Effective Altruism

What Effective Altruism does

Effective Altruism (effectivealtruism.org) is a non-profit community platform and the public-facing hub of the global effective altruism movement, operated by the Centre for Effective Altruism (CEA), a project of Effective Ventures Foundation (UK and US 501(c)(3) entities). It serves individuals who want to apply evidence and reason to charitable giving, career choice, and volunteering, as well as a network of EA-aligned researchers, nonprofit operators, and high-capacity donors. The company codifies a four-principle framework (scope sensitivity, impartiality, scout mindset, recognition of tradeoffs) and provides the educational, community, and giving infrastructure that turns that framework into action.

The product surface is a single integrated website plus a set of connected experiences. Core learning assets include the Introduction to Effective Altruism essay, an FAQ/objections page, an EA Resources Library, the 8-week facilitator-led Introductory EA Program (3,000+ learners in 50+ countries, 1,400+ alumni on Slack), the In-Depth EA Program, and The Precipice Reading Group. Community and distribution surfaces include the EA Forum, the 60,000+-subscriber monthly EA Newsletter, Community Stories video testimonials, the Opportunities Board, and the EA Global / EAGx conference series. Giving and movement infrastructure includes EA Funds, a four-category pooled grantmaking platform (global health and development, animal welfare, long-term future, EA infrastructure), and a Take Action hub that routes users to partner platforms such as GiveWell, Giving What We Can, Founders Pledge, and FarmKind. The website itself runs on Next.js backed by a Contentful CMS, and all content is offered free of charge to the public.

The business model is grant- and donation-funded rather than commercial. CEA, the operating entity, is supported in significant part by grantmaking organizations inspired by effective altruism, with Open Philanthropy cited explicitly as a major backer. Headcount is 11-50 employees across UK, US, and Netherlands (ANBI) entities. Go-to-market is community-led and product-led: growth is driven by word-of-mouth, free educational content, conferences, and a network of local EA groups in 70+ countries, with no paid acquisition or field sales. The organization has no disclosed revenue, does not charge users, and is not a venture-backed or publicly listed entity.

Name

Effective Altruism

Legal name

Effective Ventures Foundation

Website

https://effectivealtruism.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

2011

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Effective Altruism (effectivealtruism.org) is a non-profit community hub operated by the Centre for Effective Altruism, providing free education, discussion forums, and giving infrastructure that direct donors, career-focused professionals, and researchers in 70+ countries toward evidence-based altruistic causes.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Evidence-based philanthropy and community education

NAICS

Educational Support Services (611710), Human Rights Organizations (813311), Grantmaking and Giving Services (8132), Civic and Social Organizations (81341)

SIC

Services-Educational Services (8200), Services-Social Services (8300)

akta.pro primary industry

After-School, Tutoring & Academic Enrichment Nonprofits (BPAGADAC)

akta.pro secondary industries

Youth Leadership, Oratory & Civic Speaking Programs (EDAMAOAH), Civic Engagement, Volunteering & Leadership Education for Seniors (EDAAAMAK), Dropout Prevention, Alternative Education & Re-Engagement Nonprofits (BPAGADAL)

Keywords

• Evidence-based philanthropy
• Effective giving community
• Global health research
• Existential risk reduction
• Altruism education programs

Headquarters

HQ city

Oxford

HQ country

United Kingdom

HQ region

Europe

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure, Others

Revenue model

1. Grant and donation funding: Effective Altruism is a non-profit run by the Centre for Effective Altruism (CEA), an Effective Ventures project. CEA is supported in significant part by grantmaking organizations inspired by effective altruism such as Open Philanthropy; the Introductory EA Program is explicitly funded by donors because they see it as an opportunity for impact.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion3 records

Distribution channels5 records

Marketing channels9 records

Core offering

Effective Altruism is a philosophy, social movement, and global community that helps individuals and donors use evidence and reason to identify the most impactful ways to help others. The organisation runs free online educational programs (Introductory and In-Depth EA Programs), curates donation guidance to vetted charities, maintains the EA Forum, hosts conferences (EA Global, EAGx), and supports a network of local EA groups in 70+ countries. It is operated by the Centre for Effective Altruism (CEA), a project of the Effective Ventures Foundation.

