We believe in radical transparency about how we fund and spend resources. This page details our proposed budget, actual expenditure, and funding sources.
Last updated: February 2026
Certes Institute is in its establishment phase, funded through a combination of founder capital and early donations. We are actively developing our funding model and pursuing philanthropic support for our 2026 research programme.
Transparency in funding and expenditure is essential for accountability in the catastrophic and existential risk field. We publish budget information to:
Our budget structure is funding-model-dependent and we are currently iterating on what this looks like in practice. We are exploring a mix of funding sources including:
As funding is confirmed, we will publish more detailed breakdowns of income sources and how they map to our activities.
The following shows the broad shape of our budget planning. Specific figures depend on funding outcomes and will be updated as our financial position becomes clearer.
| Category | Description | Indicative Share |
|---|---|---|
| Personnel | Salaries, superannuation, insurance, recruitment | ~60–65% |
| Events & Research | Research retreats, participant support, venue costs | ~15–20% |
| Staff Support | Accommodation and relocation support during establishment | ~8–10% |
| Professional Services | Legal, accounting, bookkeeping | ~5–7% |
| Operations | ICT, equipment, travel | ~4–5% |
These proportions are indicative and based on our current planning scenarios. We maintain conservative, medium, and optimistic budget variants that scale with funding outcomes. Personnel costs at 60–65% of total budget are typical for research organisations.
Our team scales with confirmed funding. We currently operate with a small core team covering executive leadership, research, and operations, and plan to grow as funding allows.
Current staff and roles are described on our Team page.
As our funding position develops, we will publish progressively more detailed financial information on this page, including:
If you have questions about our budget or financial governance, please contact us. We welcome scrutiny and are happy to provide additional detail where it doesn't compromise individual privacy.