapply sooner with substantially different approaches or improved proposals incorporating feedback.

References

All sources accessed December 2025