Effective Altruism Funds help you give effectively and efficiently. They currently consist of four Funds which cover a set of problems that are [important, tractable, and neglected](https://concepts.effectivealtruism.org/concepts/importance-neglectedness-tractability/). They are managed by experts in the field who pool the community's donations and research high-value donation opportunities.

[You can make a donation here.](https://app.effectivealtruism.org/donations/new)



What is Effective Altruism Funds?

EA Funds allow you to make tax-efficient donations, which are then pooled together with other donations for regranting to organizations and projects with high expected impact. 

You can select one of four Funds to support. Each Fund is focused on a particular cause area, and is managed by a team of managers who decide how much funding goes to each of their chosen opportunities.

The current Funds are [Global Health and Development](/funds/global-development), [Animal Welfare](/funds/animal-welfare), [Long-Term Future](/funds/far-future) and [Effective Altruism Infrastructure](/funds/ea-community). You can read more about each of these areas on their respective pages.

The money you donate to a Fund will be held by [EVF](https://ev.org/) until the team of Fund managers is ready to regrant it. Once the Fund managers have decided where to donate, they will write up their research and thoughts on our site for anyone who wants to read them.

How do the Funds work?

We offer Funds in four different cause areas: [Global Health and Development](/funds/global-development), [Animal Welfare](/funds/animal-welfare), [Long-Term Future](/funds/far-future), and [Effective Altruism Infrastructure](/funds/ea-community).

We started with these because they represent the cause areas where most people in the effective altruism community currently focus their donations, and because we believe these areas are [important, tractable, and neglected](https://80000hours.org/articles/problem-framework/). 

What are the available Funds, and how did you choose which Funds to set up?

Please email us at [funds@effectivealtruism.org](mailto:funds@effectivealtruism.org) with any problems related to donations or the website, or if you have any questions not answered here.

I have a problem with a donation. How can I contact the EA Funds team?

We don't currently have plans to open EA Funds up to further cause areas. However, we encourage you to make donations in the areas you believe to be most promising, perhaps after seeking out advice from experts who specialize in your preferred causes.

What if I think a different area is more promising than these funds?

Effective Altruism Funds was conceived by staff at the [Centre for Effective Altruism](https://www.centreforeffectivealtruism.org/) (CEA). It was inspired by [the donor lottery run by Carl Shulman and Paul Christiano](http://effective-altruism.com/ea/14d/donor_lotteries_demonstration_and_faq/) and by [Nick Beckstead’s EA Giving Group donor-advised fund](http://blog.givewell.org/2016/12/09/staff-members-personal-donations-giving-season-2016/) (DAF). 

The project was further developed while CEA staff were taking part in [Y Combinator’s](https://www.ycombinator.com/about/) three month start-up incubation program, where we received advice from successful entrepreneurs on building useful products for the effective altruism community.

At the end of 2020, Effective Altruism Funds began to [operate independently of CEA](https://www.centreforeffectivealtruism.org/blog/giving-what-we-can-and-ea-funds-now-operate-independently-of-cea/), and is now a separate project though both EA Funds and CEA are part of the [Effective Ventures Foundation](https://ev.org/).

What is the history of Effective Altruism Funds?

### Benefit from expertise
Each of our Funds focuses on a set of problems that are important, tractable, and neglected. They’re managed by experts in their respective fields. 

### Get lower fees
We use automation to keep our running costs low, and we don’t charge any fees for using the Funds. The only fees are those applied by payment processors, and we’ve negotiated for lower processing fees so that more of your donation goes directly to charity.

### Play to your comparative advantage
Our Fund managers spend thousands of hours a year thinking and learning about how to use money to do the most good. Donating to Effective Altruism Funds allows you to take advantage of their work instead of trying to replicate it yourself. 

### Be part of a community
We are building a community of people focused on effectiveness and eager to solve the world’s most pressing problems. By joining the community and pooling our donations, we can coordinate more effectively.

### High-leverage opportunities
By pooling our resources, we can also fund certain high-leverage opportunities that are only possible with larger sums of money. For example, we can fund early-stage charities that might need substantial support to get off the ground, or even encourage the creation of new charities by showing that money will be available to fund them. Together, we can have a greater impact than we could as individuals. 

