“The reality of long-term EA community building: Lessons from 3 years of EA Barcelona” by Melanie Brennan 🔹, Anthony L

<p> We are Melanie and Anthony, the two community builders at EA Barcelona. In this post, we share where the group stands today and reflect on key learnings from nearly three years of grant-funded community building. We hope these reflections are useful to other community builders, funders, and CEA, particularly around what it realistically takes to build and sustain EA communities over multiple years, from funding stability and feedback loops to the personal sustainability of professional community builders.</p><p><strong> TL;DR</strong></p><p> EA Barcelona was funded by the EA Infrastructure Fund between May 2023 and December 2025 (&lt;1.2 FTE). Over this period, it has grown into a thriving local community and informal coordination hub for EA activity in Spain.</p><p> Unexpectedly, EAIF decided not to continue funding our project in 2026. We subsequently explored the current funding landscape for EA community building, but found no viable path to stable funding for 2026 that didn’t involve a high level of personal and professional risk. As a result, we’ve decided not to continue with a funded community-builder model for EA Barcelona for now, and will instead focus on transitioning to a volunteer-led structure.</p><p><strong> Background: EA Barcelona (2023-2025)</strong></p><p> Present-day EA Barcelona began as a casual meetup group [...]</p> <p>---</p><p><strong>Outline:</strong></p><p>(00:45) TL;DR</p><p>(01:38) Background: EA Barcelona (2023-2025)</p><p>(02:20) 2023: Establishing EA Barcelona as a city hub</p><p>(03:52) 2024: Deepening engagement and seeding national growth</p><p>(07:51) 2025: Transitioning from local hub to national coordination</p><p>(13:37) Late 2025: Navigating the Transition</p><p>(13:43) Initial Funding Cuts</p><p>(14:44) What we did next</p><p>(17:00) Clarity starts to emerge</p><p>(18:19) Where we are now</p><p>(18:57) Our plan for 2026: transition toward a volunteer-led community model</p><p>(20:19) Quick disclaimer: Are either of us Spanish?</p><p>(21:36) Thank you!</p> <p>---</p> <p><b>First published:</b><br/> January 30th, 2026 </p> <p><b>Source:</b><br/> <a href="https://forum.effectivealtruism.org/posts/daHMkoQsHSbcK6Kjo/the-reality-of-long-term-ea-community-building-lessons-from?utm_source=TYPE_III_AUDIO&utm_medium=Podcast&utm_content=Source+URL+in+episode+description&utm_campaign=ai_narration" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">https://forum.effectivealtruism.org/posts/daHMkoQsHSbcK6Kjo/the-reality-of-long-term-ea-community-building-lessons-from</a> </p> <p>---</p> <p>Narrated by <a href="https://type3.audio/?utm_source=TYPE_III_AUDIO&utm_medium=Podcast&utm_content=Narrated+by+TYPE+III+AUDIO&utm_term=ea_forum&utm_campaign=ai_narration" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">TYPE III AUDIO</a>.</p> <p>---</p><div style="max-width: 100%";><p><strong>Images from the article:</strong></p><a href="https://res.cloudinary.com/cea/image/upload/f_auto,q_auto/v1/mirroredImages/daHMkoQsHSbcK6Kjo/dndqkw6yagylod9lmkbf" target="_blank"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/cea/image/upload/f_auto,q_auto/v1/mirroredImages/daHMkoQsHSbcK6Kjo/dndqkw6yagylod9lmkbf" alt="EAGxVirtual viewing at MOB Caterina in November, 2023." style="max-width: 100%;" /></a><hr style="margin-top: 24px; margin-bottom: 24px;" /><a href="https://res.cloudinary.com/cea/image/upload/f_auto,q_auto/v1/mirroredImages/daHMkoQsHSbcK6Kjo/wftenvzek9dmdsobiqzz" target="_blank"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/cea/image/upload/f_auto,q_auto/v1/mirroredImages/daHMkoQsHSbcK6Kjo/wftenvzek9dmdsobiqzz" alt="Bruce Friedrich speaking about the future of alternative proteins at Norrsken House in February, 2024." style="max-width: 100%;" /></a><hr style="margin-top: 24px; margin-bottom: 24px;" /><a href="https://res.cloudinary.com/cea/image/upload/f_auto,q_auto/v1/mirroredImages/daHMkoQsHSbcK6Kjo/ti8ctrr3ord5fs8aoouo" target="_blank"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/cea/image/upload/f_auto,q_auto/v1/mirroredImages/daHMkoQsHSbcK6Kjo/ti8ctrr3ord5fs8aoouo" alt="Pablo Rosado (third