Funding Anthropalypse
If you work at Anthropic or OpenAI, the last few years may have made you wealthy on paper, or soon will. This Substack is about what to do with that money.
If you’re anyone else in cost-effective philanthropy, this money will reshape the field: who funds what, which causes can absorb what, and how to operate in a world of relative abundance. I’ll write about how to think it through.
I’m Jack Lewars. I run Ultra Philanthropy, an independent advisory that helps individuals, family offices and foundations give for maximum impact, and I manage its mid-stage global health fund. I’m also Chair of Trustees of High Impact Athletes, which turns professional athletes’ giving into support for the most cost-effective charities. I’ve spent years in effective giving and advised donors giving anything from a few hundred thousand to tens of millions a year. Funding Anthropalypse is where I write, independently and in public, about giving well after the AI windfall.
The pitch is simple. A lot of newly wealthy people in AI want to give seriously, and most of the advice they’ll get is either salesy, conflicted, or narrow. I don’t manage your money and I don’t work for a huge institutional philanthropy. What I offer is a second opinion: honest, evidence-led, bespoke, and willing to tell you when an idea is weaker than it looks.
Here’s roughly what I believe, so you know what you’re subscribing to:
The traditional cost-effective cause areas still buy more good per dollar than almost anything else. Global health and wellbeing is my particular speciality - it’s unglamorous, it can absorb enormous amounts and it works. However, I am just as excited about someone giving elsewhere, as long as it’s cost-effective.
Philanthropic pluralism is healthy. You don’t have to pour everything into the biggest evaluators and grantmakers to be a thoughtful giver, and I’ll push back on the idea that you should.
Most giving advice carries strong self-interest. I’ll show my reasoning and my sources, and flag where I’m uncertain. As far as possible, I’ll try to give neutral advice, even where it isn’t in my personal financial interest.
You’ll get clear write-ups on where to give and why, honest assessments of funds and interventions, and the occasional argument against the prevailing wisdom in this space. If you’re weighing a real giving decision and want a direct second opinion, that’s what I do at Ultra Philanthropy, and you can reach me through here. I am more than happy to give you advice on who else to talk to, if I am not best-placed.
Subscribe if you’re giving money away and want it to count.