### Help to measure movement growth
When more people donate to EA Funds, or use the platform to support individual charities, it helps EA Funds keep track of the movement's growth and priorities. Understanding the spread of effective altruism by requesting information from dozens of charities would be very difficult; a centralized donation platform makes this much easier. 


Why donate to Effective Altruism Funds?

Before we created the Funds, we had begun to see increased interest in systems which helped donors pool their resources to give more effectively. Examples include [donor lotteries](http://effective-altruism.com/ea/14d/donor_lotteries_demonstration_and_faq/), and the [EA Giving Group donor-advised fund (DAF)](http://blog.givewell.org/2016/12/09/staff-members-personal-donations-giving-season-2016/). 

In addition, a sizable portion of the effective altruism community donates in accordance with expert recommendations. [GiveWell’s charity recommendations](http://www.givewell.org/charities/top-charities) move considerable amounts of money from donors who follow their recommendations. We were hearing from donors who wanted to get recommendations for a wider range of causes than charity evaluators could provide.

The Effective Altruism Funds meet both of these needs by allowing donors to pool their resources together, to be used for grantmaking by experts in a variety of areas.

Why did you create Effective Altruism Funds?

We think some donors will find that Effective Altruism Funds is the highest-impact donation option available to them for one or more of the following reasons:

__1\. Comparative advantage__

To make an effective donation, individual donors must spend significant time answering all of the following questions:

1. Which problem areas are most important?
2. Which interventions are likely to make progress in solving those problems?
3. Which charities executing those interventions are most effective?
4. Which charities have a funding gap that is unlikely to be filled elsewhere?

Time spent answering these questions takes away time from activities that are likely to be comparatively advantaged for most individual donors, such as earning money to donate or improving their skills for the future. 

However, answering these questions *is* the comparative advantage of our Fund managers. The Funds are managed by experts who spend a large proportion of their working time - sometimes even all of it - thinking about how to allocate money to achieve the most good. 

These experts also have strong networks of contacts throughout key communities (effective altruism, global health, animal advocacy, etc.), which is highly valuable in identifying and evaluating new opportunities.

__2\. Due diligence__

Many of the most promising opportunities for impact involve taking risks; a project with a high expected value might still end up having little to no impact, or even causing harm. The managers at each Fund, as well as operations staff at the Effective Ventures Foundation, make use of their knowledge and experience to assess projects and identify risks.

__3\. Coordinate funding for new opportunities__

If a promising new organization needs a certain amount of funding to get off the ground, they may struggle to do so by attracting many small donations; it's unlikely that many individual donors will all conduct enough research to feel comfortable supporting an organization without a strong track record.

Our funds allow individual donors to pool their money together and have it allocated by experts who *do* have the necessary time and background to research and evaluate new organizations and projects.

__4\. Save charities' time__

Providing information to donors often takes up large amounts of time for charities' senior management, especially at smaller organizations. While there are benefits to these interactions, they can easily become excessively costly. By communicating with charities on behalf of many donors, our funds can reduce these costs.

__5\. Support the spread of information__

The funds don't just make grants: they also publish information about the individuals and organizations they've chosen to support, explaining the reasoning behind their grants. This information may prove useful to other individual donors or grantmaking organizations.

Why not just donate to individual charities?

You get all the tax benefits you would with a DAF, but with lower fees. DAF fees can range between [0.35% and 2% of your donations](https://www.philanthropy.com/article/What-Donor-Advised-Funds/156495), whereas the EA Funds will not charge any management fees. To donate to a DAF, you also need to contribute a minimum of $5,000. There is no minimum donation to EA Funds, although we recommend a minimum of $20 (since credit card companies often deduct a fixed fee, which can dilute the impact of small donations).

Our Funds also benefit from the expertise of fund managers. who work to ensure that money goes toward high-impact opportunities. Using your own DAF, you would need to consult similar experts or conduct your own charity research.


How are Effective Altruism Funds different from donor-advised funds (DAF)?