Product overview

Effective Altruism operates effectivealtruism.org, a single unified community website rather than a modular SaaS platform. The site ties together several named content and community offerings: foundational learning assets (the Introduction to Effective Altruism essay, the Frequently Asked Questions page, and the EA Resources Library of videos/books/podcasts/articles), structured learning products (the Introductory EA Program, the In-Depth EA Program, and The Precipice Reading Group), community-building surfaces (Community Stories, the EA Forum, EA Global and EAGx conferences, and the Opportunities Board), and giving infrastructure (the EA Newsletter and EA Funds). Together these resources describe and grow the effective altruism movement, which is made by the Centre for Effective Altruism as an Effective Ventures project.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Effective Altruism Newsletter: Monthly email newsletter from the effective altruism community with 60k+ subscribers.
• EA Forum
• EA Funds
• EA Global / EAGx

Products and services

• Introductory EA Program A free online course that introduces participants to effective altruism ideas, evidence-based reasoning, and high-impact cause areas. Targeted at newcomers and curious learners exploring how to do good effectively.
• In-Depth EA Program A multi-week online program covering career planning, project execution, and movement-building skills for participants identified as EA Builders. Targeted at individuals pursuing high-impact careers in EA-aligned work.
• The Precipice Reading Group A structured online reading and discussion group that takes participants through Toby Ord's book The Precipice, exploring existential risk and humanity's long-term future. Targeted at EA learners wanting deeper engagement with existential risk topics.
• EA Newsletter A periodic email newsletter reaching over 60,000 subscribers with curated EA news, updates, and resources. Targeted at the broad EA community and people interested in high-impact giving and careers.
• EA Forum Online discussion forum for the EA community to publish long-form articles, research, and host discussions on high-impact topics. Targeted at EA researchers, professionals, and engaged community members.
• EA Global and EAGx Conferences Large flagship conference (EA Global) and smaller regional conferences (EAGx) that bring together the EA community for talks, workshops, and networking. Targeted at EA researchers, professionals, donors, and community builders.
• EA Funds Donor-advised funds that enable donors to pool and allocate money across high-impact cause areas (global health, animal welfare, existential risk, EA community). Targeted at donors wanting a low-friction, expert-curated giving vehicle.
• Opportunities Board Curated listings of high-impact job, volunteer, and funding opportunities at EA-aligned organisations. Targeted at job seekers and career changers pursuing impactful work.
• Donation Recommendations and Partner Charities Curated giving recommendations directing donors to vetted high-impact partner charities such as GiveWell, GiveDirectly, Charity Entrepreneurship, Fish Welfare Initiative, One for the World, High Impact Athletes, and Rethink Priorities. Targeted at effective donors seeking evidence-based giving options.
• Local EA Groups Network Network of locally-organised EA groups in 70+ countries supported with resources, grants, and community infrastructure. Targeted at community organisers and members wanting in-person or local engagement.

Quantifiable outcome

• 60,000+ newsletter subscribers receiving impactful ideas monthly
• +11 more outcomes

Named customers21 records

Segments6 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature2 records

Partnerships

22 partnerships are on record, tiered parent organization, core movement partner, core infrastructure partner, specialized partner, research partner, movement partner, regional partner and media partner.

