Caroline Ellison Hire Threatens to Shut Down Manifund

Last week, Protos reported that Manifund, a charity aligned with the effective altruism movement, had hired Caroline Ellison, giving the former Alameda Research CEO her first major job since leaving prison.

But the move has triggered a severe backlash for the organization, and its CEO now openly worries that Ellison's appointment could lead to the group's closure.

First, I'm grateful to @tenobrus for thinking that Manifund was doing good and useful work. (I'm not sure if Tenobrus realizes, but prior to Caroline joining, "people behind Manifund" was just me.)

And — yeah, in fact this might be lights out for Manifund. I hope it isn't. I…

— Austin Chen (@akrolsmir) September 12, 2026

Ellison's Hire Came With a Stern Warning

Manifund CEO Austin Chen announced the hire on effective altruism forums as a positive development, but soon conceded on X that bringing Ellison on board "could blow up quite badly."

That is exactly what has happened.

As detailed earlier, many effective altruists had already objected to the decision, and now a key figure in the movement has issued a pointed and comprehensive critique of Chen's choice.

CEA Bars Manifund

Centre for Effective Altruism CEO Zachary Robinson responded with an extensive forum post, stating that Ellison "hasn't done the work" to regain the community's trust.

He further asserted that Manifund "hasn't earned the trust that it will be a responsible steward of the community," and added, "CEA will be refraining from giving Manifund a platform through our programs for the foreseeable future, such as recruiting booths at our events."

Thus, a single ill-advised hire has apparently barred Manifund, a charity focused on effective altruism causes, from a key community hub.