Foundation for a Just Society
/OVERVIEW: The Foundation for a Just Society funds a number of grassroots organizations that seek to fill funding gaps in human rights matters related to marginalized women, girls, and LGBTI people.
IP TAKE: This funder’s grantmaking focuses on relationship building, transparency and accountability, which makes it a more supportive funder in the long-term. The foundation places less importance on measurable results and meeting “narrow grant mandates.” Innovative grantseekers shouldn’t be deterred, provided that your work is laser-focused on intersectionality and justice. A GUTC signatory, the Foundation for a Just Society is an inclusive funder that works at the local, regional, national and global levels to pursue its mission.
Grants tend to geographically prioritize Francophone West Africa, Mesoamerica, South and Southeast Asia, and the U.S. Southeast. A small number of grants focus on New York City.
Foundation for a Just Society also prioritizes unrestricted general grants and multi-year support, so this is a great funder to know if you’re looking to build a long-term relationship. In addition to grants, this funder provides its “partners with an array of grantee-driven accompaniment that fosters organizational and movement strengthening to complement general operating grants” with a particular “emphasis on accompaniment for strategic communications and holistic safety and collective care.”
However, the Foundation for a Just Society prefers to field its own grantees to support, requesting proposals only if it believes a grantseeker is a good fit. In this respect, it’s “decisions are informed by the perspectives of our grantee partners and the priorities outlined in our strategies.”
While it’s possible to reach out to specific program officers, note that they receive many requests. A better approach may be to ask them about the work they oversee and how it's evolving to learn more about how your work may fit.
PROFILE: The Foundation for a Just Society was established in 2011 by Audrey Cappell, daughter of hedge fund Renaissance Technologies founder James Simons. A GUTC signatory, it currently has assets of about $406 million. The foundation works to “support innovative, intersectional, grassroots strategies that meet immediate needs while igniting long-term, structural change in communities and regions that have been overlooked by philanthropy." 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. Like several large foundations that have joined the gendered turn in philanthropic giving, Just Society supports organizations that work to fill funding gaps in gender equality and justice.
Grants for Women and Girls, LGBTI, Racial Justice and Human Rights
Rather than maintaining distinct programs, the Foundation for a Just Society conducts all of its work through a racial and gender justice lens that has a dedicated intersectional approach. As a result, this funder is dedicated to women, Black and Afro-Indigenous-led movement building.
While the Foundation for a Just Society does not provide highly detailed information about its grantmaking strategy, it takes a "field-led" approach to its grantmaking, based on building lasting relationships, transparency, and accountability. It seeks 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, Just Society 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. Grantees include African Women’s Development Fund, American Jewish World Service, Asia Justice and Rights, Asociación Mujeres Transformando, Carolina Youth Action Project, Center for Women Policy Studies, and Coalition of African Lesbians.
Important Grant Details:
The Foundation for a Just Society awards single and multi-year grants that range from $50,000 to about $500,000. Just Society's grantmaking regions include the Southeast United States, New York City, South and Southeast Asia, Francophone West Africa, and Central America.
The foundation does not accept unsolicited proposals or fund individuals, partisan organizations, and lobbying efforts.
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