Our Giving Fund: Safeguarding the Future in H2/2023

As mentioned in our 2023 review, our “Safeguarding the future” cause area significantly expanded in 2023. A total of nearly 900 donors supported this cause with around €750,000 from Germany and CHF 860,000 from Switzerland.

From our Giving Fund, we were able to allocate around €400,000 (~€260,000 from Germany and ~CHF 130,000 from Switzerland) with the funds from the second half of 2023. To do this, we again engaged intensively with external experts – including from the Longview Philanthropy Emerging Challenges Fund, the Founders Pledge Global Catastrophic Risks Fund, and Effective Giving – and based on their recommendations, we decided on three grants in the areas of biosecurity and artificial intelligence (AI).

• Blueprint Biosecurity (approx. 150,000 €)
• The biosecurity program of Pour Demain (CHF 100,000)
• The RAND Technology and Security Policy Center (TASP) (150,000 €)

Blueprint Biosecurity

Blueprint Biosecurity is a young US non-governmental organization founded in July 2023 with the goal of achieving breakthroughs in the prevention, mitigation and control of future pandemics. Its work focuses on concrete work plans - “blueprints” - for priority actions that accelerate their implementation and address key bottlenecks that hinder their progress. 

The organization’s work begins with an inventory and prioritization, mapping the landscape of effective biosecurity measures and creating clear, detailed plans for their implementation. The process then culminates in blueprints for the measures that promise to have the greatest impact. The pilot blueprint focuses on long-wave UVC radiation, a form of germicidal light, as a means of preventing the transmission of indoor pathogens.

Blueprint Biosecurity is also supported by the Longview Emerging Challenges Fund and Open Philanthropy.

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Pour Demain

Pour Demain is a nonprofit think tank that facilitates communication between science, politics, and society. In the field of biosecurity, the organization has already successfully influenced the planning of measures for the prevention and control of epidemics and pandemics in Switzerland with its recommendations.

As a next step, the organization plans to expand its work on biosafety policy at the European level. This is still a very neglected area with few European actors, so Pour Demain is taking a field-building role and also actively promoting exchange and coordination between relevant actors.

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RAND Technology and Security Policy Center

The Technology and Security Policy Center (TASP) at the RAND Corporation examines how dual-use technologies – those that can be used for both civilian and military purposes – such as artificial intelligence (AI) and biotechnology are changing global competition and the threat environment. Based on this understanding, TASP develops policy and technology options to enhance the competitiveness and security of the United States, Europe and its allies and partners, and the world at large. RAND’s work in this area is also supported by Open Philanthropy, among others.

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About the author

Sebastian Schienle

Founder & Former Head of Research

I co-founded effektiv-spenden.org and headed up the Research department there until 2024.