Open Philanthropy

While Open Philanthropy works with a range of donors, its founding and most significant ongoing partnership is with Good Ventures, the foundation of Cari Tuna and Dustin Moskovitz.

Dustin Moskovitz co-founded Facebook and later Asana, becoming a billionaire in the process. He and Tuna, his wife, were inspired by Peter Singer's The Life You Can Save,{{Cite news| title = Cari Tuna and Dustin Moskovitz: Young Silicon Valley billionaires pioneer new approach to philanthropy - The Washington Post| newspaper = The Washington Post| accessdate = February 6, 2022| url = https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/billionaire-couple-give-plenty-to-charity-but-they-do-quite-a-bit-of-homework/2014/12/26/19fae34c-86d6-11e4-b9b7-b8632ae73d25_story.html| archive-date = April 25, 2019| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20190425061151/https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/billionaire-couple-give-plenty-to-charity-but-they-do-quite-a-bit-of-homework/2014/12/26/19fae34c-86d6-11e4-b9b7-b8632ae73d25_story.html| url-status = live}} and became the youngest couple to sign Bill Gates and Warren Buffett's Giving Pledge, promising to give away most of their money. Tuna left her journalist position at The Wall Street Journal to focus on philanthropy full-time, and the couple started the Good Ventures foundation in 2011. The organization partnered with GiveWell, a charity evaluator founded by Holden Karnofsky and Elie Hassenfeld. The partnership named itself the "Open Philanthropy Project" in 2014, and began operating independently in 2017.

File:Cari Tuna speaking at EA Global 2016.png

More recently, Open Philanthropy has launched collaborative funds in partnership with philanthropic donors, including the Lead Exposure Action Fund and the Abundance and Growth Fund.

Open Philanthropy makes grants across a variety of focus areas where it believes that "philanthropic capital can have outsized leverage."{{cite web |title=About us |url=https://www.openphilanthropy.org/about-us/ |access-date=2025-03-21 |website=Open Philanthropy}}

In 2023, Open Philanthropy directed over $750 million in grants through recommendations to Good Ventures and other philanthropic partners.{{cite web |title=Our Progress in 2023 and Plans For 2024 |url=https://www.openphilanthropy.org/research/our-progress-in-2023-and-plans-for-2024/ |access-date=2025-03-21 |website=Open Philanthropy}}

Open Philanthropy selects causes to work on using three criteria:{{cite web |title=Cause Selection |url=https://www.openphilanthropy.org/cause-selection/ |access-date=2025-03-21 |website=Open Philanthropy}}

• Importance: How many individuals are affected by the problem, and how deeply.
• Neglectedness: Whether the cause receives adequate attention and resources from others, especially other major philanthropists.
• Tractability: The likelihood that a philanthropic funder can contribute to significant progress.

If a cause looks promising according to those criteria, Open Philanthropy researchers review literature and meet with experts to get a better understanding of the area, and then conduct an investigation to determine whether there are enough strong giving opportunities to justify the opening of a new program.{{cite web |title=Can this movement get more donors to maximize their impact? |url=https://www.devex.com/news/can-this-movement-get-more-donors-to-maximize-their-impact-90903 |access-date=2025-03-21 |website=Devex}}

Across the portfolio as a whole, Open Philanthropy aims to equalize marginal returns across different interventions to maximize overall impact.{{Cite journal |last=Oehlsen |first=Emily |date=2024-05-01 |title=Philanthropic Cause Prioritization |url=https://www.aeaweb.org/articles?id=10.1257/jep.38.2.63 |journal=Journal of Economic Perspectives |language=en |volume=38 |issue=2 |pages=63–82 |doi=10.1257/jep.38.2.63 |issn=0895-3309|url-access=subscription |doi-access=free }}

Open Philanthropy often uses a quantitative approach to estimate a grant's expected impact — for example, using back-of-the-envelope calculations based on scientific evidence to evaluate projects in areas like vaccine research, farm animal welfare, and the development of techniques for detecting environmental lead.{{cite web |title=How We Use Back-of-the-Envelope Calculations in Our Grantmaking |url=https://www.openphilanthropy.org/research/how-we-use-back-of-the-envelope-calculations-in-our-grantmaking/ |access-date=2025-03-21 |website=Open Philanthropy}}

