Open Society Foundations

OVERVIEW: The Open Society Foundations comprises over 100 autonomous foundations and offices around the world. Current areas of grantmaking focus include democratic practice, equality and antidiscrimination, human rights, global development, financial justice, information and digital rights, climate justice, arts and culture, journalism and justice reform.

IP TAKE: The Open Society Foundations represent the collective philanthropies of the multi-billionaire George Soros and his son, Alexander Soros. Open Society Foundations comprise a large, decentralized philanthropic operation whose grantmaking touches every part of the world. It makes thousands of grants a year in over 100 countries. Grantmaking has been highly competitive, so make sure to identify the main priorities of the program to which you’re applying. OSF does not generally fund grassroots operations unless they can scale quickly and create regional coalitions. OSF is not known for its accessibility, but some open opportunities exist, varying by country. As several reviewers noted, OSF can be challenging to navigate and may take a long time to hear back from, but for the patient few with deep networking, OSF is an outstanding ally to have in the spaces it funds. Opportunities often occur for multi-year support.

The process for applying for grants varies widely by program — and country. According to the foundation, some use “requests for proposals (RFPs), others invite letters of inquiry (LOIs) or concept papers, and certain others accept proposals by invitation only. Given that each program has specific grant-making processes, it is best to inquire with that particular program to explore fit and process.” Given OSF’s sprawling size, it is possible to apply to more than one grant opportunity at a time. Some grantees receive multi-year funding for both project and general support. The vast majority of the grants OSF makes invest in organizations though it “awards grants for a wide range of activities, everything from discrete project grants to general operating support.” In some circumstances, OSF gives organizations flexibility in how they use OSF funding, while in others OSF make grants for specific projects. A limited number of grant opportunities fund individuals, primarily via fellowships. Additionally, OSF may make recommendations to the Open Society Action Fund for 501(c)(4) grants in support of policy advocacy (lobbying).

Since Alexander Soros took over the helm as chair of the board at OSF, things have been developing quickly, and this shake-up will likely continue under OSF’s new president, Binaifer Nowrojee. OSF”s site has evolved dramatically and become less opaque in terms of giving strategies, possibly to consider a wider range of grantees. It remains to be seen how these changes will impact giving.

PROFILE: The Open Society Foundations (OSF), founded by George Soros, is chaired by his son, Alexander Soros. Soros Sr., a former hedge fund manager, began working to “establish open societies in place of authoritarian forms of government” in 1979. Since then, the Open Society Foundations have become the second largest private philanthropy in the U.S. OSF is on a mission to champion the “search for bold, democratic solutions to our urgent, common challenges that advance justice, equity, and human dignity” while countering “the narrow pursuit of political self-interest and short-term opportunism—in pursuit of a sustainable future for people and planet that leaves no one behind.”

OSF’s name and work “reflect the influence on Soros’s thinking of the philosophy of Karl Popper, which Soros first encountered at the London School of Economics. In his book Open Society and Its Enemies, Popper argues that no philosophy or ideology is the final arbiter of truth, and that societies can only flourish when they allow for democratic governance, freedom of expression, and respect for individual rights”—an approach that influenced the Open Society Foundations’ work for decades.

Headquartered in New York City, the OSF foundations maintain offices in 26 locations around the world and operate in over 100 countries. In addition to the broad goal of enabling and supporting open societies around the world, the foundations “work to build vibrant and inclusive societies, grounded in respect for human rights and the rule of law, whose governments are accountable and open to the participation of all people.”

The funding initiatives of the Open Society Foundations change frequently. The foundations’ current thematic areas of interest include Democratic Practice, Equity in Governance, Future Worlds and Rights and Dignity, while grantmaking also occurs via grants and fellowships; however, much funding occurs through a cross-program approach, meaning that multiple programs may address the same issue from a variety of perspectives.

Grantmaking is conducted through a large network of “autonomous national and regional foundations” that often name their own areas of interest in response to local and regional needs. It is crucial to read deeply about the grantmaking requirements and priorities within each OSF satellite office since they maintain their own requirements and deadlines, different from it’s umbrella organization, headquartered in the U.S.
In addition to grantmaking, the Open Society Foundations run robust scholarship and fellowship programs and make impact investments in for-profit enterprises that have the potential to effect positive change or promote social justice.

Grants for Global Security, Human Rights and Equity

The Open Society Foundations support human rights through the Rights and Dignity and Equity in Governance funding themes areas. OSF supports a range of human rights organizations in all parts of the world. However, OSF conducts grantmaking related to security and human rights across several of it’s programs. Specific priorities have included organizations that challenge authoritarianism, enforcement of accountability for human rights abuses and economic justice and social rights for underprivileged peoples. In addition, the Future Worlds funding theme, most commonly centered on climate change, also addresses global security and rights from the perspective of “equity and justice.

