Grant Making Policy

Last updated: July 2023


The Centre for Enabling EA Learning & Research (CEEALAR) is a charity that principally makes grants to individuals in the form of providing free or subsidised serviced accommodation, with an (optional) moderate stipend for other living expenses (£30/week).

The trustees apply the charity’s funds at their discretion and in accordance with the charitable purposes and objectives of the charity.


Potential grantees are those who want to:

– further their education, via self-study, in fields such as economics, philosophy, science, AI, programming etc, in order to contribute to future efforts in various charitable activities related to Effective Altruism (EA), without having to worry about – or waste time – getting mostly irrelevant paid work in order to fund themselves.

– immerse themselves in desk-based research on their chosen subject without having to worry about fundraising, a job, grants, teaching, tenure etc.

– work on a charitable project without having to worry about runway.


The application process:

– Applicants are invited to apply by filling out a form (selecting the first option), containing the following questions:

  • First Name*
  • Last Name*
  • Email*
  • Phone*
  • LinkedIn profile / website / CV*
  • Please describe your intended work during the grant duration and your ability to execute on it.* Your work must satisfy our Charitable Objects – broadly, education and research (see our Grant Making Policy for more details). For stays longer than one month, your application must also be approved by the Board of Trustees. For stays of less than a month, short answers are acceptable for this form.
  • Please write a short bio, which will be displayed on the People page if you are accepted to CEEALAR and consent. (80–120 words)*
  • References: Please provide the names and emails/webpages of two people who can vouch for you.*
  • What would you do otherwise, if not granted a place? (150 words or less)*
  • Our community is funded by occasional EA grants and the generosity of donors and alums. We typically only have about 6 months of runway at a time. If you are able, how much can you contribute toward your stay? (£0 is fine! £30/day is approximately market rate)*
  • If your lifestyle needs exceed the room and board provided by this grant, how much of a stipend would you require each week to meet those lifestyle needs? (e.g. £10/week, £20/week, etc. Max is £30/week.)*
  • Would you need to receive additional funding in order to pay for other logistical expenses related to your grant duration (e.g. travel to/from CEEALAR, insurance, EA-related events, etc.)? Our travel expenses reimbursement policy is as follows: up to £50 for less than 30 day stays; up to £200 for 1-5 month stays; up to £500 for stays over 5 months.
  • What skills are you good at? Our community members come from diverse life experiences and career paths, and we are excited to invite a mix of skills. Please write down contributions that could be useful to others. (200 words or less)
  • Are you willing to spend time improving the function of the community? If so, how? e.g. offering mental health support, reviewing work, helping in the kitchen, doing yoga classes, etc. (200 words or less)
  • We are dedicated to creating a respectful space that reflects the vast diversity of the communities served by Effective Altruism. Our guests come from all walks of life; identities; backgrounds; and financial, physical, and mental health circumstances. We expect guests to commit to growing positive and sustainable relationships by working with the community manager and other members to encourage a sense of safety, respect, and belonging. You can read more about this in our Code of Conduct. Do you have any questions about this?

– For stays of 30 days or under, basic vetting by a committee of the Trustees, Community Manager, and Advisors will be performed to check for any concerns, and the Community Manager or any Trustee can make a decision. 

– For stays over 30 days, the Community Manager or a Trustee will conduct video interviews with promising applicants. A report will then be sent to a committee of the Trustees, Community Manager, and Advisors to score applications on a scale relative to donating the cost of hosting the applicant to GiveDirectly. Space permitting, an estimated expected value of the proposed work equal to donating the cost of the stay to GiveDirectly is the bar to acceptance for grants of free or subsidised stays. This bar rises with diminishing capacity. A decision to reject or accept the application is made by majority of Trustees and/or Advisors assessing that application. Individual Trustees can veto applications. Trustees and Advisors can also contest applications, at which point there is further discussion and a decision made by the Trustees.


Trustees:

Greg Colbourn MSci (Astrophysics), PhD (Earth System Modelling). Founder of CEEALAR.

Florent Berthet BA, MA (Finance), BA (Cinema). Co-Founder & Director of Ecole Nikola Tesla.

Sasha Cooper BA (English and Philosophy), MA (Publishing and Editing).


Community & Operations Managers:

Beth Anderson BA (French, Education and Sociology). On Purpose Honorary Fellow.

David Staley Project Manager, Alignment Continuity.


Advisors:

Laura Green BA (Political and Social Sciences), MSc (Economics). Co-Founder of Altruisme Efficace France.

Kat Woods Co-founder of Nonlinear, Charity Entrepreneurship, and Charity Science Health (Suvita).

Sanjay Joshi BA (Mathematics), Impact Specialist, Hymans Roberts.

Guest Representative Elected quarterly from grant recipients currently in residence.