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Survival and Flourishing Fund
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SFF is a key funding institution in the AI safety ecosystem; understanding its grant recipients and evaluation process provides insight into which research directions the philanthropic community considers most promising or neglected.
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Summary
SFF is a philanthropic organization that coordinates grant recommendations for existential risk reduction and AI safety work, having distributed over $152 million since 2019. It uses a distinctive 'S-Process' for collaborative grant evaluation among multiple donors and advisors. SFF is a significant funding source for many leading AI safety organizations and researchers.
Key Points
- •Distributed over $152 million in grants since 2019, making it one of the largest dedicated funders in the AI safety and x-risk space.
- •Uses the 'S-Process,' a collaborative mechanism where multiple donors and evaluators coordinate grant recommendations to reduce duplication and improve decision quality.
- •Operates as a virtual fund, meaning it facilitates and coordinates giving rather than holding assets directly like a traditional foundation.
- •Primary focus areas include AI safety research, existential risk reduction, and related field-building efforts.
- •Serves as an important reference point for understanding which organizations and research directions receive philanthropic support in the AI safety ecosystem.
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.
Cited by 5 pages
| Page | Type | Quality |
|---|---|---|
| AI Safety Research Value Model | Analysis | 60.0 |
| Coefficient Giving | Organization | 55.0 |
| Long-Term Future Fund (LTFF) | Organization | 56.0 |
| QURI (Quantified Uncertainty Research Institute) | Organization | 48.0 |
| Survival and Flourishing Fund (SFF) | Organization | 59.0 |
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Survival and Flourishing Fund
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SFF has organized ~$152MM in philanthropic gifts and grants.
2019
$2MM
2020
$5MM
2021
$20MM
2022
$16MM
2023
$33MM
2024
$41MM
2025
$35MM
SFF Programs
The S-Process
The S-Process is the algorithm and recurring meeting procedure we follow once or twice per year to produce grant recommendations to our participating Funders.
Speculation Grants
Speculation Grants are an additional type of grant we make, using an experimental procedure for making decisions more quickly than the S-Process, that is retroactively funded by recommendations from the S-Process.
Matching Pledges
Matching Pledges are commitments made by Funders as part of an S-Process round to match outside donations to a recipient at some rate (e.g. 2-to-1), up to the pledged amount.
Initiative Committee
The Initiative Committee is a small group, made up of Jaan Tallinn, SFF Advisors, and 2-5 anonymous voters, that makes grants on its own initiative, without receiving or requiring proposals or applications.
Frequently Asked Questions
Got a question? We’re here to answer it!
SFF grant recommendations are made by a group of independent assessors whose membership changes regularly. The philanthropic priorities of SFF’s Funders play a guiding role (e.g. see Jaan Tallinn’s philanthropic priorities ) but assessors are free to choose to support applications outside of these priority areas and will sometimes do so.
Recent Announcements
SFF-2026 S-Process Grant Round Application Announcement
SFF is announcing its 2026 grant round, featuring three new themed S-Process Grant Rounds in addition to the Main Round. We estimate $20MM–$40MM in funding will be distributed across all rounds and tracks.
SFF-2026 Application Announcement
SFF-2025 further funding opportunities
SFF is announcing recommendations for further funding opportunities based on the SFF-2025 S-Process round:
SFF-2025 Recommendations for Further Funding Opportunities
SFC is hiring!
Survival and Flourishing Corp is growing their team to support the continued development and scaling of the grant evaluation software and processes used by SFF. Open positions include:
Full-Stack Software Engineer - $250,000 - $350,000
All positions are fully remote with competitive benefits including health insurance, 401(k) matching, and 9 weeks of PTO per year. Visit the SFC careers page to learn more ab
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