We are a 501(c)(3) tax-exempt organization in the United States and a registered charity in England and Wales. This means that we can provide all of the tax benefits of a donor-advised fund without the associated fees. We can also use our infrastructure to negotiate for lower fees in processing donations and to create a more seamless user experience.


Why do donations to EA Funds go to Effective Ventures and not a separate donor-advised fund (DAF)?

There are many reasons donors might choose to donate elsewhere instead of to the Effective Altruism Funds. Here are a few examples:

### They have inside information on promising opportunities

Donors may think that their donations will have a higher expected value than donations made through the Fund if they think they have better information than Fund managers in specific cases. For example, a donor might have inside information on a particular cause or organization, or an unusually strong personal network, such that their knowledge and access to expertise would provide them with an advantage.

### Their preferred opportunities aren't available

Donors might not want to donate through EA Funds if opportunities they wish to support are not represented by the current Funds. For example, there could be no Fund for the cause area they are focusing on, or their values could differ enough from those of the Fund managers that the Funds' donations might not represent their values. For example, donors with strong views on the value of saving lives versus the value of improving lives may choose to allocate their donations directly to charities that work in one area or the other.

### They prefer to donate through a non-EA-Funds mechanism

Behind the scenes, the structure of EA Funds operates similarly to a [donor-advised fund](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Donor-advised_fund) (DAF) with the Effective Ventures Foundation (EVF) operating as the DAF. While this setup has a number of advantages, it also requires placing trust in EA Funds to donate the funds as intended. In addition, there may be unexpected edge cases that would require EA Funds' discretion to resolve. Donors that are not comfortable with this level of trust in EA Funds should consider donating through another mechanism.


Why might some people choose not to donate to Effective Altruism Funds?

### Considerations in favor of recurring donations

- Allows us to more accurately predict future donations to the Fund and pass this information on to the Fund manager so that they know how much money they are likely to have available in the future.
- Most donors who do not donate monthly choose to donate at the end of the year. Having money available throughout the year allows Fund managers more flexibility to respond to excellent opportunities as they become available.
- Many donors find it easier to hit their donation targets if the money is donated automatically.

### Considerations in favor of yearly donations
- Allows donors time to gain more information before deciding whether EA Funds is the most effective donation option available.
- Donors who receive large yearly bonuses will have more information about how much they can donate if they donate yearly.

In general, we prefer that donors who plan to use EA Funds for a large portion of their donations set up recurring donations. Donors who may have higher impact alternatives or who receive large yearly bonuses should consider yearly donations instead.


What are the considerations in favor of recurring versus yearly donations?

Effective Altruism Funds accepts
- credit cards (securely processed by Stripe)
- bank direct debit (securely processed by GoCardless, UK only)
- manual bank transfer
- check (US only)
- over 150 cryptocurrencies

The payment methods available to you will depend on where you're donating from, and how much you're donating (for example GoCardless direct debits have a maximum value of 5,000 GBP, and we don't offer check/manual bank transfers for amounts under 100 GBP/USD/EUR).


What payment types do you accept?

If you donate using a bank transfer, there are no associated fees, but the process is more time-consuming (you will need to instruct your bank to make the payment). 

If you donate by credit or debit card, the payment fees are set by our third-party payment gateways (e.g. Stripe). We do our best to keep these fees as low as possible.

We (Effective Altruism Funds / the Centre for Effective Altruism) do not charge any additional payment processing or handling fees.

Before you complete your payment, we estimate your fees based on what we think the payment gateway will charge. Once you have completed your payment, the fees displayed will reflect what the payment gateway actually charged.

What fees are charged on donations?

Unlike donor-advised funds, we don’t charge a percentage of your donation as management fees. We also reduce the administrative burden on individual charities by combining many individual donors’ donations into larger payments from a single source.

How do you reduce administrative fees?

Neither EVF nor the Fund managers take any payment or fee from the Funds. Open Philanthropy currently provides all funding for the project, because they think it gives many people a relatively high-impact way to donate. 

At the end of 2020, Effective Altruism Funds began to [operate independently of CEA](https://www.centreforeffectivealtruism.org/blog/giving-what-we-can-and-ea-funds-now-operate-independently-of-cea/).

