Overview
- Manifund co-founder Austin Chen disclosed on Friday that Caroline Ellison had quietly worked at the charity since a July 13 trial period and moved into a full-time role on August 10 while using the pseudonym “Carol.”
- Manifund says Ellison’s job centers on developing its funding platform and supporting philanthropic work and that she contributed technical fixes such as a reconciliation tool that found misregistered transactions.
- Ellison pleaded guilty on December 18, 2022 to charges tied to the collapse of FTX, cooperated with federal prosecutors and testified at Sam Bankman-Fried’s trial, began a two-year sentence in November 2024 and was released on January 22, 2026 after about 14 months in custody.
- Chen defended the hire as consistent with admitting fault and serving a sentence, and critics in the effective altruism community including Cate Hall sharply condemned the choice and questioned Manifund’s judgment.
- The move has reignited debate over hiring people with high-profile convictions, raised fresh questions about disclosure norms for nonprofits and could affect donor trust and the reputations of groups linked to the effective altruism movement.