This past December, we ran our first fundraiser in six years, setting an ambitious goal of $6M. We ended up receiving a total of $1.8M from small donors and $1.6M in matching from the Survival and Flourishing Fund (SFF) for a total of $3.4M.
We’re incredibly grateful for all this support! In the rest of this post, I’ll go into more details on how the December fundraiser went, and the supporters who made this possible.
Before I do that, I also want to share some exciting updates. We’ve received two more incredibly generous donations: $10M from Dustin Moskovitz, and $2.9M from an anonymous donor. These donations combined with a successful fundraiser have put us in a very strong financial position for the next few years.
The donations we received in December already made this our largest fundraiser ever. Paired with this additional support, in total we’ve roughly tripled our reserves, which will allow us to be much more confident in making new hires and enacting ambitious plans.
2025 Fundraiser Retrospective
Going into this fundraiser, we were highly uncertain about how much support to expect. We hadn’t run a fundraiser since 2019. Since then, our strategy (and the world) has changed significantly.1
Given all of this uncertainty, the level of support we received was very encouraging!
Over the course of the fundraiser, we received $1,802,4372 in direct donations from individual supporters. Because we achieved our matching goal, matched donations will bring the total raised to $3,409,437, which is approximately 56% of the $6M fundraising goal we set. While we didn’t reach our topline target by the December 31 deadline, the net total raised represents the strongest fundraising outcome in MIRI’s history.
Early progress was slow, but momentum picked up substantially in the last few days of the year. Many donors rallied in the final stretch to help us close the gap and secure the full $1.6M match from the Survival and Flourishing Fund. Excluding matching funds:
- We received $514,853 before December 25.
- We received $1,287,584 on or after December 25 — including $582,427 on December 31st! Our donors love to keep things exciting! 😅
In total, we estimate that the fundraiser was supported by approximately 350 unique donors.3 Of these:
- 155 were returning donors, providing 62% of the funds raised.
- 195 were new donors, providing 38%.
Early 2026 Donations
Because we fell short of our $6M target, we expected to spend a lot of time on fundraising efforts during 2026, to ensure we maintained a healthy runway and could confidently execute on our plans. However, a donor reached out to us in January and generously offered $2.9M in support to complete our fundraiser goal. Shortly after, we also received an incredibly generous $10M donation from Dustin Moskovitz.
We’re thrilled to have received such strong support from many different donors, both large and small. We’d like to extend a huge thank-you to Dustin, to the anonymous donor, and also to the team at the Survival and Flourishing Fund for awarding the matching grant. SFF’s backing substantially amplified the impact of every contribution and provided a massive boost to our fundraiser.
Finally, we want to thank everyone who contributed to our fundraiser. We’re deeply appreciative for all of this support. Special thanks to the ~50 individuals who gave ~$5,000 or above, including (but not limited to):
Aaron Silverbook
Alexander Schell
Alyssa Riceman
Blake Borgeson
Clifford Hyra
Drake Morrison
Edwin Evans
Elliot Olds
Fergus Dall
Gordon Irlam
János Kramár
Lucius Bushnaq
Matthew Avant
Milan Scholz
Nathan Armishaw
Richard Schwall
Sebastian Hagen
Simon Sáfár
Footnotes
- Cryptocurrency markets were also down through much of Q4 2025. Historically, we’ve seen substantial support from crypto-linked donors during boom years, and this downturn may have reduced that channel of giving relative to past fundraisers.
- Our original count in January 2026 was just over 1.6M. We’ve since fully reconciled all pledged disbursements, checks mailed before December 31, employer matching, DAF grants, and some other sources that were received in Q1 2026 but applicable to December 2025 via accrual bookkeeping standards.
- Anonymous donors are aggregated as a single donor to simplify our recordkeeping.
Facts Only
* Fundraiser in December was the first in six years.
* Goal set for $6 million.
* Received $1.8 million from small donors and $1.6 million in matching from SFF, totaling $3.4 million.
* Received subsequent donations of $10 million from Dustin Moskovitz and $2.9 million from an anonymous donor.
* Total raised reached approximately $3.4 million.
* The net total raised represents the largest fundraiser in MIRI’s history.
* Direct donations from individual supporters totaled $1,802,437.
* Donors included 155 returning donors (62%) and 195 new donors (38%).
* The fundraising was supported by approximately 350 unique donors.
* Donations received before December 25th totaled $514,853.
* Donations received on or after December 25th included $1,287,584, including $582,427 on December 31st.
Executive Summary
The organization conducted its first fundraiser in six years in December, aiming for $6 million. The event resulted in $1.8 million in direct donations from small donors and $1.6 million in matching funds from the Survival and Flourishing Fund (SFF), totaling $3.4 million. Subsequent to this success, the organization received additional significant support, including a $10 million donation from Dustin Moskovitz and $2.9 million from an anonymous donor. These financial results, combined with other support, have reportedly tripled reserves, positioning the group strongly for future hiring and planning.
The fundraiser itself generated $1,802,437 in direct donations from individuals. The achievement of the matching goal brought the total raised to $3,409,437, which is approximately 56% of the original $6 million target. Momentum increased toward the end of the fundraising period, with significant contributions occurring after December 25th. Out of the estimated 350 unique donors, 62% were returning donors and 38% were new donors.
Full Take
The narrative emphasizes a successful outcome by framing past uncertainty and external support as crucial mitigating factors. The strategy shifted from hitting an ambitious top-line goal to achieving the largest fundraising result historically, suggesting that impact is defined by realized support rather than reaching a predetermined target. This structure subtly shifts focus from aspirational metrics to demonstrated resilience and community engagement. The timing of major inflows—the large private donations occurring shortly after recognizing the shortfall—creates a pattern where external validation is retroactively applied to justify success. Furthermore, the emphasis on the diversity of donors (returning versus new) highlights the reliance on existing trust while simultaneously celebrating the influx of new capital necessary for future ambition. This dynamic suggests a successful navigation of internal strategic shifts by leveraging both established relationships and significant, unprompted external generosity.
Bridge Questions: How does the retrospective framing influence the perception of sustained organizational capacity moving forward? What is the long-term relationship between securing large, singular gifts and maintaining donor engagement across smaller contributions? If fundraising success is now measured by "strongest outcome," what internal metrics are prioritized over potential risk assessment for future planning?