Note that some Fund managers may decide that re-granting money to other organisations at EVF is the best use of their Fund’s money in specific situations (though they are not actively encouraged or obligated to do so). CEA (another EVF organisation) has received grants ([1](https://app.effectivealtruism.org/funds/ea-community/payouts/6M8SQFdecEm0WuAYweO2UQ), [2](https://app.effectivealtruism.org/funds/ea-community/payouts/2dyBJqJBSIq6sAGU6gMYQW)) from the EA Infrastructure and Long-Term Future Funds.

Does any money go to the Effective Ventures Foundation (EVF) and/or the fund managers?

Donations are tax deductible in the USA, the United Kingdom, and the Netherlands. Simply choose the country you wish to donate from when making your payment.
Donations to Effective Altruism Funds are made to the Effective Ventures Foundation, a registered charity in England and Wales (Charity Number 1149828) and a registered 501(c)(3) Tax Exempt Organization in the USA (EIN 47-1988398). No goods or services are provided in exchange for your donation.

### Receipts
When you make a donation, we will send you an email receipt which you can use to claim a tax deduction.

### Gift Aid
UK donors can opt to claim [Gift Aid](https://www.gov.uk/donating-to-charity/gift-aid) on their donations, potentially increasing their value by 25%.

### Instructions for the Netherlands
If you would like your donation to be tax-deductible in the Netherlands, you will need to choose the "UK/NL" option on the donation page and (optionally) set your donation amount in EUR.


Are EA Funds tax deductible?

All donors will get a receipt that is UK, US, and NL tax-compliant for each donation they make through the Effective Altruism Funds. 

Receipts for credit card payments should arrive almost instantly, but if you make an offline payment (like a bank transfer), you may not get a receipt until roughly a week after we receive your donation.

US donors will also get a single tax statement showing their donation history at the end of each tax year.

What tax documentation will I get?

EV is not authorised to give financial guidance on tax matters - grantees should seek their own financial advice if they have any uncertainties.
The following documents can provide some insights but EV is not liable if the information is inaccurate and/or out of date:

- For __individual grant recipients paying tax in the UK__: consult [this document](https://drive.google.com/file/d/1h4ccNwtYeBaUzsod1ZhrIHv68bxeo6EN/view?usp=sharing). Please consider that the document was last reviewed in August 2019.	

- For __individual grant recipients paying tax in the US__: consult [this document](https://drive.google.com/file/d/1jd3tx77IhQ9kXV9lnachSGIdxgHoAdsm/view?usp=sharing). This was last reviewed in January 2021.	

- For __individual grant recipients paying tax in Canada__: consult [this document](https://drive.google.com/file/d/1dvRFsurgOTU9h9qId3Mj9ZXwcVPHRj-X/view?usp=sharing). This was last reviewed in March 2021.	

- For __individual grant recipients paying tax in Germany__: [English version](https://drive.google.com/file/d/1e7qvsXqcV-nOd6SvcDqEwUPr5nAcUbX_/view?usp=sharing) and [German version](https://drive.google.com/file/d/1GfYHFgPNjX7UKkta3wGVRldgWBofZEWP/view?usp=sharing). These were last reviewed in August 2021.	

We also list a few general suggestions, though please note that they do not constitute professional financial advice:

- If the grant is your primary source of income, many jurisdictions will treat it as taxable income (typically in the form of self-employment). This means that you are responsible for declaring it as income and pay taxes on it.
- If the grant exclusively pays for project expenses (e.g., event expenses, contractors, or university tuition in the case of a scholarship), many jurisdictions will not require you to declare it, though it depends on the details.
- Either way, we recommend asking your tax advisor for help. If you do not have a tax advisor, you might want to ask [Crowe](https://www.crowe.com/services/tax), a firm EV has been working with for a large number of countries. If you need funding to pay for tax advice, please budget for it as part of your grant application.

We are working to improve this page over time. If you are aware of useful guidance or received professional tax advice that can be shared with other grantees, please let us know by sending an email to grants@ev.org and we may link to it from here.

Can I get tax advice from EV relating to my grant?

