Open Philanthropy is a research and grant-making foundation committed to the principles of effective altruism. Its main mission is to do as much good as possible with the resources available.
Open Philanthropy emerged from a partnership between GiveWell and Good Ventures. GiveWell, founded in 2007 by Elie Hassenfeld and Holden Karnofsky, focuses on evaluating charities to make donations as effective as possible. Good Ventures was founded in 2011 by Cari Tuna and Dustin Moskovitz, a co-founder of Facebook and Asana, with the goal of using their wealth as effectively as possible for humanity throughout their lives. The partnership adopted the name "Open Philanthropy Project" in 2014 and began operating as an independent organization in 2017[2][5].
The mission of Open Philanthropy is to help others as much as possible with the resources available. This is achieved through careful research and the identification of outstanding opportunities for giving. The organization publishes its findings to enable others to build on its work[4].
Open Philanthropy focuses on two broad categories of funding areas:
This portfolio includes areas such as global health, scientific research, animal welfare for farm animals, land use reform, and public policy. Open Philanthropy prioritizes causes based on their importance, neglect, and tractability to maximize overall benefit. Historically, a large portion of the funding in this portfolio has gone to charities recommended by GiveWell. More recently, Open Philanthropy has initiated new programs in areas such as public health and innovation policy[1][4].
This portfolio includes areas that have the potential to prevent or mitigate global catastrophes, including biosecurity, pandemic preparedness, and the development of safe artificial intelligence. Examples of grants in this area include funding for the Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security and support for the development of a universal flu vaccine at the University of Washington[1][4].
Open Philanthropy pursues a variety of initiatives to achieve sustainable and long-term benefits:
The main funders of Open Philanthropy are Cari Tuna and Dustin Moskovitz. The organization is led by Alexander Berger as CEO. Open Philanthropy works closely with other donors to maximize the overall benefit of their donations and to do more good than their current main funders could achieve alone[1][2][5].
Open Philanthropy is a shining example of how philanthropic engagement can be maximized through careful research, smart investments, and a strong commitment to the common good. Through its work, it helps improve the lives of millions of people and address global challenges.
