There are currently three main ways to donate to Effective Altruism Funds:

1. You can pay via Stripe using all major credit and debit cards.
2. You can pay via direct deposit (UK donors only).
3. You can request an offline payment by choosing the option "Bank transfer" when making the donation. If you do this, we will email you instructions for finalyzing the payment. This process takes more time than using a credit card, but does not incur third-party fees.


What payment types do you accept?

Donating cryptocurrency on EA Funds is simple:

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__Step 1.__ Head to our [donate page](/donate), and pick the funds or organizations you’d like your donation to go to. You can donate to several organizations at once, and split your donation between them however you’d like.

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__Step 2.__ On the payment page, under the donation amount field, click the ‘Donate with crypto’ button

![Crypto Donation Flow - Donate Crypto Button](//images.ctfassets.net/afdyh2iav3iy/23D7Is4M65PHxASDECteg0/eb59a41e512a6cc969e4ab4a69c855e6/image3.png)

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__Step 3.__ Select the cryptocurrency you’d like to donate in [1], and the amount [2]. You’ll see an estimate of how much your donation will be worth in fiat currency [3].

![Crypto Donation Flow - Crypto Donation Data Entry](//images.ctfassets.net/afdyh2iav3iy/nvFD7NK10NK6yZioHocjr/1ae1d4180a8a7cffc1701023c0849548/image4.png)

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__Step 4.__ Fill in the rest of the form (email address, data sharing consent etc.). When you’re ready, click ‘Confirm’ on the payment summary box.

![Crypto Donation Flow - Payment Summary Page](//images.ctfassets.net/afdyh2iav3iy/lPW7pyYHE4aqb3L1Eynvj/4cbd9d33d19dbb0313cc8a264e770339/image1.png)

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__Step 5.__ Transfer your cryptocurrency to the wallet address you see on the screen.

![Crypto Donation Flow - Bitcoin Wallet Address](//images.ctfassets.net/afdyh2iav3iy/1fMIDWgfFtN1rfZS44mKkm/ad1daec6e6884a02bb7f0429abb77a2d/image2.png)

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__Step 6.__ Copy your [transaction hash](/help/5rFHjLrx1YwpTHMqfXi6kX). This is a number that uniquely identifies your crypto transaction on the blockchain, and we need it to verify your donation. You should see it in your crypto wallet, attached to the transaction you’ve just made.

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__Step 7.__ Verify your transfer by pasting your transaction hash into the field provided [1], and submitting the form [2]. This is important: if you don’t tell us your transaction hash, we won’t be able to allocate your donation properly.

If your wallet is on another device (such as your mobile phone), you can click the ‘verify this transfer on another device’ link. This will let you open the verification page on the device where your wallet lives. We’ll also send you this link via email, so you can also just open it from there.

![Crypto Donation Flow - Verify Transaction Hash](//images.ctfassets.net/afdyh2iav3iy/45YMqNDjV4l1nwTGVXJa3Z/de12a81a99ddb9c54b0298506a1806a9/image5.png)

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That’s it! You should receive your email receipt in the next 10-20 minutes, depending on how long it takes the transfer to confirm on our end (though please allow up to two hours).

If you have any questions, please feel free to [contact us](/help).


How do I donate crypto on EA Funds?

A transaction hash (sometimes called a ‘transaction ID’ or ‘TXID’) is a string of letters and numbers that uniquely identifies a cryptocurrency transaction. 

We need you to tell us the transaction hash of your crypto transfer so that we can match it to your donation and ensure that it is allocated correctly.

## Finding your transaction hash

Your wallet may display the transaction hash immediately after completing the transaction, but if not, you can usually see it by finding the transaction in your wallet’s transaction list and clicking ‘transaction details’ or ‘transaction info’.

If you can’t find your transaction hash, you could try searching for `<name of your wallet or exchange> transaction hash`.

If you still can’t find the transaction hash for your crypto donation, please get in touch so that we can finalize your transfer and send you your receipt.

## Verifying your transaction hash

If you’ve made a crypto donation through EA Funds, you’ll need to verify it using the transaction hash. 

Verify your transfer by pasting your transaction hash into the field provided on the last step of the donation flow \[1\], and submitting the form \[2\]. If you’ve already closed or navigated away from the donation page, you can also open the verification page from the link in the email we sent you.

If your wallet is on another device (such as your mobile phone), you can click the ‘verify this transfer on another device’ link. This will let you open the verification page on the device where your wallet lives. We’ll also send you this link via email, so you can also just open it from there.

![Crypto Donation Flow - Verify Transaction Hash](//images.ctfassets.net/afdyh2iav3iy/45YMqNDjV4l1nwTGVXJa3Z/de12a81a99ddb9c54b0298506a1806a9/image5.png)

What is a transaction hash (crypto transaction ID)?

