Global Catastrophic Risks Fund

We find opportunities to support highly impactful and neglected initiatives to reduce the probability of worldwide catastrophes and mitigate their consequences. This is a complex mission, with an ever-changing threat landscape. We give special consideration to threats that could curtail humanity’s future, leaning towards tractable solutions today. By seeking opportunities that are neglected by other grant-makers, we can ensure that the Fund is as high-leverage as possible.

Grant-making

Our decision-making is guided by three core values: impact, innovation, and flexibility.

• To maximize impact, our grant portfolio includes both direct interventions, like funding the development of new crisis communications technology or personal protective equipment (PPE), as well as research and hits-based bets. Hits-based bets are initiatives where success is less certain, but where there is potential to improve many more lives if successful.
• We are committed to innovation, including developing new and better approaches to grantmaking, and providing seed funding for novel projects.
• We maintain flexibility to respond rapidly to emerging crises and windows of opportunity. We work with networks of domain experts, trusted partners, and government decision-makers to identify new opportunities, and deploy funds in the most effective ways.

When evaluating potential grants, we consider several factors:

• Counterfactual impact.
• Collaborating with trusted partners.
• Avoiding harm and information hazards.
• Filling funding gaps.
• Organizational strength.
• Seizing time-sensitive opportunities and policy windows.