In some cases, Open Philanthropy pursues "high-risk, high-reward" opportunities that don't necessarily have a strong evidence base or a high chance of success, but could potentially become philanthropic "hits" with enormous positive impact. It refers to this approach as "hits-based giving," comparing it to strategies used in venture capital investing.{{cite web |title=Hits-based Giving |url=https://www.openphilanthropy.org/research/hits-based-giving/ |access-date=2025-03-21 |website=Open Philanthropy}}

Examples of philanthropic hits cited by Open Philanthropy include the Green Revolution and the development of oral contraceptives. The organization has itself invested heavily in basic science and other areas with highly uncertain impact — for example, as an early supporter{{cite web |title=How Neil King and David Baker are using AI to create more effective vaccines |url=https://www.openphilanthropy.org/research/how-neil-king-and-david-baker-are-using-ai-to-create-more-effective-vaccines/#id-taking-calculated-bets-with-venture-philanthropy |access-date=2025-03-21 |website=Open Philanthropy}} of Nobel Laureate David Baker's work on computational methods for protein design.{{cite web |title=Open Philanthropy Project Awards $11.3 Million to Institute for Protein Design at UW Medicine |url=https://www.ipd.uw.edu/2018/04/open-philanthropy-project-awards-11-3-million-to-institute-for-protein-design-at-uw-medicine-to-unlock-the-secrets-of-proteins-and-seek-a-universal-flu-vaccine/ |access-date=2025-03-21 |website=Institute for Protein Design |date=April 2018}}

Open Philanthropy's focus areas are split across two portfolios: Global Health and Wellbeing, and Global Catastrophic Risks.

File:Women and children receive anti-malarial nets in Malawi.jpg

Open Philanthropy's Global Health & Wellbeing portfolio focuses on improving health outcomes and overall wellbeing, particularly in low- and middle-income countries. The approach emphasizes cost-effective, evidence-based interventions that can be scaled to reach large populations.

Historically, a large fraction of funding in this portfolio went toward charities recommended by GiveWell. Since 2021, Open Philanthropy has pushed to identify causes that could leverage funding to "get more humanitarian impact per dollar", leading to the creation of several new programs (in areas such as public health and development policy) and leaving GiveWell as a smaller portion of the portfolio.{{cite web |title=Technical updates to our global health and wellbeing cause prioritization framework |url=https://www.openphilanthropy.org/research/technical-updates-to-our-global-health-and-wellbeing-cause-prioritization-framework |access-date=2025-03-21 |website=Open Philanthropy}}

Open Philanthropy's support for global health and development includes efforts to prevent malaria, promote routine vaccinations, and scale up water chlorination efforts to reduce the spread of waterborne diseases.

Notable grantees include the Malaria Consortium,{{cite web |title=Malaria Consortium — Seasonal Malaria Chemoprevention Programs (2023) |url=https://www.openphilanthropy.org/grants/malaria-consortium-seasonal-malaria-chemoprevention-programs-2023/ |access-date=2025-03-21 |website=Open Philanthropy}} New Incentives,{{cite web |title=New Incentives — Nigeria |url=https://www.openphilanthropy.org/grants/new-incentives-nigeria/ |access-date=2025-03-21 |website=Open Philanthropy}} and Evidence Action.{{cite web |title=Evidence Action — Scale-Up of In-Line Chlorination in India |url=https://www.openphilanthropy.org/grants/evidence-action-scale-up-of-in-line-chlorination-in-india/ |access-date=2025-03-21 |website=Open Philanthropy}}

Open Philanthropy's support for farm animal welfare includes efforts to reform cruel practices on factory farms, develop technologies to reduce animal pain and suffering, and support the development and adoption of alternative proteins in hopes of reducing meat consumption.

Open Philanthropy has been called "the world's biggest funder of farm animal welfare".{{cite web |title=How factory farming ended up being one of the world's most pressing problems |url=https://www.vox.com/2021/11/26/22772693/animal-rights-welfare-movement-global-factory-farming |access-date=2025-03-21 |website=Vox |date=November 26, 2021}}

Notable grantees include The Humane League,{{cite web |title=The Humane League — General Support (2024) |url=https://www.openphilanthropy.org/grants/the-humane-league-general-support-2024/ |access-date=2025-03-21 |website=Open Philanthropy}} Mercy for Animals,{{cite web |title=Mercy For Animals — Corporate Campaigns (2024) |url=https://www.openphilanthropy.org/grants/mercy-for-animals-corporate-campaigns-2024/ |access-date=2025-03-21 |website=Open Philanthropy}} and the Good Food Institute.{{cite web |title=The Good Food Institute — General Support (2024) |url=https://www.openphilanthropy.org/grants/the-good-food-institute-general-support-2024/ |access-date=2025-03-21 |website=Open Philanthropy}}

Projects funded by Open Philanthropy's Scientific Research program include efforts to create new vaccines and antivirals, develop new scientific tools and techniques, and fund fellowship programs and conference travel for young scientists.