• Effective Ventures Foundation UK (EV UK)parent organizationStrategic or Co-development PartnerEffective Ventures Foundation (UK) is a registered charity in England and Wales (charity number 1149828, company number 07962181) and a Netherlands ANBI entity (825776867) that operates effectivealtruism.org via the Centre for Effective Altruism.
• Effective Ventures Foundation USA Inc. (EV US)parent organizationStrategic or Co-development PartnerEffective Ventures Foundation USA Inc. is a section 501(c)(3) organization (EIN 47-1988398) that collaborates closely with EV UK under the "Effective Ventures" name to operate EA programs.
• GiveWellcore movement partnerStrategic or Co-development PartnerGiveWell performs in-depth research to identify the most evidence-backed and cost-effective charities; directs 110,000+ donors and $1B+ to recommended charities, and has estimated savings of 159,000 lives. EA's "take action" and "ways to give" surfaces point donors to GiveWell's research.
• 80,000 Hourscore movement partnerStrategic or Co-development Partner80,000 Hours provides career research and advising to help people find high-impact careers, publishes the career guide and job board, runs a podcast, and contributes articles to EA's resources. EA's Take Action and Intro essay route career-focused readers to 80,000 Hours.
• Giving What We Cancore movement partnerStrategic or Co-development PartnerGiving What We Can is a pledging organization that has built a network of thousands of pledgers donating 10%+ of their income; 5,000+ members pledge 10%+ of income. EA's Take Action surfaces link users to GWWC's pledge and best-charities recommendations.
• Founders Pledgecore movement partnerStrategic or Co-development PartnerFounders Pledge mobilizes charitable donations from entrepreneurs, totaling $1.5B+ across 2,500+ pledges; featured on the EA "What the community has achieved" page as a grantmaking/fundraising partner.
• EA Fundscore infrastructure partnerStrategic or Co-development PartnerEA Funds operates expert-led pooled giving across four categories (global health & development, animal welfare, long-term future, and EA infrastructure). EA's homepage and FAQ link directly to funds.effectivealtruism.org for donor participation.
• Metaculusspecialized partnerTechnology or IntegrationMetaculus is a forecasting technology platform that aggregates hundreds of forecasters weighted by past accuracy; cited by EA's intro essay as an example of improving decision-making (e.g., correctly giving a 47% (mid-Jan 2022) and 80% probability (shortly before Feb 24, 2022) of a Russian invasion of Ukraine).
• Global Priorities Institute (University of Oxford)research partnerStrategic or Co-development PartnerThe Global Priorities Institute at Oxford does foundational research at the intersection of philosophy and economics into how decision-makers can identify the world's most pressing problems, publishing tens of papers and creating a new academic field of global priorities research.
• Center for Human-Compatible AI (UC Berkeley)research partnerStrategic or Co-development PartnerFounded by AI pioneer Stuart Russell and others inspired by effective altruism, CHAI develops a new paradigm of AI development in which furthering human values is central. Open Philanthropy provided a $5,555,550 grant to support its launch.
• Animal Charity Evaluatorsmovement partnerStrategic or Co-development PartnerACE rigorously assesses animal-welfare charities; its work has influenced $68M+ toward effective animal charities and is recommended by EA's FAQ and resources.
• 1Day Soonermovement partnerStrategic or Co-development Partner1Day Sooner is a non-profit that advocates for human challenge trials; EA community members founded the org, which has signed up 38,659+ volunteers and helped start the world's first COVID-19 human challenge trial.
• Charity Entrepreneurshipmovement partnerStrategic or Co-development PartnerCharity Entrepreneurship has incubated 40+ effective nonprofits serving 35 million people and 1 billion animals; featured on EA's "What the community has achieved" page and listed in the FAQ as an example of impactful new organizations.
• Rethink Prioritiesresearch partnerStrategic or Co-development PartnerRethink Priorities produces groundbreaking research influencing millions in philanthropic funding decisions across animal welfare, global health priorities, and existential risk reduction; featured in EA's community-achievements section.
• Good Food Institutemovement partnerStrategic or Co-development PartnerGFI works to kick-start the alternative protein industry, helping create companies like Dao Foods (China) and Good Catch (US), and engaging JBS, the world's largest meat company; secured tens of millions in US and UK government support.
• Open Wing Alliancemovement partnerStrategic or Co-development PartnerOWA, which received significant EA-aligned funding, developed corporate campaigns to end cage confinement; secured 2,200+ commitments and freed 100M+ hens from cages in the US alone.
• Forethoughtresearch partnerStrategic or Co-development PartnerForethought researches the implications of superintelligent AI for humanity's future and is cited by EA's FAQ as an example of speculative, high-expect-value research relevant to AI safety.
• Giving Greenmovement partnerStrategic or Co-development PartnerGiving Green advises millions of dollars to evidence-based climate interventions and is featured in EA's community-achievements section under grantmaking, fundraising, and donor advising.
• Effektiv Spendenregional partnerStrategic or Co-development PartnerEffektiv Spenden is Germany's leading effective giving platform, directing millions of Euros to highly impactful charities; featured in EA's community-achievements section as a regional giving partner.
• TED / TED Conferencesmedia partnerGTM or Marketing PartnerTED hosts major EA-aligned talks (Peter Singer, Will MacAskill, Julia Galef, Lewis Bollard) that are featured as primary content on the EA website and surfaced as "As featured in" links.
• Google DeepMindresearch partnerOthersEA alumni work at Google DeepMind; EA's intro course highlights DeepMind's safety and ethics team and Neel Nanda's work on mechanistic interpretability.
• NASAOthers

