Project summary

Imagine a cozy, dedicated coworking space in the heart of SF where passionate advocates for animals in the Bay Area could come together to collaborate, innovate, and inspire each other. It would be more than just a place to work—it would be a community. 

That’s exactly what we’re trying to build!

We will kick off our first event at Mox on Wednesday, February 26th! Code4Compassion 2025, a groundbreaking hackathon bringing together AI developers and animal advocates to build innovative tech solutions for animal protection created in collaboration with:

• Open Paws

• Electric Sheep

• AI for Animals

This hackathon will allow participants to collaborate using pre-trained AI models tailored for advocacy, get expert mentorship, and work on real-world challenges submitted by animal organizations. To keep the momentum going, our goal is to continue to cultivate a hub at Mox for people working on animal welfare for the next three months as a trial run.

Here’s why it matters:

Animal welfare receives only a fraction of philanthropic funding compared to other cause areas, despite its massive scale and tractability. While other cause areas have dedicated spaces for collaboration and innovation, animal advocacy largely operates in isolation:

• Addressing a Critical Gap: Animal welfare receives less than 1% of US charitable giving, yet affects billions of sentient beings. The efficiency gains from coworking in person would allow animal welfare people to accomplish more with the staff and budgets they have.

Above is a chart showing where EA funding went by cause area each year. Green is animal welfare. (source)

• Strategic Location Advantage: The Bay Area has one of the highest densities of animal advocates globally, yet most work remotely without regular in-person collaboration. This hub can give them a space of their own and serve to attract more animal advocates to the Bay, which would very likely increase their impact since the opportunities are much greater here. (part of our theory of change is just convincing our friends/collaborators to move to the Bay) 

• Direct Impact on Movement Building: Regular co-location drives innovation, accelerates project development, and increases knowledge sharing, and serendipity. We'll actively work to centralize and connect the Bay's animal advocacy community, transforming isolated remote work into collaborative innovation.

What are this project's goals? How will you achieve them?

Short-term Goals (3 months):

• Maintain a consistent core group of >5 regular users (attending 1-2x/week)

• Successfully host Code4Compassion 2025 hackathon (currently 37 RSVPs)

• Document usage patterns, collaboration outcomes, and member feedback

Implementation Strategy:

1. Start with an existing core group: We have a network of animal welfare professionals in the Bay Area who already participate in regular coworking sessions

2. Build momentum through events: Use the hackathon as a launching point, followed by other community gatherings. Here is an example of the type of events we host.

3. Leverage network effects: Each core member will be encouraged to bring in their most valuable collaborators and teammates

4. Capitalize on conference timing: Active outreach to EAG and AI for Animals conference attendees to introduce them to the space

By the end of the pilot, we aim to have clear data on:

• Optimal usage patterns for our community

• Most valuable aspects of the space (e.g., meeting rooms vs. hot desks)

• Financial sustainability requirements

• Impact on project collaboration and community building

How will this funding be used?

Best Case Scenario

• 12-week trial of hot desks for 8 people (drop in 1-2x a week) = $9,600

• Videographer, Snacks, and Venue Booking for Code4Compassion 2025 = $2,375

  Total = $11,975

Minimum Request

• 12 weeks of hot desks for 3 people (drop in 1-2x a week) = $3,600

• Hackathon Booking = $875 (discounted 50% courtesy of Mox)

• Snacks for Code4Compassion 2025 = $500

  Total = $4,975

We are not including any cost of labor as this is a volunteer project.

Who is on your team? What's your track record on similar projects?

It would mostly be me setting up the space and recruiting people to come. I run 2-3 in-person events a month in the Bay, which usually aren't disasters, and I used to organize EA coworking days.

I am supported by a remote team and a loose network of friends/volunteers. We've already built Hive, the most active Slack community in either the EA or animal protection space with >3,500 members and >1,000 monthly active users (and still growing after 2 years). Our Bay Area channel alone has >250 members - demonstrating both the concentration of local advocates and our ability to build and maintain engaged communities. Check out the testimonials from our community members.

Above is a graph of our Slack monthly active users on Hive over the past year.

What are the most likely causes and outcomes if this project fails?

The primary risks of this pilot are insufficient or imbalanced utilization of the space - while we have strong initial interest, the part-time hot desk model may prove inadequate for building lasting community, and usage could end up concentrated among just a few organizations. There are also significant operational challenges in managing a shared space, particularly with limited initial funding and no clear path to financial sustainability after the 3-month trial. However, even if the space proves unsustainable in its current form, the pilot will provide valuable data about the Bay Area animal advocacy community's actual space needs, working patterns, and willingness to engage in physical collaboration - insights that could prove crucial for designing future movement infrastructure.

What other funding are you or your project getting?

Personally, I am self-funded. Hive and AI for Animals are funded by various individual and institutional donors, but still have a 50k and 150k budget gap respectively for the remainder of 2025, not including the cost of this project.