How to apply for Grant Recipient, Effective Altruism Infrastructure

About EA Funds

EA Funds is a grantmaking project created by the Centre for Effective Altruism during Y Combinator's W17 batch, making it a pioneering organization in the effective altruism movement. It stands out for its direct impact on allocating millions of dollars to high-impact causes, and its remote-first, global team offers flexibility and a mission-driven culture. Working here means shaping the future of philanthropy by funding projects that save and improve lives.

About the role

As a Grant Recipient focused on Effective Altruism Infrastructure, you will manage grants that strengthen the EA ecosystem by improving access to talent, capital, and knowledge. You'll directly increase exposure to EA principles and support recruitment of talented individuals to address pressing global problems. This role is pivotal in building a global community that integrates EA into decision-making, making it a high-leverage position in the movement.

A typical day

A typical day might involve reviewing grant proposals from EA infrastructure projects, meeting with potential grantees to assess their needs, and collaborating with the team on strategies to recruit talent for key roles. You could also spend time engaging with the EA community online, facilitating connections, and analyzing data to measure the impact of funded initiatives. The role blends analytical work, relationship management, and strategic thinking to strengthen the EA ecosystem.

Who EA Funds is looking for

• Deep understanding of effective altruism principles and their practical applications, with a track record of using EA frameworks to evaluate opportunities.
• Experience in grant management or philanthropic work, including assessing proposals, monitoring grants, and working with grantees.
• Proven ability to identify and support talent recruitment initiatives, such as designing outreach programs or connecting candidates to impactful roles.
• Strong skills in community building and stakeholder engagement, with experience fostering collaboration across diverse, remote groups.

Tips for this application

• Explicitly connect your experience to EA principles: in your application, demonstrate how you've applied concepts like cause prioritization, counterfactual impact, or cost-effectiveness in past roles.
• Highlight any grantmaking or philanthropic experience: detail specific grants you've managed, budgets you've overseen, or grantees you've supported, emphasizing outcomes and lessons learned.
• Show familiarity with EA Funds' grantmaking approach: review their past grants and funding criteria, and mention how you'd align with their priorities in infrastructure, talent, and community building.
• Emphasize remote community building: since the role is global and remote, provide examples of how you've successfully built and engaged communities online or across geographies.
• Demonstrate recruitment savvy: describe instances where you've identified talent needs and implemented strategies to attract or place individuals in high-impact roles, ideally within EA or similar movements.

What to cover in your cover letter

["Your understanding of effective altruism and how you've applied it to real-world decisions or projects, showing alignment with EA Funds' mission.", 'Concrete examples of grant management or philanthropic work, including the scale of funding, types of projects, and your role in ensuring impact.', 'Experience in talent recruitment or community building, particularly in remote or global contexts, and how it led to measurable outcomes.', "Your vision for strengthening EA infrastructure: propose specific ideas for how you'd increase access to talent, capital, and knowledge through grants."]

Research before applying

• Review EA Funds' website, especially their grant application criteria, past grants, and fund managers, to understand their priorities and decision-making style.
• Read the Centre for Effective Altruism's resources on EA principles and infrastructure, as well as recent EA Forum posts on community building and talent recruitment.
• Explore other EA-aligned grantmakers (e.g., Open Philanthropy, Longview Philanthropy) to compare approaches and identify gaps EA Funds might fill.
• Investigate current EA infrastructure projects and bottlenecks (e.g., talent pipelines, knowledge management) to speak concretely about opportunities in your application.

Likely interview topics

Based on the job description, expect questions about:

• How would you evaluate a grant proposal for an EA infrastructure project? Walk us through your criteria and process.
• Describe a time you identified a talent gap in a community and successfully recruited individuals to fill it. What was your approach?
• What are the biggest challenges facing the EA community today, and how could grantmaking address them?
• How would you measure the success of a grant aimed at increasing exposure to EA principles?
• Tell us about a time you built or engaged a remote community. What tactics worked, and what didn't?

Common mistakes to avoid

• Being vague about EA principles: avoid generic statements about 'doing good' without demonstrating specific knowledge of EA concepts like cause neutrality or expected value.
• Neglecting to quantify impact: in grant management or recruitment, failing to provide metrics or concrete outcomes can make your experience seem less credible.
• Overlooking the remote/global aspect: not addressing how you've successfully worked across time zones or built communities online can signal a lack of fit for this remote-first role.