Open Philanthropy University Organizer Fellowship

Table of Contents

This fellowship provides funding for individuals who want to direct or support university student groups focused on topics relevant to improving the long-term future, including effective altruism, longtermism, rationality, or specific cause areas. Individuals are eligible for funding at any college or university and may apply without a particular university in mind.

Fellows receive:

  • Full-time-equivalent funding starting in the following ranges, pro-rated for part-time organizers:
    • In the US: $45,000 – $80,000 per year for undergraduates, and $60,000 – $95,000 per year for non-undergraduates (including those no longer at university).
    • In the UK: £31,800 – £47,800 per year for undergraduates, and £35,800 – £55,900 per year for non-undergraduates.

Funding amounts in other countries will be set according to cost-of-living and other location-specific factors. Exact funding amounts will depend on a number of factors, including location, role, track record, and university.

  • Dedicated funding for group expenses, commonly ranging from $5,000 to $100,000+ per year, depending on the group’s funding needs.
  • (For organizers working 15 hours per week or more:) $3,000 per year to spend on personal productivity improvements and travel to relevant conferences and workshops. We may adjust this number for locations outside of the US and UK.

Fellows working full-time in the US will additionally receive a $14,050 annual health insurance stipend.1

Apply here for the university organizer fellowship. If you would like to request additional funding for your group without applying for the fellowship, please fill out this shorter form.

Applications will be assessed on a rolling basis.

If you have any questions, email us.

If you have any feedback about this page or this program, we’re really interested in hearing it– let us know on this short feedback form.

 

 

1. Program Details

This fellowship supports both students and non-students who want to work part- or full-time supporting university groups.

We are interested in supporting work on a wide variety of student groups, including those focused on:

Candidates may indicate general interest in directing or supporting university groups without having a particular location in mind; we can suggest and discuss potential options during our evaluation process.

Applicants who are new to running university groups may be interested in applying for the University Group Accelerator Program, a remote program run by the Centre for Effective Altruism that can help people transition from “a couple of interested organizers” to “a mid-sized EA group”.

Applicants may also be interested in looking at the EA Student Groups Handbook and EA Groups Resource Centre for existing resources on running university student groups.

1.1 Alternative funding sources

Individuals looking for extremely fast funding (within a few days) for certain common group expenses may want to apply for funding through the Global Challenges Project’s fast funding form or the Centre for Effective Altruism’s Rapid Group Support Funding.

The Centre for Effective Altruism previously provided funding for individuals and groups funded by this fellowship. They have since discontinued their equivalent funding program for university organizers, but continue to support non-urgent groups expenses through their Group Support Grants.

Individuals looking for extremely fast funding (within a few days) for certain common group expenses may want to apply for funding through the Global Challenges Project’s fast funding form.

Any effective altruism-related group or meta project (including those this program would fund) can apply for funding from the Effective Altruism Infrastructure Fund, though we intend to optimize this fellowship to be a smoother funding experience for student organizers in particular.

2. Application Process

Apply here for the full fellowship, and here for additional university group funding only (available to fellows or non-fellows).

Group leaders may ask for funding for organizers working less than 10 hours per week using either form above, rather than having those organizers fill out a separate application.

The fellowship application asks for:

  • Background information about you
  • How many hours you expect to work per week (minimum 10 hours total over the course of the semester)
  • Ideal funding duration
  • If you are interested in a specific group:
    • What group you would like to work on
    • A brief description of the role or activities you expect to perform
    • Any past experience relevant to your role above
    • (Optional) If you’re a group leader, whether you want to ask for funding for group organizers working less than 10 hours per week
    • (Optional) How much additional funding your group could use and what you would use it for
  • If you are not interested in a specific group:
    • Your preferences over groups to work with
    • Your ideal role(s) in a group
    • Any past experience relevant to your ideal roles above
  • (Optional) References

If you pass our initial screen, we will follow up with next steps, which may include requests for additional information or an invitation to have an interview with an Open Philanthropy staff member.

We expect to make final decisions on most applicants within three weeks of receiving their applications, with some applications taking up to six weeks. We are able to make decisions more quickly for applicants who indicate time-sensitivity on their applications. We generally expect the evaluation process to be significantly shorter and faster for applicants with past experience doing university organizing for the kinds of groups funded by this fellowship.

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1. This includes $10,000 earmarked for spending on health insurance (including vision, dental, and other relevant insurance) as well as an additional $4,050 “tax gross-up” to account for taxes paid on the stipend.