Notable grantees include David Baker,{{cite web |title=University of Washington — Protein Design Research (David Baker) |url=https://www.openphilanthropy.org/grants/university-of-washington-protein-design-research-david-baker/ |access-date=2025-03-21 |website=Open Philanthropy}} Sherlock Biosciences,{{cite web |title=Sherlock Biosciences — Research on Viral Diagnostics |url=https://www.openphilanthropy.org/grants/sherlock-biosciences-research-on-viral-diagnostics/ |access-date=2025-03-21 |website=Open Philanthropy}} and the International Vaccine Institute.{{cite web |title=International Vaccines Institute — Cholera Vaccine Phase II Trial |url=https://www.openphilanthropy.org/grants/international-vaccines-institute-cholera-vaccine-phase-ii-trial/ |access-date=2025-03-21 |website=Open Philanthropy}}

The Scientific Research team works closely with the Global Health R&D team, which is more focused on "supporting tools and treatments through the development life cycle".{{cite web |title=Global Health R&D |url=https://www.openphilanthropy.org/focus/global-health-rd/ |access-date=2025-03-21 |website=Open Philanthropy}}

Open Philanthropy's Effective Giving and Careers program aims to "empower people to use their careers and donations to help others as much as possible". It supports organizations that encourage impact-focused career choices and charitable donations.

Notable grantees include 80,000 Hours,{{cite web |title=80,000 Hours — General Support (October 2024) |url=https://www.openphilanthropy.org/grants/80000-hours-general-support-october-2024/ |access-date=2025-03-21 |website=Open Philanthropy}} Founders Pledge,{{cite web |title=Founders Pledge — General Support (2023) |url=https://www.openphilanthropy.org/grants/founders-pledge-general-support-2023/ |access-date=2025-03-21 |website=Open Philanthropy}} and Giving What We Can.{{cite web |title=Giving What We Can — General Support (November 2024) |url=https://www.openphilanthropy.org/grants/giving-what-we-can-general-support-november-2024/ |access-date=2025-03-21 |website=Open Philanthropy}}

Open Philanthropy's support for global public health policy includes work to mitigate lead exposure, reduce air pollution in India and other South Asian countries, and prevent suicide by encouraging the selective restriction of access to toxic pesticides.

Notable grantees include the Lead Exposure Elimination Project,{{cite web |title=Lead Exposure Elimination Project — General Support |url=https://www.openphilanthropy.org/grants/lead-exposure-elimination-project-general-support/ |access-date=2025-03-21 |website=Open Philanthropy}} IIT Kanpur,{{cite web |title=Indian Institute of Technology Kanpur — Rural Air Quality Monitoring |url=https://www.openphilanthropy.org/grants/indian-institute-of-technology-kanpur-rural-air-quality-monitoring/ |access-date=2025-03-21 |website=Open Philanthropy}} and the Centre for Pesticide Suicide Prevention.

Open Philanthropy's Global Aid Policy program supports efforts to increase aid spending and improve the cost-effectiveness of existing aid programs.

Notable grantees include the Joep Lange Institute,{{cite web |title=Joep Lange Institute — Expanding the Donor Base for Global Health (2024) |url=https://www.openphilanthropy.org/grants/joep-lange-institute-expanding-the-donor-base-for-global-health-2024/ |access-date=2025-03-21 |website=Open Philanthropy}} the Center for Global Development,{{cite web |title=Center for Global Development — General Support (2025) |url=https://www.openphilanthropy.org/grants/center-for-global-development-general-support-2025/ |access-date=2025-03-21 |website=Open Philanthropy}} and the Clinton Health Access Initiative.{{cite web |title=Clinton Health Access Initiative — Effectiveness Improvements for Health Multilaterals |url=https://www.openphilanthropy.org/grants/clinton-health-access-initiative-effectiveness-improvements-for-health-multilaterals/ |access-date=2025-03-21 |website=Open Philanthropy}}

