Survival and Flourishing Fund
Summary
SFF is a virtual fund that organizes grant recommendations and philanthropic giving, primarily supporting organizations working on existential risk and AI safety. They use a unique S-Process and have distributed over $152 million in grants since 2019.
Review
The Survival and Flourishing Fund (SFF) represents an innovative approach to strategic philanthropy in the existential risk and AI safety domain. Founded by Jaan Tallinn and advised by experts like Andrew Critch, SFF has developed a sophisticated grant-making process called the S-Process, which allows for flexible and responsive funding of critical research and initiatives.
The fund's methodology involves periodic evaluation rounds, independent assessors, and multiple grant mechanisms like the S-Process, Speculation Grants, and an Initiative Committee. This approach enables rapid, targeted funding of emerging AI safety projects while maintaining rigorous evaluation standards. Since 2019, SFF has grown from $2 million in initial grants to distributing over $41 million in 2024, demonstrating increasing momentum and commitment to addressing potentially transformative technological risks.
Key Points
- Innovative grant-making process with multiple funding mechanisms
- Strong focus on AI safety, existential risk, and long-term human flourishing
- Rapid scaling of philanthropic investments from $2M to $41M annually