Yes. When you make a donation, just choose the "Recurring, Monthly" option –currently only available for donations made by credit card (US/UK/NL), or bank direct debit (UK only). We will save your chosen allocation and use it to divide your donation between your chosen Funds/organizations each month.

Can I set up a monthly direct debit to EA Funds?

You can see your recurring donations on the right side of your [donation dashboard](https://app.effectivealtruism.org/dashboard/payments). You can cancel these by clicking on the "Cancel recurring donation" link.

![Recurring donation](//images.ctfassets.net/afdyh2iav3iy/6BlRSAfKzMuWPvTkQu7p2T/aa4672af7cc50a63a763673b60695883/Recurring_donation.PNG)

How can I cancel a recurring donation?

We don't currently have a way to update billing details. Instead, you'll need to cancel your existing recurring payment, and create a new one.

- Sign in and navigate to the [Recurring Payments](/dashboard/payments/recurring-payments) tab on your [Payments Dashboard](/dashboard/payments).
- Find the Recurring Payment associated with the expiring card, click 'Cancel Recurring Payment', and confirm
- Click 'Create a New Recurring Payment' at the top of the screen, which will let you [create a new donation](/donations/new). Set the details of your Recurring Payment, including your updated credit card number.

My credit card has expired (or is about to expire). How do I update my billing details?

Yes, you can select which day of the month your recurring payment will be charged on.

When creating a donation:
- Choose a payment method that supports recurring donations, Credit Card (US/UK), GoCardless (UK only)
- Set your donation frequency to 'Recurring, Monthly'
- By default, your payment will be taken as soon as possible.
  ![Recurring Payment day-of-month selector](//images.ctfassets.net/afdyh2iav3iy/582vrdHkqIKb5nuiAH7GbM/b783b3fac7d0f284dea5b5162c5d1f8c/recurring_payment.png)
- If you'd prefer to set the day of the month your payment will be taken, click 'change'
  ![Recurring Payment choose day](//images.ctfassets.net/afdyh2iav3iy/5wzHa08Ob9KNYHzy3BQ14V/89eebb0ca5a1c5566cc9104b9f9a4a94/choose_day.png)

Note that if you select a day of the month that is before the current day of the month (or, before the earliest day that payment can be taken for GoCardless payments), then your first payment will be taken in the following month.

Can I choose which day my recurring payment is taken?

EA Funds supports making donations to a number of effective charities and external charitable funds. You can find a list of supported charities under the 'Non-Profit Organizations' section of our [donation page](/donate/organizations).

For more information, check out our [criteria for including charities on EA Funds](/effective-charities-on-ea-funds).

Which charities are supported by EA Funds?

If you want to change your allocation for a non-recurring donation, please [email us](mailto:funds@effectivealtruism.org) with details on the new allocation you'd prefer. We can make this change as long as you made your donation within the last financial year.

If you want to make changes to a recurring donation, you'll have to [cancel that donation](/funds/faq#how-can-i-cancel-a-recurring-donation) and create a new one with your preferred allocation.

What if I want to change my allocation after I've donated?

We can accept bequests to our current organization, Effective Ventures Foundation, and we will attempt to fulfil the deceased's wishes in terms of fund allocation as best we can. But while donors can suggest ways they'd like their donations to be restricted, we can't guarantee we'll be able to carry out those requests. (For example, there may be changes to the list of available funds, or the way the funds operate.)

Can I donate to the Effective Altruism Funds in my will?

Donating assets that have appreciated in value can be more tax-advantageous than liquidating them and donating the money yourself.

### Cryptocurrencies
EA Funds accepts donations in over 150 cryptocurrencies. You can make a donation with cryptocurrency by selecting 'Donate with crypto' on the payment page. See our [cryptocurrency help section](/help/tag/donating-cryptocurrency) for more information.

### Stock

We can accept donations made in stock in the USA. Donating stock in other countries is not supported at this time. Please [get in touch](/help) if you'd like to arrange a donation of stock.

Can I donate cryptocurrency, stocks or other appreciated assets?

We will link your data with donations to the funds so that we can claim Gift Aid on it (where applicable in the UK). If you are a Giving What We Can member or Try Giver, we may aggregate data on your donations with data from other members as we evaluate members' collective impact.

