Survival and Flourishing Fund

Name

Survival and Flourishing Fund

Legal name

Survival and Flourishing Fund

Website

https://survivalandflourishing.fund

Company type

Private

Founded year

2019

Operating status

Operating

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Philanthropic Grantmaking Services

NAICS

Grantmaking Foundations (813211)

SIC

Investment Advice (6282)

akta.pro primary industry

International Grantmaking & Development Foundations (BPAGAKAH)

akta.pro secondary industries

Philanthropy & Foundations Advisory (Donor-Advised Funds, Endowments) (FSAAABAH), Grantmaking & Philanthropic Funds (Institutional Donors) (BPADAOAB)

Keywords

• Philanthropic grantmaking
• Existential risk funding
• AI safety grants
• Grant evaluation services
• Nonprofit philanthropy

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Philanthropic Fund Organization: SFF is a virtual fund that organizes collection and evaluation of grant applications. They make recommendations to participating Funders (primarily Jaan Tallinn) who provide the actual funding. SFF does not generate revenue in the traditional sense but organizes philanthropic gifts and grants.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels3 records

Core offering

Survival and Flourishing Fund (SFF) is a virtual fund that organizes the collection and evaluation of grant applications from organizations concerned with the long-term survival and flourishing of sentient life. Applications are submitted via rolling Google Forms intake, evaluated through independent assessors using the proprietary S-Process algorithm twice per year, and converted into grant recommendations to participating Funders (primarily Jaan Tallinn) who provide the actual funding. SFF also facilitates Speculation Grants, Matching Pledges, and Initiative Committee grants.

Product overview

Survival and Flourishing Fund (SFF) is a virtual fund that organizes grant application submission and evaluation processes to help donors decide where to make donations. The organization operates through several interconnected programs: the S-Process (the core grant recommendation algorithm using marginal utility functions), Speculation Grants (for expedited funding), Matching Pledges (matching outside donations), and the Initiative Committee (direct grants). SFF also runs specialized tracks within its Main Round including the Freedom Track and Fairness Track, as well as Theme Rounds for Climate Change, Animal Welfare, and Human Self-Enhancement and Empowerment. The grant evaluation software is developed by affiliated company Survival and Flourishing Corp (SFC). SFF has organized approximately $152MM in philanthropic gifts and grants since 2019.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Quantifiable outcome

• ~$152MM in philanthropic gifts and grants organized since 2019
• +1 more outcomes

Segments2 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature1 record

Partnerships

Three partnerships are on record, tiered major and core.

• Effective Institutions Project (EIP)majorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 15 February 2025SFF partnered with EIP to share applications from their SFF Funding Rolling Application with EIP. EIP anticipates recommending $5-15 million in grants to SFF applicants in 2025. This partnership increases the funding pool available to SFF applicants.
• Survival and Flourishing Corp (SFC)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerSFC supports the continued development and scaling of the grant evaluation software and processes used by SFF. Initiative Committee grants and occasionally other grants are processed through SFC.
• Silicon Valley Community FoundationcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerSFF maintains a Donor-Advised Fund (DAF) at the Silicon Valley Community Foundation under the same name (SFF). Most SFF grant recommendations are processed through this DAF.

Scale indicators6 records

Recent moves6 records

Direct peers

• GiveWell: Charity evaluator and grantmaking recommender that applies rigorous, methodology-driven assessment to identify high-impact giving opportunities—comparable in advisory/evaluation function, though focused on global health and poverty rather than existential risk.
• EA Funds: Donor-advised funds managed within the Effective Altruism ecosystem that pool and channel donor capital to high-impact causes—similar DAF-style structure and applicant ecosystem to SFF.
• Founders Pledge: Tech-entrepreneur-led philanthropic commitment platform that channels founder donations to high-impact causes—shares the model of mobilizing high-net-worth donors toward a curated set of recommended opportunities.
• Open Philanthropy: Large longtermist-focused grantmaking organization that recommends major gifts to high-impact causes including AI safety and existential risk—directly comparable in funder-advisory model, cause prioritization, and applicant pipeline overlap with SFF.
• Longview Philanthropy: Philanthropic advising and grantmaking platform focused on longtermist causes, including AI safety—closely comparable in target funders, applicant evaluation, and cause-area focus.
• Coefficient Giving: Philanthropic foundation funding high-impact organizations in AI safety, biosecurity, and other longtermist cause areas—directly comparable cause prioritization and applicant ecosystem.
• Berkeley Existential Risk Initiative (BERI): Founded by Andrew Critch and originally funded by Jaan Tallinn, BERI makes operational grants to existential-risk organizations. Shares leadership, funders, and mission with SFF, making it the closest institutional peer.

Emerging players

• Future of Life Institute: Grantmaking and advocacy organization focused on AI safety and existential risk with overlapping cause area and applicant pipeline—partial overlap in mission and funding recipients.

Broad incumbents

• Silicon Valley Community Foundation: Large community foundation that hosts the Donor-Advised Fund used by SFF to process most grant recommendations—a broader incumbent partner that provides the DAF infrastructure SFF relies on.

Others

• Centre for Effective Altruism: Organizational hub for the Effective Altruism community that supports the broader ecosystem of grantmakers including SFF, BERI, and EA Funds—relevant ecosystem peer but not a direct grantmaking competitor.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles3 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

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

Frequently asked questions about Survival and Flourishing Fund