Our two-month, fully cost-covered boot camp will take you from a basic familiarity with starting charities to being fully prepared to create and operate an effective organization. Management, fundraising, impact analysis – everything you need to know will be taught by mentors who have experience establishing multiple EA charities. 

WHY YOU SHOULD START A NEW CHARITY

$215,000 to charities

Achieve an impact equivalent to about $215K/year in donations to effective charities

HIGHLY RECOMMENDED

Pursue a career that is highly encouraged by GiveWell and supported by the Open Philanthropy Project

BETTER INTERVENTIONS

Move resources toward more cost-effective, evidence-based interventions

Capacity building

Increase your future impact by gaining entrepreneurial experience directly from EA mentors 
 Read more on why founding charities is high impact>>

How It Works


​1. Thoroughly Researched Ideas

Each year our research team spends thousands of hours researching potential charity ideas, building on large bodies of research by external organizations. Only the best interventions make it onto our list of top charity ideas.

3. Launch!

We give you seed funding, legal support, and connections to donors, mentors, and potential employees who all want to see you succeed. The rest is up to you!

2. Incubation Program

We choose participants who, in our view, have the greatest potential to start new, effective charities from our list. We then provide them with two months of intensive training.

What We Offer
FUNDING, LEGAL SUPPORT,
​ AND OFFICE SPACE
Our seed funding will give you a strong start. New organizations will receive seed grants of up to $100,000 per co-founding team. We’ll handle initial legal hurdles so that you have time to focus on what matters. You’ll also be able to use our co-working space for one year, free of charge, to work on your new charity.
A POWERFUL NETWORK
Tap into Effective Altruism’s powerful, worldwide network of mentors, funders, and skilled workers. We’ll feature you in our networking events and connect you to the right people.
ONGOING MENTORSHIP AND ASSISTANCE
You’ll be trained directly by our team for two months, during which time we’ll pay for your tuition, flights, meals, and housing. After you graduate, we continue to provide one-on-one mentorship weekly for up to 12 months after the charity’s founding.

AT THE PROGRAM

Master fundamental principles of managing high-impact organizations, including: ​

​MEASUREMENT AND EVALUATION

Strategic
​decision-making

Basic
​statistics​

Budgeting
and
​legalities

Task
​management

Charity registration

Organizational prioritization

Forming a
​board
Learn more relevant skills such as:
  • Hiring and firing
  • How to deal with conflict
  • Communication (written, in-person, persuasion, providing feedback)
  • Public relations and transparency
  • Public speaking, pitching ideas
  • Basics of self-care
You’ll practice these skills in real-world partner projects. All information will also be presented in a handbook with ready-made templates.

FINISH THE PROGRAM WITH

CO-FOUNDER

We’ll help you find a perfect match to work with based on partner-projects and multiple evaluations.
​

PLAN & BUDGET

You’ll prepare a budget and a strategic plan to kickstart your charity right after the program.
​

BRANDING

You’ll create a simple website and logo and record a high-quality video -- all you need to promote your organization.

IN THE CLASSROOM
The  Incubation Program's format resembles a full-course load at a university in terms of hours and workload. You can expect:
  • Seven to eight hours of work a day
  • Lectures and videos
  • Individual and partner projects
  • Assigned reading
  • Guest speakers

Guest Speakers in 2019 Included

Peter Singer
The Life You Can Save
Nikita Patel
Fortify Health
Rob Mather
Against Malaria Foundation
Bruce Friedrich
Good Food Institute
Adina Rom
​Policy Analytics
David Coman-Hidy
​The Humane League

Application Process

If you are dedicated to doing good, willing to follow the data, and have a strong interest in having a significant impact on the world — apply to the program. Doctorates, college dropouts, established professionals with children, and recent graduates have all founded charities through our program. The base traits that make a good charity entrepreneur include grit, intelligence, resourcefulness, the ability to self-motivate, and risk tolerance. We accept candidates of all ages, from a wide range of backgrounds.
​
The application process comprises five stages: 
WRITTEN
​APPLICATION
(30 minutes)
TEST TASK 1​
(2-3 hours)
INTERVIEW 1
(30 minutes)

