Progressive Funders

128 COLLECTIVE

The 128 Collective supports efforts to address climate change and promote clean energy. It also funds projects to strengthen democracy, increase access to work, and support communities of the San Francisco Bay Area.

AKONADI FOUNDATION

The Akonadi Foundation focuses its grantmaking on racial justice, youth criminal justice reform and, to a lesser extent, education. Grantmaking is heavily concentrated in the Oakland, California area.

ARCA FOUNDATION

The Arca Foundation supports organizations working on the front lines of social change in an effort to achieve economic, social and racial justice, a clean environment, peace and security.

ARCUS FOUNDATION

The Arcus Foundation supports human and LGBTQ rights, focusing on regions of the world where discrimination, homophobia, and abuses are among the most egregious. Arcus is also a leading supporter of work to protect great apes.

ASTRAEA LESBIAN FOUNDATION FOR JUSTICE

Astraea funds “lesbian-and trans-led organizations and cultural media projects that directly address the depth and complexities of lesbian and trans issues.”

BAUMAN FOUNDATION

The Bauman Foundation is dedicated to promoting and preserving democratic values and institutions, currently prioritizing economic justice, government accountability and civic engagement.

DAVID BOHNETT FOUNDATION

Bohnett’s grantmaking focuses on distinct issue areas including LGBTQ equality, technology access, gun violence prevention, the arts (particularly in the Los Angeles area), animal welfare and research, and municipal leadership. 

BOREALIS PHILANTHROPY

Borealis Philanthropy describes itself as a “social justice philanthropic intermediary” and runs funds to support grassroots organizations in the areas of racial justice, criminal justice reform, LGBTQ causes and disabilities.

BROOKLYN ORG

 Brooklyn Org gives broadly to support the diverse communities of the New York City borough of Brooklyn.

SUSAN THOMPSON BUFFETT FOUNDATION

The Susan Thompson Buffett Foundation funds scholarships for college students from Nebraska and grants to colleges and universities in the U.S. It is also the top private funder of sexual and reproductive health and rights work worldwide.

CALIFORNIA ENDOWMENT

This endowment was established through a health insurance company merger. It supports neighborhoods, preventative care, schools, and youth throughout California. Grantmaking is rooted in racial justice.

MARGUERITE CASEY FOUNDATION

This foundation supports organizations and initiatives that align with its mission, which prioritizes a broad range of issues like LGBTQ rights, racial justice, agriculture, elder care, civic engagement and predatory lending. 

NATHAN CUMMINGS FOUNDATION

The Nathan Cummings Foundation supports organizations working for climate change, political accountability, and social justice in the Unites States and Israel.

DEMOCRACY ALLIANCE

Democracy Alliance is a network of progressive donors that coordinates support for progressive policy, media, and civic engagement in the United States.

DEMOCRACY FUND

This bipartisan funder supports organizations working to promote effective governance, election and campaign finance reform, media and public engagement, freedom of the press and government accountability.

ROY AND PATRICIA DISNEY FAMILY FOUNDATION

The Disney Family Foundation supports criminal justice reform, environmental justice and affordable housing preservation in its target cities of New York, Los Angeles and Tacoma.

FORD FOUNDATION

The iconic Ford Foundation’s global reach and vast grantmaking interests work to address inequality, social justice, freedom of expression, and workforce development.

FRIDA: THE YOUNG FEMINIST FUND

FRIDA backs growing feminist and LGBTQ organizations combatting oppression, violence and inequality around the world.

GENERAL SERVICE FOUNDATION

The General Service Foundation maintains a strong focus on social justice. Its current grantmaking areas include justice-related issues for racial and ethnic minorities, women and immigrants. It also supports the development of progressive public health policy and civic engagement causes. 

GROUNDSWELL FUND

This fund supports women’s, girls’ and LGBTQ causes, social justice and some public health initiatives. Groundswell strives to support grassroots organizations that are led by women, woman-identifying and non-binary people of color and that serve the interests of minority, undeserved and vulnerable people.