Scale indicators10 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• Giving What We Can: A pledging organization where 5,000+ members pledge 10%+ of income; has mobilized $300M+ in donations and is surfaced by EA as a core giving partner. Operates as a direct peer within the EA giving infrastructure.
• GiveWell: EA's flagship charity-evaluation partner; performs the rigorous cost-effectiveness research that EA directs donors toward and has channeled $2.4B+ to top charities. Operates as a direct peer within the EA evidence-based giving umbrella.
• Giving Green: An EA-aligned evaluator focused on evidence-based climate philanthropy; advises millions of dollars to top climate interventions and is featured as a giving partner on EA's community-achievements page.
• Founders Pledge: Encourages entrepreneurs to pledge a portion of proceeds to effective charities; has mobilized $1.5B+ across 2,500+ pledges and is featured as a core movement partner on EA's community-achievements page.
• Charity Entrepreneurship: An EA-aligned incubator that has launched 40+ effective nonprofits serving 35M people and 1B animals; functions as a 'venture-builder' peer inside the EA umbrella and is featured on EA's community-achievements page.
• Animal Charity Evaluators: Rigorously evaluates animal-welfare charities and has influenced $68M+ toward top interventions; functions as the animal-welfare counterpart to GiveWell within the EA ecosystem and is recommended in EA's FAQ.
• 80,000 Hours: Provides career research and 1:1 advising to help people move into high-impact roles; EA's intro essay and Take Action hub explicitly route career-focused users to 80,000 Hours. Founded by Will MacAskill alongside the EA movement.

Emerging players

• Global Priorities Institute: University of Oxford research institute that produces foundational academic research on how to identify the world's most pressing problems — a key intellectual input into EA's cause-prioritization framework and a movement-partner organization.
• Centre for Human-Compatible AI (CHAI): UC Berkeley AI safety research institute co-founded by Stuart Russell and others inspired by EA; develops value-aligned AI paradigms and is funded by Open Philanthropy — making it a thematic peer at the intersection of EA's long-term future cause area and academic AI research.

Broad incumbents

• Open Philanthropy: The largest grantmaker supporting EA-aligned organizations including CEA; functions as a broad incumbent funder backing the entire EA umbrella across global health, biosecurity, animal welfare, and AI safety.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat6 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• YouTubeyoutube.com/@EffectiveAltruismVideos
• Facebookfacebook.com/groups/effective.altruists
• Xx.com/effect_altruism

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles2 records

Subsidiaries1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds1 record

Investors1 record

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M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Effective Altruism