2020 has been a challenging year for many. However, we’ve been impressed by the resilience and creativity of EA group organisers who have continued to help people learn about effective altruism and apply its principles in their own lives. 

This year:

• EA groups continued to grow. 35 new groups were launched, and there are now approx. 250 active EA groups across 42 different countries.¹

• We pivoted to virtual events. From online speaker series to Icebreaker socials, we grappled with online event technology so that we could continue to interact with our communities. This year, EA groups have run more than 4500 events. 

• We helped hundreds of people discuss EA through fellowships. Fellowships have always been a great way to educate people about EA, and they can be easily adjusted to suit the online world. This year, groups have run more introductory and in-depth fellowships than ever before, with over 800 people participating in an online fellowship since we started tracking fellowship attendance in July. 

EA group organisers sparked more global collaboration than ever before by 

• running icebreaker events for people across all timezones

• opening up group events to people from all over the world

• co-organising combined group events such as fellowships, speaker events, and socials

• and of course, helping to run amazing online conferences!

Thank you for the contributions that you’ve made to your EA group this year. We’re grateful for all the work that group organisers put into creating engaging and welcoming spaces for people to discuss effective altruism. 

Included this month:

• Resources to help you review the past year, and plan for 2021

• New ideas for holiday socials

• Several group updates, and an organiser spotlight featuring Jeroen Willems of EA Brussels and EA Flanders. 

  
Finally, please ensure that your community is represented in the 2020 EA Survey by promoting it to your members (and taking it yourself!) The survey will close on the 10th of December at midnight GMT.

All the best,

Katie, Harri, and Catherine (Groups team, CEA)


 

• EA Oxford will be running an online In-Depth Fellowship over January and February. We strongly encourage group organisers to apply. Fill in this short form to be notified when applications open later in December.

• EA Cambridge is putting together an AI Safety Fellowship curriculum. If you run an AI safety reading group in your EA group, they'd be keen to get your help. More details are included on this form, and you can also contact Dewi on dewi@eacambridge.org.

• The Giving What We Can pledge drive has launched! This guide lays out the ways your group can spread the word about the Pledge (10% of lifetime income, 1% of spending money for students) and the Try Giving pledge (you pick the percentage and the length). Join and share the pledge event on Facebook. 

• WANBAM’s mentee applications are now open. WANBAM connects and supports a global network of women, trans people of any gender, and non-binary people interested in Effective Altruism (EA) through mentorship. Please share this opportunity with your group members.  

• Join the discussion about leadership structures for EA groups on the EA Groups Slack. Join the Slack here.

• Finally, please help us improve this newsletter by filling in our feedback form! 

• 80,000 Hours have released their highly anticipated updated career guide.

• Ben Todd and Arden Koehler talk about what the effective altruism community most needs on the 80,000 Hours podcast. This is highly recommended listening for group organisers.

• Two new networks for professionals have launched; High-Impact Athletes and EA Medicine. 

• Articles on community building; the social architecture of communities and social group sizes (which suggests that smaller (<40 member) communities have more camaraderie, flatter leadership structures, and meet more often).

• A round-up of EA links and announcements from the last month.

• If you are holding a social event over the holiday season, check out this guide to running socials. This guide has been updated with new resources: 

  • EA Against Humanity; a fun card game inspired by “Cards Against Humanity” (created by Harvard EA, Stanford EA and EA NYU Abu Dhabi).

  • An updated guide to running a Fermi Estimation Competition.

  • Additional Speed Updating Questions.

• Some fun icebreaker activities, and some ideas for welcoming attendees to a virtual event.

• For resources related to running an EA group, check out the Effective Altruism Resource Hub. 

• As usual, you are welcome to contact Catherine at catherine@centreforeffectivealtruism.org with questions about running your group, and Julia or Sky for help with community concerns. You can also talk to Julia during her office hours.

• EA Brazil have reviewed their recent activities, including their translation of the 80,000 Hours website and the launch of an effective donation platform

• EA Spain have launched Ayuda Efectiva, a new EA-aligned nonprofit that makes effective giving accessible and tax-deductible for donors in Spain

• HIPE (High Impact Careers in Government) offer career coaching, workshops, lunch events and a network for people currently working in the UK Civil Service. Other people involved in EA, especially those considering Civil Service as a career, might find their Civil Service Impact Handbook, blog and job search app useful, and can ask EA civil servants anything via this form.

• EA Bayreuth organised a Germany-wide introduction talk given by Max Daniel and Nora Ammann. Over 100 people attended the talk, approximately 50 were new to EA.

• EA Malaysia hosted their first introductory workshop, hosted online, with 20 attendees.

• EA NYC have launched their website, and have 6 teams that have started 4 month-long projects through their “EA Rings” program.

• EA Warwick and EA Oxford successfully ran their first online EA concepts workshop.