EA Philippines underwent a significant leadership transition and team restructuring in early 2024. In February 2024, following the resignation of Executive Director Mark Romero, Sam Ackary and Zian Bonoan were appointed Co-Directors. Both have since led strategy, fundraising, and program execution. To strengthen operational capacity, EA Philippines hired Sunta Cadiz as Community Building Associate in November 2024. The board was also formalized and now includes Kate Lupango, Raymund “Red” Bermejo, and Rochelle “Roc” Bata.
2. Funding Overview
Amidst shifts in the global EA funding landscape, EA Philippines successfully diversified its funding sources and exceeded its target budget for the year.
Funding Received
Funding Source
Amount (USD)
Amount (PHP)
Percentage
Meta Charity Funding Circle
~USD 43,772
PHP 2,423,037.50
81.78%
CEA Group Support Funding
~USD 7,054
PHP 390,506.00
13.18%
Individual Donations
~USD 2,697
PHP 149,342.70
5.04%
TOTAL
~USD 53,525
PHP 2,962,886.20
100%
The following table details EA Philippines’ expenses between the months of April 2024 and March 2025. Roughly PHP1.5 million has been spent during this time period, leaving about PHP1.43 million of on-hand funding as of April 2025.
EXPENSES (APRIL 2024 - MARCH 2025)
Category
Amount (USD)
Amount (PHP)
Staffing
1 FTE (April 2024 - March 2025)
~USD 20,955
₱1,160,000.00
.35 FTE (December 2024 - March 2025)
~USD 1,929
₱106,800.00
Operations
Tech Costs
~USD 658
₱36,447.91
Komunidad
~USD 1635
₱90,569.00
EA PH Anniversary Dinner
~USD 496
₱27,516.00
Socials
~USD 136
₱7,549.02
Events & Programs: Introductory Fellowship
~USD 955
₱52,936.19
Mini Library
~USD 869
₱48,152.12
TOTAL
USD 26,769
PHP 1,481,818.12
3. Programs & Community Engagement
Introductory Fellowship (Aug–Sept 2024): Recruited 34 fellows (goal: 30); strong engagement with a 9/10 recommendation score. Standout fellows from the program who had the top capstone projects include Castle Reynera, co-founder of Asia Farming Solutions; Milo Alon, a physics undergraduate student and recent CEA virtual programs in-depth fellowship graduate; and Dane Magaway, CEA virtual assistant. Their capstone projects focused on a proposal for promoting farmed duck welfare in the Philippines, addressing local national nuclear security, and sharing key ideas that the EA Philippines fellowship changed their minds on (respectively).
In-Depth Fellowship (May-June 2025 ): Will focus on personal theories of change for impact and honing deeper EA understanding.
Community Builders Workshop (May-June 2025): Focus on capacity building for current and aspiring community building organizers/leaders of EA organizations or initiatives.
Komunidads & Socials: 10 community events held, with an average of 13 attendees and strong peer connection metrics (4.8/5 likelihood to recommend).
EA Philippines Mini Library: Launched to improve access to foundational EA texts within the country.
4. Strategic & Community Health Improvements
Updated Code of Conduct and launched an operationalized Community Health Manual.
Ran a Community Needs Assessment Survey (Aug–Sept 2024) to inform improvements in communication, programming, and volunteer engagement.
Currently updating the EA PH website, set for relaunch in June 2025.
5. Notable Milestones
Over 69 Filipino EAs attended EAGxSingapore 2024; 14 volunteered, including 2 as team leads.
Supported the launch of Effective Altruism Davao co-founded by Hanie Guiamadil, who successfully joined the CEA Organizer Support Program and recruited five co-organizers.
Confirmed we are implementing the EA Philippines Summit (Sept 2025) — the first of its kind, focused on cross-sector, locally-relevant engagement for EA.
6. Local EA-aligned Organization Highlights
EA Philippines members are leading promising projects and organizations in AI safety, animal welfare, public health, and mental health. Key organizations include:
Note: This post was crossposted from the Coefficient Giving Farm Animal Welfare Research Newsletter by the Forum team, with the author's permission. The author may not see or respond to comments on this post.
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