Why a common app?

• Grantees can do less work in applying
• Funders will be communicating with each other on specific proposals
• Funders get more dealflow

Key questions

• Who is participating?
  • [ ] Manifund
  • [ ] LTFF
  • [ ] SFF? (Who is the decisionmaker here?)
  • [ ] OpenPhil (Asya?)
  • [ ] Lightspeed? What are their plans moving forward?
  • [ ] Longview?
  • [ ] Founder’s Pledge?
• Can applications be private?
  • [A] Prefer not, much easier for Manifund to support
    • [R] wdym easier to support? Meaning we can just funnel them all into web pages on Manifund as opposed to selectively doing that?
• What kind of applications are eligible?
• What set of questions?
  • For the college common app, you fill out a set of general questions, along with an auxiliary app with specific questions for specific funders
• How do different funders prefer viewing their applications?
  • Manifund: As a database entry that we can then show a webpage for
  • LTFF: Airtable entry?
• How do funders communicate?
  • Slack?
  • Discord?
  • Airtable comments?
• Other coordination:
  • Monthly “Longtermist funders sync”?

Caleb’s proposal

• iff an applicant indicates that they’d like their application to be referred to other funders
  • the application will appear in an airtable that SFF/LSG/Manifund has access to
    • we’ll notify that we have shared their apps with a set of EA funders that will be in touch if they’d like to offer funding
    • our notes will appear alongside the application as well as a very rough score for how cost-effective we think it is relative to other apps
• if a funder want to evaluate an app
  • they should write that they are evaluating the application in a notes field
    • if they don’t want to fund the the application
      • if they have spent > 5 mins evaluating a application they should write in the apps notes their main takeaways (if they have any)
  • if that funder wants to fund the application
    • they should change the status to funded/partially funded and note any details in the funding details box
      • they should reach out to the applicant directly to set up payment
      • (if a funder wants to do some kind of cofunding, we can coordinate in this channel)
• [R] If Rachel checks this box, doesn’t make Rachel think “I shouldn’t have to apply to SFF, etc”
• [A] Down for this, my asks:
  • “info posted to other grantmakers may end up on the public internet”
  • ideally, funder notes are sent to the grantees

[R] Musings on an ideal setup