This portfolio is dedicated to addressing global catastrophic risks — threats that have the potential to "kill enough people to threaten civilization as we know it".{{Cite web| last = Matthews| first = Dylan| title = You have $8 billion. You want to do as much good as possible. What do you do?| work = Vox| accessdate = February 6, 2022| date = April 24, 2015| url = https://www.vox.com/2015/4/24/8457895/givewell-open-philanthropy-charity| archive-date = August 24, 2017| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20170824133751/https://www.vox.com/2015/4/24/8457895/givewell-open-philanthropy-charity| url-status = live}}

Across the portfolio as a whole, much of Open Philanthropy's grantmaking is focused on research, policy advocacy, and capacity-building efforts (e.g. helping people find jobs where they can work full-time on global catastrophic risk mitigation, or building up related academic fields).

Open Philanthropy's work on biosecurity and pandemic preparedness includes support for disease surveillance, restrictions on gain-of-function research, and the development of next-generation personal protective equipment.

Notable grantees include the Bipartisan Commission on Biodefense,{{cite web |title=Bipartisan Commission on Biodefense — General Support (2024) |url=https://www.openphilanthropy.org/grants/bipartisan-commission-on-biodefense-general-support-2024/ |access-date=2025-03-21 |website=Open Philanthropy}} the Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security,{{cite web |title=Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security — Biosecurity, Global Health Security, and Global Catastrophic Risks (2023) |url=https://www.openphilanthropy.org/grants/johns-hopkins-center-for-health-security-biosecurity-global-health-security-and-global-catastrophic-risks-2023/ |access-date=2025-03-21 |website=Open Philanthropy}} and the World Health Organization.{{cite web |title=World Health Organization — Syphilis Treatment for Pregnant Women |url=https://www.openphilanthropy.org/grants/world-health-organization-syphilis-treatment-for-pregnant-women/ |access-date=2025-03-21 |website=Open Philanthropy}}

Open Philanthropy's Biosecurity and Pandemic Preparedness team helped to convene a group of scientists to discuss potential risks from the creation of mirror bacteria.{{cite web |title=Scientists Sound Alarm About 'Mirror Life' Microbes That Could Be Deadly to All Life on Earth |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2024/12/12/science/mirror-life-microbes-research.html |access-date=2025-03-21 |website=The New York Times |date=December 12, 2024}} This work was eventually published in Science.{{cite journal |title=Confronting risks of mirror life |url=https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/science.ads9158 |access-date=2025-03-21 |journal=Science |volume=382 |issue=6676 |pages=eads9158 |doi=10.1126/science.ads9158}}

Some have claimed that by "flooding" money into biosecurity, Open Philanthropy is "absorbing much of the field's experienced research capacity, focusing the attention of experts on this narrow, extremely unlikely, aspect of biosecurity risk".{{Cite web |date=April 25, 2019 |title=Will splashy philanthropy cause the biosecurity field to focus on the wrong risks? |url=https://thebulletin.org/2019/04/will-splashy-philanthropy-cause-the-biosecurity-field-to-focus-on-the-wrong-risks/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220206032927/https://thebulletin.org/2019/04/will-splashy-philanthropy-cause-the-biosecurity-field-to-focus-on-the-wrong-risks/ |archive-date=February 6, 2022 |accessdate=February 6, 2022 |work=Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists}}

Open Philanthropy's Forecasting program works to enable the creation of "high-quality forecasts on questions relevant to high-stakes decisions".{{cite web |title=Forecasting |url=https://www.openphilanthropy.org/focus/forecasting/ |access-date=2025-03-21 |website=Open Philanthropy}}

Notable grantees include Philip Tetlock{{cite web |title=University of Pennsylvania — Philip Tetlock on Forecasting |url=https://www.openphilanthropy.org/grants/university-of-pennsylvania-philip-tetlock-on-forecasting/ |access-date=2025-03-21 |website=Open Philanthropy}} and Metaculus.{{cite web |title=Metaculus — Platform Development (2024) |url=https://www.openphilanthropy.org/grants/metaculus-platform-development-2024/ |access-date=2025-03-21 |website=Open Philanthropy}}

This program aims to "grow and empower the community of people focused on addressing threats to humanity and protecting the future of human civilization".