​TEST TASK 2​
(3-5 hours)
​
INTERVIEW 2
(1 hour)
You will fill out a questionnaire and submit a resume with (optionally) a link to a work sample. 
You will be given two short test projects to be done in two to three hours and delivered in five days.
You don’t have to prepare anything for this interview.
This is another test project that you will submit within five days.
This is the final round of the application process.
Successful applicants will go through all five stages and will be informed whether they have been selected one to two weeks after the last round. We predict that we will accept between ten and thirty attendees in 2020.
Next round of applications: March 2020.
​Sign up to get notified when applications open.
We encourage you to start a charity from our list of recommended ideas. Thousands of hours have been put into identifying the most promising ideas, and the skill set required to start and operate an effective charity is different from that of research. If you are open to multiple ideas, you will have an even better chance of being accepted into the program.

If you have your own ideas, we are happy to look at your research and reasoning, but you must be able to make a good case that it is similarly high-impact to our recommended-charities list.

Logistics

Date: June 29⎼August 28, 2020
Location: London, UK (the program can’t be done remotely)
Hours: Monday-Friday (9 a.m. - 5 p.m.)

Program Costs

The full program costs will be covered by independent donors who support the idea of getting new, effective charities on their feet. These costs include:

AccomModation

Attendees will be staying in an Airbnb within 30 minutes of the office. If you are from London, we will cover a reasonable rent cost for the duration of the program.

Food

You will receive a daily allowance of $25 to cover your basic expenses.

Flights

We will cover transportation costs, including international flights.
We also organize social activities in which you are welcome to participate, including:
  • Sports  
  • Dinners
  • Board game and video game nights
  • Movie and music nights
  • Going together to Effective Altruism monthly socials

Testimonials

Paragraph. Kliknij tutaj, aby edytować.

Paragraph. Kliknij tutaj, aby edytować.
/
Paragraph. Kliknij tutaj, aby edytować.

  • 1
  • 2
  • 3
  • 4
  • 5
The team is obviously incredibly passionate, analytical, and extremely competent, and the resources/training provided to us in the program were excellent.

Joel Burke

Co-founder
/
Policy Entrepreneurship Network

  • 1
  • 2
  • 3
  • 4
  • 5

Paragraph. Kliknij tutaj, aby edytować.

Paragraph. Kliknij tutaj, aby edytować.
/
Paragraph. Kliknij tutaj, aby edytować.

  • 1
  • 2
  • 3
  • 4
  • 5
A sharp and dedicated team that provides advice, assistance, and inspiration. If you are entrepreneurial and altruistically minded, consider applying to their incubation program. Highly recommend.

Varsha Venugopal

Co-founder
/
Suvita

  • 1
  • 2
  • 3
  • 4
  • 5

Paragraph. Kliknij tutaj, aby edytować.

Paragraph. Kliknij tutaj, aby edytować.
/
Paragraph. Kliknij tutaj, aby edytować.

  • 1
  • 2
  • 3
  • 4
  • 5
​CE is literally the reason that millions of farmed fish will have better lives and that I am not currently living in my parents' basement. Would highly recommend to anyone trying to do the most good.

Haven King-Nobles

Co-founder
/
Fish Welfare Initiative

  • 1
  • 2
  • 3
  • 4
  • 5

Paragraph. Kliknij tutaj, aby edytować.

Paragraph. Kliknij tutaj, aby edytować.
/
Paragraph. Kliknij tutaj, aby edytować.

  • 1
  • 2
  • 3
  • 4
  • 5
I was a participant in the incubation program this summer. I learned a lot and had a fantastic experience! I feel very fortunate to be connected to this network of dedicated people.

Clare Donaldson

CTO
/
Happier Lives Institute

  • 1
  • 2
  • 3
  • 4
  • 5
  • 0
  • 1
  • 2
  • 3

Are You a Good Fit?

We encourage you to apply even if you are unsure whether you are a good fit. Since we only accept applicants who have a strong chance, with training, to start a high-impact charity, going through the application process will be the best indicator of possible fit. 
​
If you have any doubts, we will be happy to answer your questions during the first interview round. We also recommend checking out these talks on charity entrepreneurship:

Useful articles

FAQ

If you have any unanswered questions about the incubation program, check out our extensive Frequently Asked Questions section.
If you cannot find the answers to your questions on our website, you can contact us ->