Please carefully read our publicly available information, then simply submit an application directly to our fund. Submitting an application is very quick and easy, and we will reach out to you if we are interested in discussing your application further at that point. 
We look forward to receiving your application!

May I speak with you before submitting a funding application?

From the communication of the decision to fund the grant to its payment, it usually takes 1–6 weeks, typically 3.5 weeks.
The total grant processing time will largely depend on how long the grantee takes to complete our due diligence process and sign the grant agreement before the money disbursement.
If the grant seeker indicates in the application form that they need the money urgently and they submit due diligence and sign the agreement promptly, the payout can be expedited and should take just a few days.

How quickly does EA Funds disburse the grant money to the grantee?

You get all the tax benefits you would with a DAF, but with lower fees. DAF fees can range between [0.35% and 2% of your donations](https://www.philanthropy.com/article/What-Donor-Advised-Funds/156495), whereas the Centre for Effective Altruism will not charge any management fees. To donate to a DAF, you also need to contribute a minimum of $5,000. There is no minimum donation to EA Funds, although we recommend a minimum of $20 (since credit card companies often deduct a fixed fee, which can dilute the impact of small donations).

Our Funds also benefit from the expertise of fund managers. who work to ensure that money goes toward high-impact opportunities. Using your own DAF, you would need to consult similar experts or conduct your own charity research.


How are Effective Altruism Funds different from donor-advised funds (DAF)?

We are a 501(c)(3) tax-exempt organization in the United States and a registered charity in England and Wales. This means that we can provide all of the tax benefits of a donor-advised fund without the associated fees. We can also use our infrastructure to negotiate for lower fees in processing donations and to create a more seamless user experience.


Why do donations to EA Funds go to CEA and not a separate donor-advised fund (DAF)?

Neither CEA nor the Fund managers take any payment or fee from the Funds. CEA currently provides all funding for the project, because they think it gives many people a relatively high-impact way to donate. 

At the end of 2020, Effective Altruism Funds began to [operate independently of CEA](https://www.centreforeffectivealtruism.org/blog/giving-what-we-can-and-ea-funds-now-operate-independently-of-cea/). It will begin to conduct its own fundraising in 2021.

Note that some Fund managers may decide that re-granting money to CEA is the best use of their Fund’s money in specific situations (though they are not actively encouraged or obligated to do so). CEA has received grants ([1](https://app.effectivealtruism.org/funds/ea-community/payouts/6M8SQFdecEm0WuAYweO2UQ), [2](https://app.effectivealtruism.org/funds/ea-community/payouts/2dyBJqJBSIq6sAGU6gMYQW)) from the EA Infrastructure and Long-Term Future Funds.

Does any money go to the Centre for Effective Altruism (CEA) and/or the fund managers?

The Fund managers are independent of the [Centre for Effective Altruism (CEA)](https://www.centreforeffectivealtruism.org/), and CEA will not seek to change or influence their donation decisions as a general rule.

CEA does create policies and procedures which might constrain the grants that the Fund managers are able to make, and our internal operations team reviews each recommended grant, in order to confirm that the money will be used for charitable activities. CEA remains ultimately responsible for approving all grants, and reserves the right to decline to approve grant recommendations made the the Fund managers.


 How independent are the Fund managers? Does the Centre for Effective Altruism (CEA) control or influence their actions? What if CEA and Fund managers disagree?

You can see reports on past grants made by each Fund on the Funds' respective pages (under the 'Payout Reports' heading):

- [Global Development](https://app.effectivealtruism.org/funds/global-development)
- [Animal Welfare](https://app.effectivealtruism.org/funds/animal-welfare)
- [Long-Term Future](https://app.effectivealtruism.org/funds/far-future)
- [Effective Altruism Infrastructure](https://app.effectivealtruism.org/funds/ea-community)

These reports provide a sense of the types of grants each Funds' managers might make in the future, though they may also expand into new areas.

How do I know which organizations the Fund managers are likely to support?

If you want to change your allocation for a non-recurring donation, please [email us](mailto:funds@effectivealtruism.org) with details on the new allocation you'd prefer. We can make this change as long as you made your donation within the last financial year.

If you want to make changes to a recurring donation, you'll have to [cancel that donation](/funds/faq#how-can-i-cancel-a-recurring-donation) and create a new one with your preferred allocation.

What if I want to change my allocation after I've donated?

We offer Funds in four different cause areas: [Global Health and Development](/funds/global-development), [Animal Welfare](/funds/animal-welfare), [Long-Term Future](/funds/far-future), and [Effective Altruism Infrastructure](/funds/ea-community).

We started with these because they represent the cause areas where most people in the effective altruism community currently focus their donations, and because we believe these areas are [important, tractable, and neglected](https://80000hours.org/articles/problem-framework/). 

