Effective Altruism Funds accepts
- credit cards (securely processed by Stripe)
- bank direct debit (securely processed by GoCardless, UK only)
- manual bank transfer
- check (US only)
- over 150 cryptocurrencies

The payment methods available to you will depend on where you're donating from, and how much you're donating (for example GoCardless direct debits have a maximum value of 5,000 GBP, and we don't offer check/manual bank transfers for amounts under 100 GBP/USD/EUR).


What payment types do you accept?

Donating assets that have appreciated in value can be more tax-advantageous than liquidating them and donating the money yourself.

### Cryptocurrencies
EA Funds accepts donations in over 150 cryptocurrencies. You can make a donation with cryptocurrency by selecting 'Donate with crypto' on the payment page. See our [cryptocurrency help section](/help/tag/donating-cryptocurrency) for more information.

### Stock

We can accept donations made in stock in the USA. Donating stock in other countries is not supported at this time. Please [get in touch](/help) if you'd like to arrange a donation of stock.

Can I donate cryptocurrency, stocks or other appreciated assets?

We are a 501(c)(3) tax-exempt organization in the United States and a registered charity in England and Wales. This means that we can provide all of the tax benefits of a donor-advised fund without the associated fees. We can also use our infrastructure to negotiate for lower fees in processing donations and to create a more seamless user experience.


Why do donations to EA Funds go to CEA and not a separate donor-advised fund (DAF)?

Neither CEA nor the Fund managers take any payment or fee from the Funds. CEA currently provides all funding for the project, because they think it gives many people a relatively high-impact way to donate. 

At the end of 2020, Effective Altruism Funds began to [operate independently of CEA](https://www.centreforeffectivealtruism.org/blog/giving-what-we-can-and-ea-funds-now-operate-independently-of-cea/). It will begin to conduct its own fundraising in 2021.

Note that some Fund managers may decide that re-granting money to CEA is the best use of their Fund’s money in specific situations (though they are not actively encouraged or obligated to do so). CEA has received grants ([1](https://app.effectivealtruism.org/funds/ea-community/payouts/6M8SQFdecEm0WuAYweO2UQ), [2](https://app.effectivealtruism.org/funds/ea-community/payouts/2dyBJqJBSIq6sAGU6gMYQW)) from the EA Infrastructure and Long-Term Future Funds.

Does any money go to the Centre for Effective Altruism (CEA) and/or the fund managers?

If you want to change your allocation for a non-recurring donation, please [email us](mailto:funds@effectivealtruism.org) with details on the new allocation you'd prefer. We can make this change as long as you made your donation within the last financial year.

If you want to make changes to a recurring donation, you'll have to [cancel that donation](/funds/faq#how-can-i-cancel-a-recurring-donation) and create a new one with your preferred allocation.

What if I want to change my allocation after I've donated?

Yes. When you make a donation, just choose the "Recurring, Monthly" option –currently only available for donations made by credit card (US/UK/NL), or bank direct debit (UK only). We will save your chosen allocation and use it to divide your donation between your chosen Funds/organizations each month.

Can I set up a monthly direct debit to EA Funds?

### Considerations in favor of recurring donations

- Allows us to more accurately predict future donations to the Fund and pass this information on to the Fund manager so that they know how much money they are likely to have available in the future.
- Most donors who do not donate monthly choose to donate at the end of the year. Having money available throughout the year allows Fund managers more flexibility to respond to excellent opportunities as they become available.
- Many donors find it easier to hit their donation targets if the money is donated automatically.

### Considerations in favor of yearly donations
- Allows donors time to gain more information before deciding whether EA Funds is the most effective donation option available.
- Donors who receive large yearly bonuses will have more information about how much they can donate if they donate yearly.

In general, we prefer that donors who plan to use EA Funds for a large portion of their donations set up recurring donations. Donors who may have higher impact alternatives or who receive large yearly bonuses should consider yearly donations instead.


What are the considerations in favor of recurring versus yearly donations?

Yes, you can select which day of the month your recurring payment will be charged on.

When creating a donation:
- Choose a payment method that supports recurring donations, Credit Card (US/UK), GoCardless (UK only)
- Set your donation frequency to 'Recurring, Monthly'
- By default, your payment will be taken as soon as possible.
  ![Recurring Payment day-of-month selector](//images.ctfassets.net/afdyh2iav3iy/582vrdHkqIKb5nuiAH7GbM/b783b3fac7d0f284dea5b5162c5d1f8c/recurring_payment.png)
- If you'd prefer to set the day of the month your payment will be taken, click 'change'
  ![Recurring Payment choose day](//images.ctfassets.net/afdyh2iav3iy/5wzHa08Ob9KNYHzy3BQ14V/89eebb0ca5a1c5566cc9104b9f9a4a94/choose_day.png)

Note that if you select a day of the month that is before the current day of the month (or, before the earliest day that payment can be taken for GoCardless payments), then your first payment will be taken in the following month.

Can I choose which day my recurring payment is taken?

We don't currently have a way to update billing details. Instead, you'll need to cancel your existing recurring payment, and create a new one.

- Sign in and navigate to the [Recurring Payments](/dashboard/payments/recurring-payments) tab on your [Payments Dashboard](/dashboard/payments).
- Find the Recurring Payment associated with the expiring card, click 'Cancel Recurring Payment', and confirm
- Click 'Create a New Recurring Payment' at the top of the screen, which will let you [create a new donation](/donations/new). Set the details of your Recurring Payment, including your updated credit card number.

My credit card has expired (or is about to expire). How do I update my billing details?

You can see your recurring donations on the right side of your [donation dashboard](https://app.effectivealtruism.org/dashboard/payments). You can cancel these by clicking on the "Cancel recurring donation" link.

![Recurring donation](//images.ctfassets.net/afdyh2iav3iy/6BlRSAfKzMuWPvTkQu7p2T/aa4672af7cc50a63a763673b60695883/Recurring_donation.PNG)

How can I cancel a recurring donation?

We can accept bequests to our current organization, CEA, and we will attempt to fulfil the deceased's wishes in terms of fund allocation as best we can. But while donors can suggest ways they'd like their donations to be restricted, we can't guarantee we'll be able to carry out those requests. (For example, there may be changes to the list of available funds, or the way the funds operate.)

Can I donate to the Effective Altruism Funds in my will?

Unlike donor-advised funds, we don’t charge a percentage of your donation as management fees. We also reduce the administrative burden on individual charities by combining many individual donors’ donations into larger payments from a single source.

How do you reduce administrative fees?

If you donate using a bank transfer there are no fees associated but the process is less automated (you will need to instruct your bank to make the payment). 

If you donate by credit or debit card the payment fees are set by our third-party payment gateways (e.g. Stripe) and we do our best to keep these fees as low as possible.

Either way Effective Altruism Funds / the Centre for Effective Altruism does not charge any additional payment processing or handling fees.

Before you complete your payment, these fees are estimated based on what we think the payment gateway will charge. Once you have completed your payment, the fees displayed will reflect the fee that the payment gateway actually charged.