ACX Grants

⚡ Quick Facts

• Grant Type: Non-Dilutive Microgrants with Optional Impact Market Participation

• Funding Range: $1,000-$100,000

• Impact:

  • 2022: $1.55M distributed across ~40 projects
  • 2025: Targeting systemic change initiatives
  • Notable outcomes: FDA trial innovations, Stanford biosecurity research, international drug development

• 2025 Grant Round:

  • Applications open: January 2025 (anticipated)
  • Updates available through: Astral Codex Ten
  • Reference materials: Previous winners and 2022 retrospective

• Contact:

  • General inquiries: scott@slatestarcodex.com
  • Impact markets: rachel@manifund.org

• While Waiting:

  • Explore impact markets for current projects
  • Join ACX Forum discussions
  • Study previous successful applications

• Process: 15-30 minute application + follow-up if needed

👀 Overview

ACX Grants is a program run by Scott Alexander of Astral Codex Ten that awards grants in the range of $1k-$100k to charitable and scientific projects. You can see the grant recipients from the previous round here and Scott's 2022 retrospective here.

💰 Background on Funding

Scott explains the source of the initial $250,000:

Back during the crypto boom, some extremely generous readers encouraged crypto investments and NFT purchases. This resulted in unexpected gains, which Scott views as unearned money to be returned to the community through grants.

The fund has enough for approximately 4 more rounds at current levels. The hope is that this initial funding acts as a seed, attracting additional donors. Last year's $250,000 commitment drew an extra ~$1 million from other funders.

If you'd like to add to the grant-making budget, you can email Scott at scott@slatestarcodex.com.

🎯 What Projects Will Be Funded

There are already lots of good charities that help people directly at scale, for example Against Malaria Foundation (which distributes malaria-preventing bed nets) and GiveDirectly (which gives money directly to very poor people in Africa). These are hard to beat.

The fund is most interested in charities that pursue novel ways to change complex systems, either through technological breakthroughs, new social institutions, or targeted political change. Among the projects funded last year were:

• Development of oxfendazole, a drug for treating parasitic worms in developing countries
• A platform that lets people create prediction markets on topics of their choice
• A group of lawyers who sue factory farms under animal cruelty laws
• A biosecurity think tank at Stanford
• An open-source intranasal COVID vaccine
• Development of software that helps the FDA run better drug trials
• An assessment company that addresses implementation issues around Georgist land value taxes
• An effort to perform rapid replication of results in psychology journals

📈 Impact Markets & Certificates

If a project isn't chosen for a regular grant, it can try a different approach called impact markets. Here's how it works:

1. The project creates a special document called an "impact certificate" (like a stock share)
2. Early supporters buy these certificates to fund the project
3. If the project succeeds, larger organizations will buy the certificates at a higher price

For example: Imagine a project needs $20,000. Early supporters might fund it by buying certificates. If the project succeeds, the final funders will buy those certificates at a higher price, rewarding the early supporters for taking a risk.

Who buys successful certificates?

Four philanthropic funders have committed to potentially purchasing successful impact certificates:

• ACX Grants 2025 (next year's round) - Focused on systemic change projects
• The Long Term Future Fund - AI safety, forecasting, and longtermist projects
• The EA Infrastructure Fund - EA community-building initiatives
• The Survival and Flourishing Fund - Long-term future focused projects

You can review previous grants by these organizations: ACXG, LTFF, EAIF, and SFF.

Important: Anyone can invest in these projects — including you!

Rules:

• Required for artificial intelligence and effective altruism projects
• Optional for other projects that didn't get regular grants
• All projects are checked to make sure they can't cause harm
• Special arrangements possible for unique situations

🌟 Benefits Beyond Funding

Grant recipients receive:

• Blog promotion and updates through Open Threads
• Networking opportunities with Scott's connections
• Potential to attract larger grantmakers and VCs
• Opportunity to pitch guest posts about their project
• Access to ACX Grantee Discord community
• Invitation to potential Bay Area grantee meetups

📝 Application Process

1. Initial Application

• Complete 15-30 minute online form
• Project description and goals
• Funding request ($1,000-$100,000)
• Budget breakdown
• Implementation timeline
• Team qualifications
• Expected outcomes

2. Review Process

• Expert evaluation in relevant field
• Possible follow-up questions via email
• Additional clarification if needed
• Maximum 15-30 minutes correspondence

3. Post-Award

• Funding via Manifund bank wire
• Progress reports at years 1, 3, 5
• Light-touch updates
• Blog promotion opportunities
• Access to grantee Discord community
• Network connections

🤝 Selection Criteria

Strong applications typically demonstrate:

• Clear problem definition and innovative solution
• Realistic implementation plan
• Measurable impact metrics
• Qualified team or individual
• Reasonable budget allocation
• Potential for systemic change
• Scalability of solution
• Track record or proof of concept (if applicable)

📚 Additional Resources

• 2022 Grant Results
• 2022 Retrospective
• Impact Market Announcement
• Impact Market Results
• Manifund Platform

✉️ Contact Information

• Grant updates and general inquiries: scott@slatestarcodex.com
• Impact market participation: rachel@manifund.org