EVELYN & WALTER HAAS JR. FUND

The Haas, Jr. Fund promotes equal rights among all people. Its national grantmaking programs are LGBT Equality, Immigrants’ Rights and Nonprofit Leadership. The fund also supports education, civic engagement and housing initiatives in California.

WILLIAM AND FLORA HEWLETT FOUNDATION

The Hewlett Foundation is one of the largest charitable organizations in the U.S. Global giving prioritizes women’s empowerment, government transparency and accountability, and effective policymaking processes. Hewlett also makes grants for the environment and climate change, K-12 education, arts and community development in the Bay Area.

HEISING-SIMONS FOUNDATION

This funder supports climate and clean energy, education, human rights, local and emerging opportunities and science. Early childhood is the focus of its education program, while its human rights grants focus on women and girls, people involved in the criminal justice system and undocumented communities.

HILL-SNOWDON FOUNDATION

Hill-Snowdon broadly funds economic justice, civic engagement and community strengthening initiatives in Washington D.C. and across the U.S.

HORIZONS FOUNDATION

The Horizons Foundation is a premiere LGBTQ funder in the Bay Area that shares an expansive interest in issues effecting the LGBTQ community.

JPB FOUNDATION

JPB makes grants for democracy and social justice movements in the U.S., focusing on themes of racial, gender, reproductive, immigrant, economic, environmental and climate justice, as well as a funding program focused on New York.

KATALY FOUNDATION

This progressive funder works toward “a world in which Black and brown people have the resources, power, and agency to execute their own visions for justice, well-being, and shared prosperity within their communities.”

W.K. KELLOGG FOUNDATION

Funding initiatives include thriving children, working families and equitable communities. Across all areas, this funder prioritizes vulnerable, underserved and underrepresented people and communities.

LAUGHING GULL FOUNDATION

This small family foundation supports a range of progressive causes including prison education, LGBTQ causes and limiting greenhouse gas emissions in the South. It prioritizes grassroots organizations that maintain a high level of involvement with the communities they serve.

LIBERTY HILL FOUNDATION

Liberty Hill is an important source of support for grassroots organizations in the Los Angeles area. Grantmaking focuses on environmental justice, affordable housing, civic engagement, racial equity, immigrants’ rights, economic opportunity, LGBTQ rights and more.

LIBRA FOUNDATION

Working in the U.S. and globally, Libra makes grants for criminal justice reform, community safety, environmental and climate justice, racial justice and gender justice. Across giving areas, Libra prioritizes movement building, supporting community-based organizations, and strengthening democracy.

ANDREW W. MELLON FOUNDATION

The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation is an iconic arts, culture and humanities funder in the United States, supporting a variety of funds and grant programs in this space.

NEO PHILANTHROPY

NEO Philanthropy is a grantmaking intermediary working the area of social justice. Current funding programs concern immigrant justice and civic participation in underrepresented communities across the U.S.

NEW WORLD FOUNDATION

This foundation supports workers’ rights and labor organizing initiatives, especially ones that seek to build connections and networks among workers and activists in a globalized economy.

OMIDYAR NETWORK

Omidyar is a hybrid foundation and LLC, making grants and investments in the areas of global development, journalism, racial justice and equity, civic engagement and work and opportunity.

OPEN SOCIETY FOUNDATIONS

George Soros’s network of philanthropies work globally to support democratic practice, early childhood and education, equality and antidiscrimination, health and rights, human rights, information and digital rights, journalism and justice reform.

DAVID AND LUCILE PACKARD FOUNDATION

This is is a major funder that gives broadly for climate and conservation, reproductive healthcare and abortion rights, infant, maternal, and child health, education, democracy and civic engagement, racial justice, civil society, as well as local grantmaking in California.

PRIDE FOUNDATION

The Pride Foundation supports LGBTQ organizations in Washington, Oregon, Idaho, Montana and Alaska.

PROTEUS FUND

Proteus runs three funds funds that support collaborative initiatives in the areas of civic engagement, democracy, LGBTQ causes, reproductive justice and racial equity. The fund also provides fiscal and fund management services, which it provides to smaller foundations, family offices and individual donors.