 We may also use anonymized, aggregated data about donations in our public materials, in order to display information on how the community is donating.

How will you use my data?

By default, we will not share your donation amount or your name outside of the Centre for Effective Altruism and the statutory requirements of HMRC, the IRS, and our auditors. In the future, we may implement an opt-in system for future donations to be made public should donors wish to do so.


Will my donations be confidential?

Yes. Anyone can donate to the Effective Altruism Funds. Giving What We Can members may find this especially helpful, as EA Funds is integrated with the dashboard they can use to record their pledged donations.

If you’re not a member, but would like to find out more about the lifetime pledge that thousands of people have made to donate to the organizations they believe will do the most good, visit the [Giving What We Can website](https://www.givingwhatwecan.org/).


 Can I donate to the Effective Altruism Funds if I’m not a Giving What We Can member?

You can see reports on past grants made by each Fund on the Funds' respective pages (under the 'Payout Reports' heading):

- [Global Development](https://app.effectivealtruism.org/funds/global-development)
- [Animal Welfare](https://app.effectivealtruism.org/funds/animal-welfare)
- [Long-Term Future](https://app.effectivealtruism.org/funds/far-future)
- [Effective Altruism Infrastructure](https://app.effectivealtruism.org/funds/ea-community)

These reports provide a sense of the types of grants each Funds' managers might make in the future, though they may also expand into new areas.

How do I know which organizations the Fund managers are likely to support?

Each time they decide on a grant or set of grants, fund managers and management teams publish a report on where they are allocating donations to their fund, and why they believe these allocations are effective. You can view these reports on the pages for each of the funds.

The Animal Welfare, Long-Term Future, and EA Infrastructure funds each make three payouts per year. See [this article](https://forum.effectivealtruism.org/posts/F42BX8su2ZEquaicL/a-change-to-the-grantmaking-schedule-of-the-effective) for details on the payout schedule of the Global Health and Development fund.

We are interested in getting feedback from donors on the types of information they would like fund managers to include in their reports. If you have any comments on what the reports should include, please email us at [funds@effectivealtruism.org](mailto:funds@effectivealtruism.org).

How can I learn about grants made by the funds?

You can read about the current managers for each Fund on that Fund's page:

- [Global Development](https://app.effectivealtruism.org/funds/global-development)
- [Animal Welfare](https://app.effectivealtruism.org/funds/animal-welfare)
- [Long-Term Future](https://app.effectivealtruism.org/funds/far-future)
- [Effective Altruism Infrastructure](https://app.effectivealtruism.org/funds/ea-community)

Who are the current Fund managers?

Fund managers are chosen at the discretion of the [Centre for Effective Altruism](https://www.centreforeffectivealtruism.org/) on the basis of their performance on work tests, their past experience in grantmaking or other relevant areas, and formal and informal references.

[You can read more about our recent appointments and the underlying process on the EA Forum.](https://forum.effectivealtruism.org/posts/ek5ZctFxwh4QFigN7/ea-funds-has-appointed-new-fund-managers)

How are the Fund managers chosen?

If you have a project you think will improve the world, and it seems like a good fit for one of our Funds, we encourage you to apply for funding.

Please visit our [Apply for Funding](/funds/about/apply-for-funding) page for more information.

How do I apply for funding?

Please carefully read our publicly available information, then simply submit an application directly to our fund. Submitting an application is very quick and easy, and we will reach out to you if we are interested in discussing your application further at that point. 
We look forward to receiving your application!

May I speak with you before submitting a funding application?

The Fund managers are independent of the EVF, and EVF will not seek to change or influence their donation decisions as a general rule.

EVF does create policies and procedures which might constrain the grants that the Fund managers are able to make, and our internal operations team reviews each recommended grant, in order to confirm that the money will be used for charitable activities. EVF remains ultimately responsible for approving all grants, and reserves the right to decline to approve grant recommendations made by the fund managers.

How independent are the Fund managers? Does the Effective Ventures Foundation (EVF) control or influence their actions? What if EVF and Fund managers disagree?

