Apply for Funding
Our first open funding round closed on March 21, and we are no longer accepting applications. We do not currently have any plans to resume accepting applications and do not know if or when we will do so. If we decide to start accepting applications again, we will announce this decision on this page and with a blog post on the EA Forum.
We are inspired by Fast Grants and aim to arrive at decisions on most proposals within 14 days. For larger and more complex decisions that require more time, we’ll provide an update on what to expect by then.
FAQ
The ideal application would:
- Have a great team
- Focus on a key problem facing the long-term future, such as the problems discussed on our Areas of Interest page and Project Ideas page
- Have a sensible and specific plan for how to tackle that problem and achieve the desired impact
- Have a plan for how the project could massively scale given additional funding
In terms of writing the application, we recommend that you simply and clearly explain what you do and why it’s important; you don’t need more than that. Much of the advice from Y Combinator’s “How to Apply” page is helpful, but bear in mind differences: we can supply funding (not training) at this stage, and we’re aiming at impact rather than revenue.
Please make your application as sincere as possible, and think about how it relates to our Principles and Areas of Interest. Sometimes people seeking funding make up highly tenuous stories about how their work is related to funder objectives. That just wastes everyone’s time. Please tell us what you really think, not what you think we want to hear.
In order to distribute labor and keep ourselves focused, we don’t accept applications seeking less than $100,000. We recommend submitting such applications to EA Funds or the Survival and Flourishing Fund.
We aim to arrive at decisions on most proposals within 14 days (though in more complex cases, we might need more time).
- If your grant request is under $1 million, we understand it, we like it, and we don’t see potential for major downsides, it’ll probably get approved within a week.
- Sometimes, we won’t see an easy path to finding a strong fit, and you’ll get a quick negative decision.
- Sometimes we’re just missing a little bit of information, and we’ll need to have a call with you to see if there’s a fit.
- Larger grants and grants that affect whole communities require more attention, and will have a customized process.
We try to avoid processes that take months and leave grantees unclear on when they’re going to reach a decision.
No! You don’t need to be a longtermist or effective altruist, or subscribe to any particular philosophical view, in order to apply. However, you should be aware that our interest in your project will be a direct function of its potential to positively impact the long-term future of humanity and sentient life. You should be excited about pursuing a goal (like reducing the risk of human extinction) that can do this, and your proposal should be transparent and sincere about how you plan to do so.
The Future Fund focuses on projects that plausibly impact the very long-term future. But we’re very in favor of what you’re doing! We encourage you to look into obtaining funding from sources such as EA Funds. The FTX Foundation funds efforts to address the short-term and long-term effects of climate change through FTX Climate, and efforts to address global poverty, animal suffering, and other pressing problems through FTX Community. Right now, FTX Climate and FTX Community aren’t accepting requests for funding. They may do so in the future, as we grow our team and build out our infrastructure.
We usually don’t provide feedback because we have a small team and face capacity constraints.
We might respond to your application with a “revise and resubmit” (R&R) verdict. This means we aren’t ready to fund your application as is, but might if you revise it. If you get an R&R, then when your new application is ready, you fill out a new form as if you’re submitting a new application.
Please ask the question publicly as a comment, here. We don’t have capacity right now to field non-public individual questions.
We think you should try to balance two considerations:
- We tend to find that people think too small, rather than think too big. We love to hear ambitious pitches!
- We think it’s good for people founding new projects to hire slowly, and make sure they’ve got their culture and strategy right before they scale.
It can be helpful to provide budget ranges: a minimal, mainline, and maximally ambitious version.
Yes, when we think it’ll improve the long-term future. In fact, we often encourage non-profit founders to think hard about whether there’s a way for their organization to succeed at its mission as a for-profit instead. Often, organizing as a for-profit helps with recruitment, creates positive feedback loops, and improves long-term sustainability. In addition, if a venture could be profitable, we prefer to invest instead of providing a grant because it helps our resources go further.
We’d strongly prefer that you keep it simple by using a standard YC SAFE. More complicated structures may take longer to review and/or be held to higher standards.
Yes.
Yes.
For colleges and universities, our policy is that indirect costs may not exceed 10% of the direct costs. On this front, Future Fund will mimic Open Philanthropy’s indirect costs policy.
Great! Please apply!