In response to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in 2022, OSF created the Ukraine Democracy Fund, which it seeded with an initial commitment of $25 million. The fund works to advance three strategies: supporting civil society, advancing international efforts to defend freedom and independence, and protecting the human dignity of the displaced. Alex Soros, deputy chair of the Open Society Foundations, said, “As Putin tries to wipe the country off the map, we will do all we can for the people of Ukraine. We urge others to step forward and join us.”
Similar to its Ukraine initiative, OSF created a $3.3 million emergency fund in November 2023 to support human rights groups in Gaza, the West Bank, and Israel.
Other recent grantees include the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, Ceasefire Centre for Civilian Rights, and the Center for Civilians in Conflict, among others.

Past priorities for equity funding area include the Roma people of Europe, racial justice issues in the U.S., LGBTI rights and the millions of people around the world who are officially stateless.

Funding in Europe has supported fair housing initiatives for the Roma people, as well as conferences and symposia that aim to improve economic and educational opportunities for Roma and other ethnic minorities throughout Europe.

In the U.S., the program focuses “removing barriers to full participation in economic, social and civic life” that affect minority, disabled and other marginalized groups. The program announced $220 million commitment to Black-led justice initiatives in 2020 and made grants to organizations including Black Voters Matter, the Circle for Justice Innovations, Repairers of the Breach and the Equal Justice Initiative.

Grants for Democracy and Civic Engagement

Through OSF’s Equity in Governance focus area intersects support for democracy with Democratic Practice, which focuses on promoting free and open debate that holds those in power accountable.

A handful of democracy grants exist through both of these programs. Grantmaking supports civic engagement initiatives as well as organizations that work to ensure that governments remain responsive to the needs of all their people.

This area often invests in groups that speak out against the erosion of freedoms, as well as those who bravely dissent and resist in the face of repression, both at home and in exile. Some of this work also funds organizations engaged in independent journalism and media.
Traditionally, a significant portion of this funding has remained in the U.S.; however, OSF expanded this work to a global scale.
U.S. grantees include America Votes, the ACLU (in various states), Organize Florida, the Center for Popular Democracy and the Protect Democracy Project.
Global democracy grantees include the Arena for Journalism in Europe, Ghana Center for Democratic Development, the Asia Democracy Network, U.K. Citizens Online Democracy, Colombia’s Corporacion Manos Visibles and Afghanistan Human Rights and Democracy.

Grants for Economic Development

OSF invests in economic development in accordance most of its thematic giving areas. Having expanded the foundation’s role in expanding opportunity around the world, grantmaking work typically adjacent to this funding area occurs occurs various OSF satellite offices.

This focus area invests in nonprofit organizations, labor organizations, policymakers and governments, with recent funding focusing on large international organizations. Economic justice grantees include the Africa Platform for Social Protection, the Global Alliance for Tax Justice, the Roma Entrepreneurship Development Initiative and the Institute for the Future of Work.
Via the Soros Economic Development Fund, the impact investment arm of OSF, the Foundations deploy catalytic capital to advance inclusive global democracies.

Grants for Women and Girls

The Open Society Foundations do not currently name women and girls as funding priorities, but their Rights and Dignity and Future Worlds thematic areas to promote feminist political power. Work centered on women has funded organizations that pursue an “intersectional feminist agenda, including advancing reproductive justice and countering transnational attacks on sexual and reproductive health rights.” Past grantees include the international organization Reproductive Health Matters, the International Planned Parenthood Federation European Network, graduate programs of study in reproductive rights at the University of Pretoria and the Brazilian feminist advocacy organization Centro Feminista de Estudos e Assessoria.

Grants for Climate Change

Future Worlds, transformed from the previous Climate Justice focus area, is broader in nature that OSF’s previous work in the climate change arena. Instead, it now encompasses a range of issues — from economic to climate issues — that work towards “imagining our common future, and the search for solutions to human problems that are firmly grounded in equity and justice.” OSF defines climate justice work more broadly than other major funders in this space. Work here intersects with support for vulnerable communities, financial impact, disaster response, and human rights and refugees.

Climate funding continues to expand. Laura Carvalho, OSF’s director of economic and climate prosperity, has noted the global nature of the climate change movement.
Since this area was launched, OSF announced the first major new program since the overhaul: an eight-year, $400 million program on green industrial policies in the Global South. Other past climate grantees include ActionAid USA,
The foundations’ grantmaking in this area occurs with the understanding that “vulnerable communities that are the least responsible for climate impacts are already living with these impacts and are in urgent need of resources to recover and thrive.”

Grants for Refugees

While OSF does not have a dedicated program centered on refugees, it accomplishes work related to Migration and Asylum through a cross-program approach. Note, too, the opportunities for region specific funding across OSF’s 26 satellite offices, many with their own websites, approaches, and deadlines that are often evolving.

George Soros himself was a Jewish immigrant and young boy fleeing the Nazis during the German occupation of Hungary. As a result, OSF was later built on the premise of supporting inclusive democracies to prevent the refugee movements that occurred in the wake of WWII, when millions of human beings were forced to flee against their will cross borders.