from left) facilitated a deep dive discussion into nuclear safety at Norrsken House, April 2024." style="max-width: 100%;" /></a><hr style="margin-top: 24px; margin-bottom: 24px;" /><a href="https://res.cloudinary.com/cea/image/upload/f_auto,q_auto/v1/mirroredImages/daHMkoQsHSbcK6Kjo/prckcov1iuujz1g4a3mx" target="_blank"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/cea/image/upload/f_auto,q_auto/v1/mirroredImages/daHMkoQsHSbcK6Kjo/prckcov1iuujz1g4a3mx" alt="Camilla Ariano and Anthony Lara gave a "Veg-Curious" workshop at Apocapoc Nest City Lab in September, 2024." style="max-width: 100%;" /></a><hr style="margin-top: 24px; margin-bottom: 24px;" /><a href="https://res.cloudinary.com/cea/image/upload/f_auto,q_auto/v1/mirroredImages/daHMkoQsHSbcK6Kjo/xaaqrmrzcevds3191htx" target="_blank"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/cea/image/upload/f_auto,q_auto/v1/mirroredImages/daHMkoQsHSbcK6Kjo/xaaqrmrzcevds3191htx" alt="Anne shone as our local alt protein expert, pictured here at Apocapoc Nest City Lab in September, 2024." style="max-width: 100%;" /></a><hr style="margin-top: 24px; margin-bottom: 24px;" /><a href="https://res.cloudinary.com/cea/image/upload/f_auto,q_auto/v1/mirroredImages/daHMkoQsHSbcK6Kjo/lswyst5it88ecoqxwzlw" target="_blank"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/cea/image/upload/f_auto,q_auto/v1/mirroredImages/daHMkoQsHSbcK6Kjo/lswyst5it88ecoqxwzlw" alt="The first EA Spain national retreat in Cabañas de Ebro in July, 2025." style="max-width: 100%;" /></a><hr style="margin-top: 24px; margin-bottom: 24px;" /><a href="https://res.cloudinary.com/cea/image/upload/f_auto,q_auto/v1/mirroredImages/daHMkoQsHSbcK6Kjo/ziichhh1nusddxykjdep" target="_blank"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/cea/image/upload/f_auto,q_auto/v1/mirroredImages/daHMkoQsHSbcK6Kjo/ziichhh1nusddxykjdep" alt="Pablo Melchor (right) answers a question from the audience at his Barcelona launch of Altruismo Racional. The conversation was facilitated by Pablo Rosado (left) at Llibreria +Bernat in October, 2025." style="max-width: 100%;" /></a><hr style="margin-top: 24px; margin-bottom: 24px;" /><a href="https://res.cloudinary.com/cea/image/upload/f_auto,q_auto/v1/mirroredImages/daHMkoQsHSbcK6Kjo/xqanyppzgt18nuxko5rf" target="_blank"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/cea/image/upload/f_auto,q_auto/v1/mirroredImages/daHMkoQsHSbcK6Kjo/xqanyppzgt18nuxko5rf" alt="EA Barcelona crew pictured with Melanie Joy (back row, centre) at her workshop on reducing infighting in the vegan movement. At Heüra House in September, 2025." style="max-width: 100%;" /></a><hr style="margin-top: 24px; margin-bottom: 24px;" /><a href="https://res.cloudinary.com/cea/image/upload/f_auto,q_auto/v1/mirroredImages/daHMkoQsHSbcK6Kjo/usyzjwmauwutk2yjz3yq" target="_blank"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/cea/image/upload/f_auto,q_auto/v1/mirroredImages/daHMkoQsHSbcK6Kjo/usyzjwmauwutk2yjz3yq" alt="David (far left) grew into a leader of the EA UPF group (pictured tabling at a university fair, and during an introductory fellowship in 2025), and is now commandeering the AIS Barcelona community in 2026." style="max-width: 100%;" /></a><hr style="margin-top: 24px; margin-bottom: 24px;" /><a href="https://res.cloudinary.com/cea/image/upload/f_auto,q_auto/v1/mirroredImages/daHMkoQsHSbcK6Kjo/w1qqtokrjwhci3cudwyy" target="_blank"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/cea/image/upload/f_auto,q_auto/v1/mirroredImages/daHMkoQsHSbcK6Kjo/w1qqtokrjwhci3cudwyy" alt="CBs in the sun: Anthony Lara & Melanie Brennan☀️" style="max-width: 100%;" /></a><hr style="margin-top: 24px; margin-bottom: 24px;" /><a href="https://res.cloudinary.com/cea/image/upload/f_auto,q_auto/v1/mirroredImages/daHMkoQsHSbcK6Kjo/yp8bgqyi62ybgenl1tqr" target="_blank"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/cea/image/upload/f_auto,q_auto/v1/mirroredImages/daHMkoQsHSbcK6Kjo/yp8bgqyi62ybgenl1tqr" alt="Effective Altruism Barcelona promotional image featuring Park Güell architecture and event details." style="max-width: 100%;" /></a><p><em>Apple Podcasts and Spotify do not show images in the episode description. 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