Notable grantees include the Centre for Effective Altruism,{{cite web |title=Centre for Effective Altruism — General Support (EVF UK, May 2024) |url=https://www.openphilanthropy.org/grants/centre-for-effective-altruism-general-support-evf-uk-may-2024/ |access-date=2025-03-21 |website=Open Philanthropy}} Kurzgesagt,{{cite web |title=Kurzgesagt — Video Creation and Translation |url=https://www.openphilanthropy.org/grants/kurzgesagt-video-creation-and-translation/ |access-date=2025-03-21 |website=Open Philanthropy}} and several academics funded to develop courses on relevant topics.{{cite web |title=Open Philanthropy Course Development Grants |url=https://www.openphilanthropy.org/open-philanthropy-course-development-grants/ |access-date=2025-03-21 |website=Open Philanthropy}}

Open Philanthropy is a leading funder of research on AI alignment and other work aimed at reducing existential risk from advanced artificial intelligence. The organization has stated a belief that artificial general intelligence may be developed before 2045,{{cite web |title=Potential Risks from Advanced Artificial Intelligence |url=https://www.openphilanthropy.org/focus/potential-risks-advanced-ai/ |access-date=2025-03-21 |website=Open Philanthropy}} and that this could pose risks from accidents, deliberate misuse, or "drastic societal change". Ajeya Cotra, a researcher at Open Philanthropy, has said that "a lens that [she uses] to think about the A.I. revolution is that it will play out like the Industrial Revolution but around 10 times faster."{{cite web |title=What A.I. Might Look Like in 2030 |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2024/12/19/business/dealbook/artificial-intelligence-in-2030.html |access-date=2025-03-21 |website=The New York Times |date=December 19, 2024}}

Notable grantees include the Center for Security and Emerging Technology,{{cite web |title=Georgetown University — Center for Security and Emerging Technology |url=https://www.openphilanthropy.org/grants/georgetown-university-center-for-security-and-emerging-technology/ |access-date=2025-03-21 |website=Open Philanthropy}} the Alignment Research Center,{{cite web |title=Alignment Research Center — General Support (November 2022) |url=https://www.openphilanthropy.org/grants/alignment-research-center-general-support-november-2022/ |access-date=2025-03-21 |website=Open Philanthropy}} and Mila.{{cite web |title=Mila — AI Safety Research |url=https://www.openphilanthropy.org/grants/mila-ai-safety-research/ |access-date=2025-03-21 |website=Open Philanthropy}}

Past focus areas of Open Philanthropy have included:

• Criminal justice reform (which spun out as a new organization in 2021)
• U.S. macroeconomic stabilization policy (which ceased to be a focus in 2021, though European macroeconomic policy grants have been made more recently)
• Immigration policy (which ceased to be a focus in 2022).

In 2024, the organization launched the Lead Exposure Action Fund in collaboration with partners including Good Ventures and the Gates Foundation.{{cite web |title=The world's spending to fight global lead poisoning just doubled |url=https://www.vox.com/future-perfect/375139/lead-partnership-usaid-unicef-samantha-power |access-date=2025-03-21 |website=Vox |date=October 2, 2024}} The fund has committed $100 million toward reducing lead exposure, approximately doubling the amount of global philanthropic spending on lead reduction.

Open Philanthropy is also a founding member of the Partnership for a Lead-Free Future, a public-private partnership aimed at ending childhood lead poisoning. Other founding members include UNICEF and USAID.{{cite web |title=A 'silent epidemic' of childhood lead poisoning haunts the world |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2024/09/22/lead-poisoning-children-flint/ |access-date=2025-03-21 |website=The Washington Post |date=September 22, 2024}}

In 2025, the organization launched the Abundance and Growth Fund in partnership with Good Ventures, Patrick Collison, and other donors. The fund will dedicate $120 million over three years to accelerate economic growth and boost scientific and technological progress, building on Open Philanthropy's previous work in housing and innovation policy.{{cite web |title=Open Philanthropy Launches Effective Altruism Fund to Speed Housing Construction |url=https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2025-03-11/open-philanthropy-launches-effective-altruism-fund-to-speed-housing-construction |access-date=2025-03-21 |website=Bloomberg |date=March 11, 2025}}

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