Through its education giving, refugee work often centers on students or scholars responding to questions about refugees and the figure of the migrant, as well as how to prevent a refugee crisis by bolstering democracies against the radical nationalisms and genocides that frequently for people to flee.
Related work also focuses on investing in policy research that helps to prevent the fall-out from refugee movement.
OSF’s refugee grants have focused on climate justice and frequently fund work that addresses the overlap between refugees and human rights causes that are the result of ecological disasters related to the effects of climate change and displacement.
Funding in this area frequently occurs in real-time, meaning initiatives appear across cross-sectional areas to address the fallout of wars or disasters, such as the Ukraine Democracy Fund, so you will need to read this funder’s site often and deeply.
Recent grantees related to this area of funding include A Buon Diritto Onlus in Italy, the Associazione per gli Studi Giuridici sull’Immigrazione (ASGI) also in Italy, Asylum Access, Asylum Aid, and the Association for Integration and Migration, among many others.

Grants for stateless persons and refugees can be large. For instance, in 2016 Open Society Foundations founder George Soros pledged up to $500 million in startups, established companies, and other businesses founded by migrants and refugees. This allocation occurred in addition to OSF’s existing grant and program-related investments, which total over $570 million in 2017. And, while not strictly refugees, OSF pledged $107 million in 2023 to create the Roma Foundation for Europe to support Europe’s Roma communities. In his WSJ op-ed, Soros said that his actions worked to respond to the Obama administration’s appeal to the private sector to answer the challenges of forced migration and the needs of refugees. OSF owned these invests, their profits fund OSF programs, including those that benefit migrants and refugees. To accomplish this work, Soros worked with the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees and the International Rescue Committee, among others, to establish principles to guide the investments.

Grants for Higher Education

Traditionally, higher education has been one of the Open Society Foundations’ largest areas of giving, accounting for about $60 million in grants annually. They do not currently have a focus area devoted to education; however, the foundations frequently run scholarship and fellowship programs serving students and scholars in specific regions and/or fields of study, with most programs accepting applications via the foundations’ website.

Programs include the Open Society Fellowship, Disability Rights Scholarship Program, the Puerto Rico Youth Fellowship, Soros Equality Fellowships and Civil Society Scholar Awards, among others. The foundation also awards scholarships for graduate study at the Central European University, which Soros founded in 1991. Scholarship and fellowship opportunities intersect with a variety of topics — from journalism and climate change to justice work. (Read more about Open Society Fellowships here.)
Grantmaking for institutions of higher education has focused on creating educational opportunities for underrepresented groups and academic integrity.
The foundations have provided ongoing support to Al Quds Bard College in East Jerusalem and helped to establish the American University of Central Asia in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan. Other recent higher education grantees include Columbia University, the University of Dar Es Salaam’s Center for Climate Change Studies, the Asian University for Women, the American University of Beirut, the Université de Geneve and the Norwegian Students’ International Assistance Fund.

Grants for Journalism

OSF’s Democratic Practice and Rights and Dignity thematic area’s funding supports effective and sustainable independent journalism in a rapidly changing news environment. Specific areas of focus have included investigative reporting, independent media in developing countries and outlets and programs that “give voice” to marginalized groups.

The foundations have also made grants to A Culture of Safety Media Alliance, the organization that authored the Freelance Journalist Safety Practices, a document that outlines responsible practices and safety standards for freelancers and news organizations around the world.
Other recent journalism grantees include Lithuania’s Laisves TV, the Media Legal Defense Initiative, Sound Africa Publishing, Chile’s Fundación Centro de Investigación Periodística and the Network for Reporting on Eastern Europe.

Grants for Arts and Culture

The Open Society Foundations do not directly name arts and culture as an area of focus but support a broad range of arts and culture programs and arts education programs via various thematic areas. A key component of which is “to advance cultural and artistic freedom that inspires positive change.”

In nations around the world, the foundations have also funded fellowships for artists and groups that engage citizens and engender meaningful public conversations about pressing social and political issues.
Other recent arts grantees include the 32 East Ugandan Arts Trust, Center for Artistic Activism, Artists for Recognition and Acceptance of Kenya, the Red Sea Online Cultural Foundation and No Borders Orchestra.
In the U.S., the foundations have given to the Bronx Documentary Center, the Pop Culture Collaborative and New York University’s Hemispheric Institute of Performance and Politics.

Important Grant Details:

The Open Society Foundations together make about $1 billion a year in grants ranging anywhere from a few thousand to $40 million, though the majority of grants awarded fall in the $10,000 to $500,000 range. OSF’s grantmaking appears to be increasing over the years.

Recipients range from small grassroots organizations in developing areas of the world to large global entities and leading universities.
The foundations maintain a searchable grants database that dates back to 2016.
They make it easy for grantseekers to find funding information about a specific global region: Africa, Asia Pacific, Europe and Central Asia, Latin America and the Caribbean, Middle East and North Africa, and United States.
The decentralized organization of the Open Society Foundations and their frequently changing priorities make it difficult to locate specific information about applying for grants.
Some of the foundations’ dozens of programs, including scholarship and fellowship programs, accept applications, but most grants are awarded to organizations that the foundations “approach directly.”
General inquiries may be made via the foundations’ contact page.
For information about programs that are accepting applications or other opportunities for funding, see the foundations’ How We Fund page.

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