If you have questions or feedback, please email us at [funds@effectivealtruism.org](mailto:funds@effectivealtruism.org). You can also see who manages each Fund on that Fund's page; managers can choose whether or not to provide contact information.

Can I contact the Fund managers directly?

Effective Altruism Funds is currently an [independent organization](https://www.centreforeffectivealtruism.org/blog/giving-what-we-can-and-ea-funds-now-operate-independently-of-cea/). Until the end of 2020, it was managed by the [Centre for Effective Altruism (CEA)](https://www.centreforeffectivealtruism.org/).

You can read more about the current team on our [team page](https://funds.effectivealtruism.org/team).

Who is in charge of Effective Altruism Funds?

Please get in touch at [funds@effectivealtruism.org](mailto:funds@effectivealtruism.org) if you have any questions that are not answered here.

Who can I contact if I have a question not answered here?

From the communication of the decision to fund the grant to its payment, it usually takes 1–6 weeks, typically 3.5 weeks. The total grant processing time will largely depend on how long the grantee takes to complete our due diligence process and sign the grant agreement before the money disbursement. If the grant seeker indicates in the application form that they need the money urgently and they submit due diligence and sign the agreement promptly, the payout can be expedited and should take just a few days.

How quickly does EA Funds disburse the grant money to the grantee?

EA Funds supports making donations in cryptocurrency. Cryptocurrency (crypto for short) is a type of digital currency, secured by cryptography. Common cryptocurrencies include Bitcoin, Ethereum, and Tether.

## Why donate with crypto in general?

Cryptocurrency is an asset, a little bit like shares in a company. Cryptocurrencies are traded just like shares, and have value that can be expressed in terms of regular (fiat) currencies, like USD or GBP.

You could always just sell some of your cryptocurrency (i.e. converting the value back into a regular currency), and then donate the proceeds. However, it might be better to donate the cryptocurrency instead, for two main reasons.

**Firstly, it’s usually more tax-efficient.** Because cryptocurrencies are an asset, selling them (and making a profit based on what you originally paid for them) incurs capital gains tax (CGT) in many jurisdictions. If you instead donate the cryptocurrency, you’ll avoid a capital gains event, which means you won’t have to pay CGT on those profits. (This shouldn’t be treated as tax advice, and you should check what the relevant laws are in your country.)

**Secondly, it’s simpler:** If you already own cryptocurrency, then it saves you the extra hassle of going to an exchange, selling your crypto, waiting to withdraw the proceeds, and then finally making a donation.

## Why donate with crypto on EA Funds?

EA Funds is one of the best places to donate with crypto.

-   **Lowest possible fees** – many crypto donation platforms charge processing fees of between 1% and 5% (or more). We’re integrated directly with our exchange, so our fees are as low as they can possibly be (typically around 0.2%), and we don’t charge any additional processing fees.
-   **Huge selection of coins and tokens** – in most jurisdictions you can donate in over 130 cryptocurrencies. US donors are limited to a smaller number of currencies for regulatory reasons, but there are still more than 20 coins and tokens to choose from.
-   **Institutional experience** – we’ve been accepting crypto donations since 2017, and have strong ties to the crypto community.
-   **Ease of use** – it’s super simple to donate. [Just choose your allocation, enter your payment amount, make your transfer, and verify your donation](/help/6u5MUsWP4VGh7EUswUgsGv). The whole process should take you less than two minutes.
**Tax-deductible** – if you live in a supported jurisdiction (US, UK, NL), your donation will be tax deductible.

Why donate with crypto on EA Funds?

Donating cryptocurrency on EA Funds is simple:

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__Step 1.__ Head to our [donate page](/donate), and pick the funds or organizations you’d like your donation to go to. You can donate to several organizations at once, and split your donation between them however you’d like.

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__Step 2.__ On the payment page, under the donation amount field, click the ‘Donate with crypto’ button

![Crypto Donation Flow - Donate Crypto Button](//images.ctfassets.net/afdyh2iav3iy/23D7Is4M65PHxASDECteg0/eb59a41e512a6cc969e4ab4a69c855e6/image3.png)

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__Step 3.__ Select the cryptocurrency you’d like to donate in [1], and the amount [2]. You’ll see an estimate of how much your donation will be worth in fiat currency [3].

