“A Playbook for New EA Groups” by Andy Masley

A note from Naomi Nederlof, Community Building Grants Program Manager:

I asked Andy, the lead organizer of EA DC, to write this playbook based on the approaches that have made his group one of the most successful city groups in our program. We initiated this project because we think many new organizers can benefit from concrete and experience-based guidance. I would be excited about more city and national group organisers adopting this advice!

Intro

I’ve been organizing the Effective Altruism DC group since 2021. I talk to a lot of new EA city, national, and career group organizers about the first things they should aim to do with their groups, and I often find myself repeating the same advice. I’m writing this as a short playbook for a new organizer, with concrete actionable advice I would give to make the first few months of starting an EA professional network go well.

This is my model of a successful EA city group. Every EA group organizer should aim for their group to achieve this in their first two months

1) It is very easy for anyone in the area to onboard to the group

Your online presence

• Maintain an [...]

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Outline:

(00:38) Intro

(01:07) This is my model of a successful EA city group. Every EA group organizer should aim for their group to achieve this in their first two months

(01:17) 1) It is very easy for anyone in the area to onboard to the group

(01:24) Your online presence

(02:54) Making individual members feel seen

(03:17) 2) The group promotes a high-fidelity understanding of EA

(03:23) Structured onboarding curriculum

(04:13) Reinforcing core concepts

(05:22) 3) The group makes the local and global EA network of ideas, people, and career and donation opportunities legible and accessible

(05:33) Connecting people

(06:09) Highlighting opportunities

(07:28) 4) The organizers have taken significant time to learn about EA

(08:39) 5) The organizers themselves are welcoming, professional, knowledgeable, upbeat, and provide generous authority

(11:49) 6) The group has clear public expectations for community health that make the space feel welcoming.

(11:56) Establishing norms

(13:04) Defining the groups purpose

(14:15) An EA group should also aim to have each of these resources within the first two months. Many of these exist as templates you can copy from CEA

(15:37) These are some general vibes I think the best EA groups consistently give off

(16:27) Core activities I think most EA groups should run

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First published:
November 28th, 2025

Source:
https://forum.effectivealtruism.org/posts/qLDrntnGpwgMj5wLD/a-playbook-for-new-ea-groups

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Narrated by TYPE III AUDIO.