Over the last year and a half, Farmed Animal Funders (FAF) shifted our strategy to leverage our positioning and maximize impact. This post updates the wider EA community on our work and how you can get involved. 

Summary:

• FAF unites 50+ philanthropists and foundations reforming and replacing factory farming. Collectively, we direct about 75% of the movement’s funding.
• FAF helps funders—both current members and prospective major funders—increase their giving’s impact through shared learning, personalized philanthropic advising, strategic giving opportunities (like pooled funds and funding circles), and community.
• FAF has increased its "meta-fundraising" efforts to expand overall movement funding. We achieve this through the aforementioned initiatives and by actively reaching out to foundations and ultra-high and high net wealth individuals (U/HNWI) whom we aim to motivate to support our cause area.
• You can support FAF’s meta-fundraising efforts by providing referrals to U/HNW individuals for philanthropic advising.
• If you give $250,000+ annually to the cause area, you qualify for membership and advising!
• To stay connected, join our public Cultivating Impact newsletter.

What is Farmed Animal Funders?

We are a collaborative of philanthropists building a future free from the harms of factory farming.  Our network comprises 50+ member entities (foundations and individuals) who donate at least $250,000 annually to end factory farming and create a more sustainable food system. Collectively, our members contribute roughly 75% of global philanthropy in the cause area. Our members represent a wide range of theories of change, philosophies, and motivations (primarily, animal protection and climate). So far this year, four of our five new members have a connection with effective altruism.

We help funders increase their impact through shared learning, expert advising, high-impact giving opportunities, and an engaged member community.

How is Farmed Animal Funders helping animals?

Farmed Animal Funders serves two primary audiences: (1) our members and (2) prospective major funders to the movement to reform and replace factory farming. We target prospective major funders who are either motivated to give but lack cause area knowledge, or those exploring cause areas whom we seek to motivate to support our cause. We believe that serving both members and prospective funders—rather than only one audience—enables us to leverage U/HNWI peer-to-peer connections to grow movement funding. This benefits: (1) our members who want to see the movement scale, (2) new funders seeking advising to realize their philanthropic goals, and (3) farmed animals, who will suffer less when increased philanthropy supports high-impact interventions on their behalf.

We educate, build community, and facilitate giving opportunities for both our members and prospective funders. Our monthly member learning calls, in-person annual retreats, in-person dinners, and some affinity groups are exclusive to FAF members. However, non-members can qualify for some offerings, like philanthropic advising, pooled fund giving opportunities, and some funding circles. We offer these to non-members because our goal is to expand the quantity and quality of giving to the movement to reform and replace factory farms.

Bespoke Philanthropic Advising

Farmed Animal Funders provides pro bono personalized philanthropic advising to members and qualified prospective funders who are serious about giving $250,000+ annually (or have high lifetime giving potential to reach that amount) to transform the factory farming system. We kick off our advising by pinpointing each funder's philanthropic north star. Then, we thoroughly scan the movement landscape, craft a personalized giving portfolio with transparent charity evaluations, and ensure consistent follow-up with grantees. Beyond expert guidance, we actively connect funders with movement organizations, leaders, and fellow funders.

We’ve advised on portfolios ranging from 6 to 7 figures, spanning crucial interventions like alternative proteins, corporate animal welfare campaigns, institutional meat reduction, movement building, litigation, and legislation. We recommend high-impact organizations globally, although some funders restrict grants to specific geographies.

Leveraging my experience as a Fund Manager with the EA Animal Welfare Fund, FAF’s philanthropic advising strongly prioritizes maximizing impact. We work to boost the effectiveness of each philanthropic portfolio within the funder's individual values and objectives.

Through our expert advising, we aim to connect funders with meaningful giving opportunities, instill confidence in their contributions, and drive increased funding towards the highest-impact charities.

Other High-Impact Giving Opportunities

At Farmed Animal Funders, we focus on "meta-fundraising"—fundraising for the entire movement. Therefore, we guide funders on strategically deploying funds with cohesive, multi-organizational strategies. To facilitate this, we offer a range of opportunities and resources to both members and qualified prospective funders.

Pooled funds: We bring funders together to pool their resources. Then, an expert advisory committee strategically distributes these funds. Last year, we launched the Plant-Based EU Policy Fund, which has distributed over $2 million to 11 organizations driving national and EU plant-based action plans and funds. We are actively working to raise $4 million by the end of 2026 to continue this vital policy work through 2027. This pooled fund has motivated larger gifts from major funders joining our movement. 

We also initiate “surge” funding opportunities where a rapid influx of funds can catalyze major, lasting change without ongoing support. For example, this April, we raised $1,350,000 to empower a coalition of high-impact campaigning organizations holding major US retailer Ahold Delhaize accountable for its 2025 cage-free egg commitment.

Furthermore, we create funding circles. Depending on the circle's confidentiality, these may be open only to members or to qualified non-members (typically those donating $100,000+ to the theme). This year, we’ve opened our Aquatic Animal Funding Circle to qualified non-members. Currently, funders are reviewing grant proposals from organizations focused on reducing aquatic animal suffering or preventing aquaculture expansion.

Finally, we build philanthropic portfolios to educate both new and existing funders on key movement strategies and corresponding giving opportunities. See our Climate Change & Food Systems Portfolio and the EU Animal Welfare Policy Portfolio as examples. These portfolios offer direct recommendations and invite further personalized advising within these focused strategies.

Metafundraising

A core strategic focus is “metafundraising”—expanding resources for the entire movement, rather than our own organization. We employ multiple strategies to broaden our base of U/HNWI funders: 

• We actively seek referrals from our members, movement organizations, and friends
• We market the cause area to philanthropic audiences through targeted networks, media, and presentations
• We connect with prospective funders one-on-one through direct outreach
• We host engaging events to build the community and inspire confidence in giving

Ultimately, we aim to maximize funding for high-impact interventions to reform and replace the factory farming system.

How You Can Help

If you currently donate $250,000+ annually to reform or replace factory farming, contact us to discuss membership and bespoke philanthropic advising.

If you can give $250,000 annually, but need expert guidance to do so confidently, register for bespoke philanthropic advising, or reach out to donate to the Plant-Based EU Policy Fund or join the Aquatic Animal Funding Circle.

If you know foundations or individuals able to give $250,000+ annually who could benefit from our community or advising (including early funder education about the cause area), introduce us. This is incredibly impactful! Recent major gifts have resulted from referrals from FAF members and organizations whose own funding absorption capacity was more limited. 

Connectors, philanthropic advisors, and donors in the $50k—$250k range are encouraged to join our Friends of FAF network for news and online events pertaining to the farmed animal welfare movement. 

To stay informed about the farmed animal movement, subscribe to our ~quarterly Cultivating Impact newsletter and share it with others (especially those with large giving potential)!

To movement organizations: thank you for your brilliance, strategies, execution, and resilience to reform and replace factory farming! You turn philanthropy into real-world change, you are the engine of our movement, and you directly drive impact for animals, climate, and human health. While our small staff team (3 full-time staff and 2 part-time contractors) focuses on funders, we do our absolute best to stay up-to-date on your work. Your successes, challenges, learnings, and opportunities guide our expert advising. Our FAQ for movement organizations may answer your questions.

Thank you for learning about our strategy. Please ask questions on the forum or email me at [email protected] regarding membership, advising, or referrals.