Thanks for recommending Successif! Our homepage might be a better starting point as it has more information on our focus on helping people reduce AI risk. That being said, the profile of the OP fits our program very well, and we would be glad to get an application.

I would have preferred working groups especially for the questions around monetary value of talent which seemed especially hard to get a sense for.

I had a similar sense of feeling underprepared and rushed while taking the survey and think my input would have been better with more time and a different setting. At the same time I can see that it could have been hard to get the same group of people to answer without these constraints.

For the monetary value of talent I‘m especially cautious on putting much weight on them as I haven’t seen much discussion on such estimates and coming up with a numbers in minutes is hard.

Rather than accepting the numbers at face value, they may be more useful for illustrating directional thinking at a specific moment in time.

None of the organizations are mentioned in the book, except for a footnote about GWWC. However, Rob Mather and AMF get a whole chapter, which includes fundraising for bednets.

€30,000 to The Humane League via Effektiv Spenden (my company set up a campaign page: https://effektiv-spenden.org/knitters-for-animals

A core value of mine is to do good, per EA principles. This means I aim for a sustainable career where my personal fit can have the highest counterfactual impact. This has not been the case in the last few months.

A year ago, I wrote "It's OK to Have Unhappy Holidays" during a time when I wasn’t feeling great about the season myself. That post inspired someone to host an impromptu Christmas Eve dinner, inviting others on short notice. Over vegan food and wine, six people came together to share their feelings about the holidays, reflect on the past year with gratitude, and enjoy a truly magical evening. It’s a moment I’m deeply thankful for. Perhaps this could inspire you this year—to host a gathering or spontaneously reach out to those nearby for a walk, a drink, or a shared meal.

Reflections on Two Years at EA Germany

I'm stepping down this week after two years as co-director of EA Germany. While I deeply valued the team and helped build successful structures, I stayed too long when my core values and personal fit no longer aligned.

When I joined EAD, I approached it like the other organisations I’ve worked with, planning on staying 5-10 years to create stability during growth and change. My co-director, Sarah, and I aimed to grow EAD quickly and sustainably. But the FTX collapse hit just as I started in November 2022, and the dream of expanding the team disappeared.

This wasn’t the only challenge. I treated EAD as a single organisation rather than part of a global ecosystem where impact shouldn’t be geographically contained. I slipped into a “soldier mindset,” focused on proving EAD’s local value instead of prioritising international scalability or considering where I could provide the most impact.

By the end of my first year, I could see that I’d reached the end of what I was best at and passionate about. The organisation was running well, and my full-time input wasn’t needed anymore. But I stayed—because I felt so good with the team, because of my long-term commitment, and because I hoped we’d find a path to grow the organisation within Germany.

Meanwhile, I started consulting for Claire Boine at Successif. When she secured new funding to expand, I joined her team part-time. Instead of using this as a chance to leave EAD, I tried to balance both roles—while still running my company, serving as a trustee at EV UK, and mentoring on the side.

Looking back, this was my biggest mistake: I didn’t recognise that my counterfactual impact at EAD had become the lowest of all my commitments. Instead of staying true to my value of helping solve the most pressing problems as effectively as possible, I acted out of connection and obligation.

This experience has taught me to recognise when to step back and refocus on where my skills, passion, and impact align best.

I’m very grateful for the opportunity to work alongside Sarah Tegeler in building and leading the organisation with the invaluable support of Christiane Ranke and Milena Canzler. I also appreciate the backing of the EAD board, the CEA Groups team, my colleagues in the CBG program, and the many people—both within and outside the EA community—I had the privilege to work with.

Thank you! I like the framing and also having a template for planning concrete next steps, especially at the end of the year. I’ve shared the post in my local group and can imagine continuing to recommend it in future.

Thanks for the question. In 2024, our total annual spending for our core activities (not including Employer of Record, Fiscal Sponsorship, and EAGxBerlin) is expected to be around €360k.