DAVID ROCKEFELLER FUND

The David Rockefeller Fund supports the arts, the environment, and criminal justice and youth incarceration reform.

ROCKEFELLER BROTHERS FUND

RBF runs grantmaking programs for democracy, sustainable development and peacebuilding. It also runs place-based initiatives to address specific issues in Central America, the Western Balkans and China. Grantmaking for the arts is limited to New York City

ROCKEFELLER FAMILY FUND

The Rockefeller Family Fund supports climate and clean energy initiatives, democracy, and women’s economic equity. This funder places a heavy emphasis on advocacy and policy development.

HERB AND MARION SANDLER FOUNDATION

This foundation makes grants for human rights, democracy, conservation and disease research. It has recently developed an interest in criminal justice reform.

SATTERBERG FOUNDATION

This funder mainly supports local organizations in Washington State, but California organizations that promote a just society and a sustainable environment also receive funding.

SCHOONER FOUNDATION

This foundation funds human rights and social justice, global health equity, education and economic empowerment and the environment in the U.S. and around the world.

STEPHEN M. SILBERSTEIN FOUNDATION

The Stephen M. Silberstein Foundation focuses on education, the environment, policy, human rights, libraries and arts and culture in the Bay Area and beyond.

SIMONS FOUNDATION

The Simons Foundation is one of the country’s largest foundations devoted entirely to science and math research. It also supports the communication of scientific discovery to the public.

SOLIDAGO FOUNDATION

The Solidago Foundation focuses exclusively on grassroots organizing for democracy “in communities most impacted by systemic injustices.”

SOLIDAIRE NETWORK

Solidaire supports organizations working at “the frontlines of social justice movements in the U.S.” Giving spans the areas of racial justice, Indigenous rights, criminal justice reform, environmental justice and gender justice.

STONEWALL COMMUNITY FOUNDATION

The Stonewall Community Foundation supports a wide range of LGBTQ causes ranging from homelessness to improving mental health.

LEVI STRAUSS FOUNDATION

This corporate grantmaker supports reproductive justice, the rights of workers and immigrants and democracy. Its reproductive justice and worker rights programs are global, while the immigrant rights and democracy programs focus on the U.S.

THE STREISAND FOUNDATION

Streisand supports efforts to preserve and improve democratic institutions in the United States, funding work in campaign finance reform, voting rights, voter registration, and economic opportunity.

SURDNA FOUNDATION

Surdna invests in environmental justice, climate change, and land use reform initiatives. It also makes grants for local economies, women and girls, K-12 education, the arts, and culture.

THIRD WAVE FUND

This fund makes grants for women and girls, LGBTQ causes and, to a lesser extent, civic engagement and democracy.

TIDES FOUNDATION

This is a left-leaning foundation supports environmental causes, civic and voter engagement initiatives, public health and access, women and girls, and global development projects through a handful of collective action funds.

TOMKAT FOUNDATION

San Francisco-based Tomkat is known for its climate change and clean energy grantmaking. Other areas of interest include sustainable food systems, work and opportunity, higher education and arts and culture.

WALLACE GLOBAL FUND

Wallace supports like-minded groups concerned with trends that threaten global security, such as the rise of corporatocracy, ecological collapse, women’s rights, government oppression and the imbalance of power between government organizations and NGOs.

WEINGART FOUNDATION

This oundation makes unrestricted grants to established nonprofits in the areas of housing, immigrants and nonprofit capacity building. It funds throughout Los Angeles but prefers South Los Angeles and Southeast Los Angeles.

WILD GEESE FOUNDATION

This foundation prioritizes grantmaking to organizations that are committed to creating a fair and just society. It funds groups and projects related to LGBTQ issues, youth development, food security, reproductive freedom, BIPOC organizing and environmental justice.

WOODCOCK FOUNDATION

The Woodcock Foundation’s current areas of focus include conservation, sustainable food systems, civic engagement and journalism.

WYSS FOUNDATION

The primary focus of the Wyss Foundation is the conservation of land, waterways and ecosystems. Other areas of interest include economic opportunity, women and girls, civic engagement and democracy, medical research and higher education. Grantmaking is global in scope.