What are the available Funds, and how did you choose which Funds to set up?

EA Funds allow you to make tax-efficient donations, which are then pooled together with other donations for regranting to organizations and projects with high expected impact. 

You can select one of four Funds to support. Each Fund is focused on a particular cause area, and is managed by a team of managers who decide how much funding goes to each of their chosen opportunities.

The current Funds are [Global Health and Development](/funds/global-development), [Animal Welfare](/funds/animal-welfare), [Long-Term Future](/funds/far-future) and [Effective Altruism Infrastructure](/funds/ea-community). You can read more about each of these areas on their respective pages.

The money you donate to a Fund will be held by CEA until the team of Fund managers is ready to regrant it. Once the Fund managers have decided where to donate, they will write up their research and thoughts on our site for anyone who wants to read them.

How do the Funds work?

Effective Altruism Funds help you give effectively and efficiently. They currently consist of four Funds which cover a set of problems that are [important, tractable, and neglected](https://concepts.effectivealtruism.org/concepts/importance-neglectedness-tractability/). They are managed by experts in the field who pool the community's donations and research high-value donation opportunities.

[You can make a donation here.](https://app.effectivealtruism.org/donations/new)



What is Effective Altruism Funds?

You can donate to any of the EA Funds by following [this link](https://app.effectivealtruism.org/donations/new), or clicking the blue button at the top of each Fund’s page.

First, choose the Funds or organizations you would like to make a donation to. You can choose up to 10 Funds/organizations as part of a single allocation.

If you are donating to more than one Fund/organization you'll need to choose how to split your donation between them. By default, all the sliders will be split equally between the Funds/organizations you've chosen. To change this, simply drag the sliders around until you have the allocation you want.

How do I make a donation using EA Funds?

EA Funds is a project of the [Centre for Effective Altruism](https://www.centreforeffectivealtruism.org/) (CEA), a registered non-profit which aims to build a strong effective altruism community. As such, it is a potential recipient of funding from the EA Infrastructure Fund.

The Centre for Effective Altruism has previously been granted funding from the EA Infrastructure Fund, both as unrestricted funding for general operations, as well as restricted funding for specific projects, in particular its [EA Community Building Grants](https://www.effectivealtruism.org/community-building-grants/) program. CEA may be a recipient of grants in the future. In addition, the Fund has granted to independent projects that are legally part of the Centre for Effective Altruism, including [80,000 Hours](https://80000hours.org/) and the [Forethought Foundation](https://www.forethought.org/), and may do so in the future.

The EA Infrastructure Fund management team is independent of CEA, and CEA goes through the normal, public application procedure when applying for grants. Potential conflicts of interest are governed by the EA Funds Conflict of Interest policy, and Fund managers who are closely associated with potential grant recipients are required to recuse themselves from advocating for grants.

Will the EA Infrastructure Fund make grants to the Centre for Effective Altruism or related projects?

The EA Infrastructure Fund makes donations to a range of different interventions. Some of these are likely to be higher-risk, but potentially higher-return opportunities. The nature of the space means that impact may be less certain, and some projects are new, and may not yet have a long track record. Overall, we classify the Fund as 'medium' risk.

[Read more about how we think about risk at EA Funds](/funds/about/risk).

What is the risk profile of the EA Infrastructure Fund?

If you have a project you think will improve the world, and it seems like a good fit for one of our Funds, we encourage you to apply for funding.

Please visit our [Apply for Funding](/funds/about/apply-for-funding) page for more information.

How do I apply for funding?

Yes, you can select which day of the month your recurring payment will be charged on.

When creating a donation:
- Choose a payment method that supports recurring donations, Credit Card (US/UK), GoCardless (UK only)
- Set your donation frequency to 'Recurring, Monthly'
- By default, your payment will be taken as soon as possible.
  ![Recurring Payment day-of-month selector](//images.ctfassets.net/afdyh2iav3iy/582vrdHkqIKb5nuiAH7GbM/b783b3fac7d0f284dea5b5162c5d1f8c/recurring_payment.png)
- If you'd prefer to set the day of the month your payment will be taken, click 'change'
  ![Recurring Payment choose day](//images.ctfassets.net/afdyh2iav3iy/5wzHa08Ob9KNYHzy3BQ14V/89eebb0ca5a1c5566cc9104b9f9a4a94/choose_day.png)

Note that if you select a day of the month that is before the current day of the month (or, before the earliest day that payment can be taken for GoCardless payments), then your first payment will be taken in the following month.

Can I choose which day my recurring payment is taken?

What is the risk profile of the Global Health and Development Fund

We don't currently have plans to open EA Funds up to further cause areas. However, we encourage you to make donations in the areas you believe to be most promising, perhaps after seeking out advice from experts who specialize in your preferred causes.