![Crypto Donation Flow - Crypto Donation Data Entry](//images.ctfassets.net/afdyh2iav3iy/nvFD7NK10NK6yZioHocjr/1ae1d4180a8a7cffc1701023c0849548/image4.png)

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__Step 4.__ Fill in the rest of the form (email address, data sharing consent etc.). When you’re ready, click ‘Confirm’ on the payment summary box.

![Crypto Donation Flow - Payment Summary Page](//images.ctfassets.net/afdyh2iav3iy/lPW7pyYHE4aqb3L1Eynvj/4cbd9d33d19dbb0313cc8a264e770339/image1.png)

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__Step 5.__ Transfer your cryptocurrency to the wallet address you see on the screen.

![Crypto Donation Flow - Bitcoin Wallet Address](//images.ctfassets.net/afdyh2iav3iy/1fMIDWgfFtN1rfZS44mKkm/ad1daec6e6884a02bb7f0429abb77a2d/image2.png)

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__Step 6.__ Copy your [transaction hash](/help/5rFHjLrx1YwpTHMqfXi6kX). This is a number that uniquely identifies your crypto transaction on the blockchain, and we need it to verify your donation. You should see it in your crypto wallet, attached to the transaction you’ve just made.

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__Step 7.__ Verify your transfer by pasting your transaction hash into the field provided [1], and submitting the form [2]. This is important: if you don’t tell us your transaction hash, we won’t be able to allocate your donation properly.

If your wallet is on another device (such as your mobile phone), you can click the ‘verify this transfer on another device’ link. This will let you open the verification page on the device where your wallet lives. We’ll also send you this link via email, so you can also just open it from there.

![Crypto Donation Flow - Verify Transaction Hash](//images.ctfassets.net/afdyh2iav3iy/45YMqNDjV4l1nwTGVXJa3Z/de12a81a99ddb9c54b0298506a1806a9/image5.png)

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That’s it! You should receive your email receipt in the next 10-20 minutes, depending on how long it takes the transfer to confirm on our end (though please allow up to two hours).

If you have any questions, please feel free to [contact us](/contact).


How do I donate crypto on EA Funds?

From time to time, EA Funds makes awards in recognition of past charitable, scientific, educational, or civic achievement in the following areas: 

1.  animal welfare, alleviating the suffering of millions or billions of animals; 

2.  improving the  long-term future, such as by reducing risks from artificial intelligence and engineered pandemics; and 

3.  growing or improving the effective altruism community.

We are looking for people who have made substantive contributions to the areas identified above. This includes notable publications, infrastructure, and other outcomes with significant marginal impact.

The recipients of these awards are selected from the general public. If you think you have an achievement that should be considered for an award, we encourage you to let us know by applying at [EA Funds](https://funds.effectivealtruism.org/apply-for-funding). The selection committee considers these applications, but is not restricted to consideration of actual submissions, and submission is not a condition to eligibility for the award.

These awards are granted in recognition of past achievement in our particular focus areas; it is not intended to finance any specific activities of the recipient and there are no conditions on the manner in which it may be expended by the recipient. The recipient is not required to render any substantial future services as a condition of receiving the award.

Can EA Funds make retroactive grants?

Yes! We’ve accepted many crypto donations worth over $1 million. However, for donations of this size, we may elect to sell the crypto manually, depending on the coin, the liquidity of the market, and other factors. This might delay us sending your receipt.

If you’re planning to donate more than $500,000 or equivalent, please feel free to get in touch to discuss.


Can I make very large crypto donations?

After EA Funds has recommended funding for a project, the grantee must complete a due diligence process prior to receiving funding. Unless there is explicit agreement otherwise, we will cancel a grant if: 1) the grantee does not respond to emails regarding the due diligence process within two or more months, and 2) they don't reply after at least three follow-ups over email.

Depending on the reason for the delay in the completion of due diligence, EA Funds may still be willing to fund the grant. However, at this point, fund managers will need to re-review the application to ensure the project is still above the current funding bar, which changes over time.