Project for Awesome (P4A) is a charity video contest running from February 11th to February 19th this year (2025). Participants create short videos supporting a specific charity. Afterwards, the public can vote, and the charities with the most votes receive donations. This presents an excellent (and cost-effective, as explained below) opportunity to raise funds for EA charities and promote EA principles to a wider audience.

In recent years, winning charities have received between $14,000 and $38,000 each. In 2024, over $100,000 was distributed among three different EA charities. Videos don’t need to be professionally made but must be submitted by 11:59 AM EST on Saturday, February 8th.

How It Works

1. Create and Submit Videos
   Participants make 1-4 minute videos supporting charities, upload them to YouTube, and submit them via the P4A website by 11:59 AM EST on Saturday, February 8th (earlier submissions are preferable).
2. Voting Period
   Voting takes place between February 11th and February 19th. This year, you have one vote per charity per device.
3. Livestream
   A P4A livestream will run from Friday, February 14th, to Sunday, February 16th. Some videos will be featured during this stream, likely increasing their chances of receiving votes.
4. Donation Distribution
   Funds raised during P4A are split 50/50. Half goes to Save the Children and Partners in Health, while the other half is distributed among the charities with the most community votes.

Key Statistics

• Last Year’s Success
  In 2024, the Against Malaria Foundation, GiveDirectly, and ProVeg International each received $37,297. In total, over $1.1 million was distributed to 30 charities.
• Video Impact
  Around 320 videos were submitted last year, averaging $3,500 in donations per video. Of those, 30 videos (one in eleven) were featured in the livestream, and 19 of those ultimately won donations. According to P4A, there is no magic formula for being featured in the livestream. For example, last year, a video about the Against Malaria Foundation was promoted.
• Voting Impact
  In 2024, a total of 72,702 votes were counted, meaning each vote was worth approximately $15 on average. The distribution of votes among videos is unknown. With the extended voting period this year (a full week instead of just a weekend), it’s likely that the total number of votes will increase.

For questions or additional information, please contact [email protected].

How to Get Involved

Every video for an EA charity is incredibly valuable! Your efforts will raise awareness and, with some luck, your video could be featured during the livestream, securing a significant donation for your favorite charity.

Never made a video before? No problem! According to the P4A FAQ: “You don’t need a fancy camera or microphone to make a good video. Use whatever you have, even if it’s a webcam or a phone. If you’re uncomfortable showing your face, make a video showing only your hands or using only text. Here’s a video from Hank explaining how to best use the resources you have!”

Five Steps to Follow:

1. Register your planned video in our spreadsheet. You’re welcome to make multiple videos for different charities (one charity per video).
2. Read the P4A video guidelines carefully. Note: Videos must be new and created specifically for P4A 2025, and they should mention P4A.
3. Upload your video to YouTube and submit it to P4A as early as possible. Submissions will be accepted between 12:00 PM EST on Saturday, January 25th, and 11:59 AM EST on Saturday, February 8th.
4. Optional: Join the Facebook group EA Project for Awesome 2025!
5. Vote for your video and other great EA videos, and encourage your friends to do the same!

Detailed instructions and hints can be found here.

Opportunities for Charities

EA charities can also participate directly by creating one or more videos. This is explicitly allowed: „Whether you’re a fan of a charity, volunteer with one, or are part of an organization, anyone can make a video and submit it to our website so that it may receive votes from our community.“ Charities can also encourage their supporters to create videos. 

Additionally, they can promote the videos (e.g., via newsletters), increasing their chances of securing a donation of over $30,000 with minimal effort. This is also encouraged by P4A: “We love it when charities get directly involved with the Project for Awesome, and we highly encourage you to make a video and share it with your community.”