Funding Type: Grants

Massachusetts General Hospital — Tuberculosis Vaccine Preclinical Development and Testing

Image courtesy of Massachusetts General Hospital

Open Philanthropy recommended a grant of $177,794 over two years to Massachusetts General Hospital to support the preclinical development and testing of a tuberculosis (TB) vaccine, led by Dr. Bryan Bryson of the Ragon Institute.

The approach to the vaccine follows a 2022 study by Musvosvi et al. that identified four TB proteins associated with natural clearance of the infection. The proposed research aims to support preclinical analysis of these four proteins in human cell and mouse assays to evaluate their potential as vaccine candidates. This is one of three grants we’re making to support this work.

This falls within our focus area of scientific research.

Dyrevernalliansen — Ethical Investment Criteria

Dyrevernalliansen zoologist Susanna Lybæk giving a speech. Photo: Ihne Pedersen.

Open Philanthropy recommended a grant of $95,000 over two years to Dyrevernalliansen (The Norwegian Animal Protection Alliance) to support a project to set farm animal welfare criteria for investments within the Norway Government Pension Fund Global. 

This falls within our focus area of farm animal welfare, specifically within our interest in farm animal welfare in Europe.

​​To learn more about new approaches and strategies, we sometimes make “experimental grants”, which involve less vetting than our other grants. This is an experimental grant.

Ali Merali — Economics Research on AI Model Scaling Effects

Open Philanthropy recommended a grant of $54,650 to Ali Merali to support a series of randomized controlled trials (RCTs) estimating how much model scale affects human performance on economically relevant tasks.

This grant was funded via a request for proposals for projects studying and forecasting the real-world impacts of systems built from LLMs and falls within our focus area of potential risks from advanced artificial intelligence.

Overseas Development Institute — Sri Lanka Economic Growth Reforms

Image courtesy of the Overseas Development Institute

Open Philanthropy recommended a grant of £650,000 (approximately $834,083 at the time of conversion) to the Overseas Development Institute to support a team led by Ganeshan Wignaraja. The team will advise the Sri Lankan government on three economic reform topics: trade, debt management, and fiscal policy.

This falls within our focus area of economic growth in low- and middle-income countries.

The grant amount was updated in August 2024.

New York University — Wild Animal Welfare Program (2024)

Open Philanthropy recommended a gift of $200,000 to New York University to support their Wild Animal Welfare program, led by Professors Becca Franks and Jeff Sebo. The program will conduct and support research, outreach, and field-building about what wild animals are like, and how humans can improve our interactions with them at scale.

This follows our August 2022 support and falls within our work on animal welfare. It represents an “exit grant” that will provide the Wild Animal Welfare program with operational support.

Mercy for Animals — Corporate Campaigns (2024)

Image courtesy of Mercy for Animals

Open Philanthropy recommended a grant of $12,380,000 over two years to Mercy for Animals to support its broiler welfare and cage-free corporate campaigns, as well as some related farm animal welfare activities.

This follows our August 2022 support and falls within our focus area of farm animal welfare.

Alignment Research Engineer Accelerator — AI Safety Technical Program (2024)

Photo courtesy of the Alignment Research Engineer Accelerator

Open Philanthropy recommended a grant of £245,895 (approximately $318,272 at the time of conversion) to support the Alignment Research Engineer Accelerator (ARENA), a program that provides talented individuals with the skills, tools, and environment necessary for upskilling in ML engineering, for the purpose of contributing directly to AI alignment in technical roles.

This follows our November 2023 support and falls within our focus area of Global Catastrophic Risks Capacity Building.

The grant amount was updated in August 2024.