EA Philippines has had quite a number of developments so far! After spending the first quarter of the year on fundraising, EA PH began operations in April. Below is a quick funding update, the main progress we’ve had so far, and what our next steps will be.

Funding update

EA Philippines was fortunate to have filled its funding gap of $43,000 earlier this year. You can take a look at our budget here.

EA Philippines' current funding as of October 16, 2024:

• Meta Charity Funders: ~Php1,262,500

• Individual Donations: ~Php204,500

• CEA Group Support Funding: ~ Php 395,000

Total amount raised: ~Php3,124,500

Total minimum funding goal: ~Php 1,606,700

Total preferred funding goal: ~Php 2,566,000

This means we’ve currently covered ~123.9% of our preferred funding goal.

What progress have you made since your last update?

1. EA Philippines ran its Introductory Fellowship from August 10 to September 21. We sought out members in the community who could help in running the program and were able to get 2 program organizers and 2 volunteers.

   1. 30 onboarded fellows with 60% of them completing and graduating from the program. This program had a 4/5 overall event feedback rating.

   2. We are still in the middle of assessing the outcomes of this program.

2. Helped in the creation of the first Philippine EA group outside of Metro Manila, EA Davao. EA Davao currently has over 10 members and is headed by Hanie Guiamadil, a student from Ateneo de Davao University. They are in the process of seeking funding and building the community in the Mindanao region.

3. Ran 3 “Organization Series” events. This is a series of talks where local EA-aligned organizations share about their updates, best practices, and what it's like working in such an organization.

   1. The first talk was for organizations working on Global Health and Development. We had speakers from Phlourish and Healthy Futures Global.

   2. The second talk was for our community-building organizations. It featured speakers from EA Blue, EA UPD, EA Taft, and EA Davao.

   3. The third talk was to hear from organizations working on Animal Welfare and Alternative Proteins. We had speakers from Animal Empathy Philippines and Paro Institute. 

4. In the process of hiring a third person. At present, EA Philippines is currently limited by work capacity and manpower. Sam and Zian are both operating at 0.5 FTE each. With this in mind, hiring a third person can help provide additional support for necessary activities such as organizing events, curating learning materials/resources, supporting communications efforts, etc.

5. Conducted a mid-year community survey. The goal of this survey is to better understand the community, focus on doing more things that are relevant to it, and recalibrate our strategy accordingly.

   1. You can see the EA Philippines Mid-Year Community Survey Report here.

What are your next steps?

1. Adjust programs, events, and operations to better address needs expressed in the community survey.

   1. Refurbishment and better utilization of the Effective Altruism Philippines website

   2. Improved dissemination of information

   3. Providing more opportunities for volunteers to help out 

   4. Organizing more diverse, one-off events

   5. Updating community health guidelines and code of conduct 

2. Continuation of “Organization Series”. 

   1. A talk showcasing WhiteBox Research and Condor Camp SEA, local organizations working in AI Safety.

   2. The final talk of the organization series for “Office Hours” is to hear from members who are working in EA or EA-aligned organizations.

3. In-depth fellowship preparation.

Is there anything others could help you with?

Several community members have expressed an interest in EA Philippines running a mentorship program (pairing mentors with mentees), but previous efforts to establish something like this have proven unsuccessful or have not run for very long. Advise from groups that do this or have suggestions on how to go about this would be great!

@Austin Hey Austin! Thank you so much for the support and and I'm happy to have helped! :))

@lfp Thank you, Lorenzo!! We're really happy that the community can extend that much warmth all the way from here. We truly appreciate your support! :)

@JeroenWillems Thank you so much for the support Jeroen! :)