The mission of the Open Philanthropy Project is to give as effectively as possible and share its findings openly so that anyone can build on its work. The Open Philanthropy Project identifies outstanding giving opportunities, makes grants, follows the results, and publishes its findings.
Funding is primarily provided in the following four categories:
U.S. Policy
In this category, support is provided to people and organizations working to improve public policy in the United States via research, public education, and other activities.
Focus areas within this category include:
- criminal justice reform;
- farm animal welfare;
- macroeconomic stabilization policy;
- immigration policy; and,
- land use reform.
Global Catastrophic Risks
In this category, the Open Philanthropy Project prioritizes the value of the far future, defining "global catastrophic risks" as risks that could be globally destabilizing enough to permanently worsen humanity's future or lead to human extinction.
Focus areas within this category consist of:
- biosecurity and pandemic preparedness; and,
- potential risks from advanced artificial intelligence.
Scientific Research
In this area, the Open Philanthropy Project seeks to identify scientific research that has the potential for high impact and is under-supported by other funders.
Focus areas within this category include:
- broad spectrum antiviral drugs;
- universal influenza vaccine;
- basic immunology;
- chronic pain;
- cardiovascular disease;
- Alzheimer’s disease;
- mechanisms of aging;
- epigenetics;
- novel scientific tools and methods;
- under-studied or unusual biological phenomena; and,
- research on how biomedical research may be improved.
Global Health and Development
The Open Philanthropy Project has not yet identified focus areas for this category.
In addition to the four main categories, the Open Philanthropy Project supports initiatives in the following areas:
- History of Philanthropy;
- Effective Altruism; and,
- One-Off Grants.
Although the Open Philanthropy Project chiefly recommends grants to 501(c)(3) organizations, the organization is in principle agnostic about a giving opportunity’s tax status.
Click here for more information
