OVERVIEW: The Foundation for a Just Society is a global grantmaker that supports democracy and the human rights of women, girls, LGBTQI people, gender justice, racial justice, movement-led structural change, and leadership by those most affected. A small number of grants focus on New York City.
IP TAKE: Foundation for a Just Society is one of the larger funders to focus intently on gender justice issues and women-led movements. With the recent rise of authoritarianism globally, FJS has focused more of its grantmaking on democracy in areas where women’s and LGBTQ rights are threatened. In an interview with IP, FJS CEO Nicky McIntyre said, “defending democracy is at the foundation of what so many of our grantee partners do, even if their core work is not rooted in election cycles. Our grantmaking and perspective on pro-democracy work is deeply intersectional.”
FJS does not review unsolicited grant requests and invites proposals when it believes an organization aligns with its mission and strategies.The foundation prioritizes unrestricted grants and multi-year support. FJS also provides its partners with “an array of grantee-driven accompaniment that fosters organizational and movement strengthening to complement general operating grants.” It requests proposals if an organization is a good fit, based on internal research. Deep networking will be key to getting on FJS’s radar. FJS explicitly says it funds emerging/under-the-radar organizations as well as established ones, though larger organizations tend to get the larger grants.
FJS is a strong prospect only for organizations deeply aligned with feminist, LGBTQI, gender justice and racial justice movement work in its priority geographies, especially groups doing organizing, advocacy, litigation, narrative, participatory grantmaking or movement-infrastructure work. The practical strategy here is to build credible visibility through aligned coalitions, feminist and LGBTQI networks, regional movement spaces, participatory grantmakers, and existing grantees—not to send an unsolicited proposal.
There is a separate Bermuda-based sister foundation, not the same entity as U.S.-based Foundation for a Just Society. Foundation for a Just Society International, Ltd. (FJSI) says it initiated grantmaking in 2016.
PROFILE: Foundation for a Just Society (FJS) was established in 2011 by Audrey Cappell, daughter of hedge fund Renaissance Technologies founder James Simons. A GUTC signatory, this is a separate entity from the Foundation for a Just Society International, which is based in Bermuda, and where Cappell serves as a director.
According to its mission statement FJS “advances the rights of women, girls, and LGBTQI people and supports gender and racial justice by ensuring those most affected by injustice have the resources they need to cultivate the leadership and solutions that transform our world.” To this end, the foundation supports the intersectional global advancement of human rights, targeting marginalized women, girls, LGBTI people, land rights, healthcare, climate change and migration. FJS supports organizations that work to fill funding gaps in gender equality and justice.
Grants for Women, LGBTI, Racial Equity and Human Rights
FJS does not appear to operate named public grant programs. Rather than maintaining stated programs, the current FJS website frames its work as a single Grantmaking Approach. All work occurs through a racial and gender justice lens that has a dedicated intersectional approach. As a result, this funder is dedicated to women, immigrants, LGBTQ+, and Black and Afro-Indigenous-led movement-building across all areas of giving. Specifically, it invests in the rights of women, girls and LGBTQI people; gender and racial justice; movement-led structural change
- While the Foundation for a Just Society does not provide highly detailed information about its grantmaking strategy, it takes a “field-led” and “trust-based” approach to its grantmaking, based on building lasting relationships, transparency and accountability” in order to “grantmaking seeks to “build power and common cause” amongst its demographics.
- It seeks to effect “long-term, structural change and meet immediate needs” by developing “a cohort of long-term grantees that work at the intersections of multiple issues and fill critical gaps in local, national, regional and global movements to advance the human rights of marginalized girls, women and LGBTQI people.”
- In other words, FJS emphasizes the “power imbalance” between funders and grantees by empowering community members to create sustainable and intersectional, long-term solutions at the local level. Its philosophy centers on feminism, collaboration, risk and giving those most affected by injustice a voice.
- Past collaborations include Borealis Philanthropy, Capital for Good USA, Rockefeller Philanthropy Advisors and Amalgamated Charitable Foundation, among others.
- Additional grants have supported Fondo Centroamericano De Mujeres, the Women’s Fund Asia Limited, the International Women’s Development Agency and Women’s Link Worldwide.
- Grants also support groups working in the U.S. Recipients include the Transgender Law Center in Oakland, Women Lead Virginia, the National Domestic Workers Alliance and the Mississippi Black Women’s Round Table.
Important Grant Details:
The Foundation for a Just Society awards single- and multi-year grants that range from $50,000 to $1 million. ProPublica’s 2024 filing summary reports $1.29 billion in total assets, $1.215 billion in net assets, and $74.63 million in charitable disbursements.
- FJS makes grants to local, national, regional, and global organizations and networks that advance the rights of women, girls, and LGBTQI people with an emphasis on Francophone West Africa, Mesoamerica, South and Southeast Asia, and the US Southeast. It also make a small number of grants in New York City.
- While this funder’s largest grants tend to go to collaborative funds and regranters, many smaller and grassroots organizations also receive support in the $100,000 range.
- Grantmaking strategies remain flexible to meet the needs of grantee partners, and “are informed by a range of thought partners who have intellectual and experiential expertise, such as community leaders, funders, journalists and movement elders.”
- FJS does not fund partisan organizations or political parties; any lobbying restrictions should be described only if sourced.
- The foundation makes grants four times per year: March, June, September and November. Proposal invitations are extended two months prior to the grant approval dates.
- The staff, headquartered in New York, New York, may be reached at (646) 362-0039 or info@fjs.org.
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