Open Foundations · New York

Open Society Institute

New York, New York · EIN 137029285. Its Form 990-PF says giving is not restricted to organizations picked in advance, which is how a private foundation files that it accepts unsolicited requests. It paid $146.6M across 539 grants in 2024, a median of $15K each.

All New York foundations · All states

$146.6M
paid in 2024
539
grants paid
$15K
median grant
12%
to first-time recipients
$5.4B
assets on file

How to apply, as filed

Straight off Part XV of the return. Where the foundation left a line blank, this says so rather than guessing.

Send requests to
OPEN SOCIETY INSTITUTE GRANTS DEPT
Address
224 WEST 57TH STREET, NEW YORK, NY, 10019
Phone
2125480600
Email
Not stated in the filing
Form the request should take
REFER TO WEBSITE AT WWW.OPENSOCIETYFOUNDATIONS.ORG
Submission deadline
REFER TO WEBSITE AT WWW.OPENSOCIETYFOUNDATIONS.ORG
Restrictions on awards
REFER TO WEBSITE AT WWW.OPENSOCIETYFOUNDATIONS.ORG

As filed on the Form 990-PF for tax year 2024, IRS filing object id 202543199349101234. Printed word for word, including the entries that only say to see a website or an attachment.

What it funds, in its own words

The words that come up most often across the purposes it wrote on its 2024 grants. These are the foundation's own words, not a category we assigned.

educate aboutmatchingjusticepeoplecommunitiessocialcreateorder

Biggest grants in 2024

The 15 largest of the 539 grants paid in 2024, with the purpose the foundation wrote for each.

#RecipientStateAmountPurpose as filed
1Central European UniversityNY$38,025,318TO PROVIDE GENERAL SUPPORT
2Central European UniversityNY$31,983,066TO PROVIDE GENERAL SUPPORT
3Bard CollegeNY$12,500,000TO PROVIDE GENERAL SUPPORT
4Media Development Investment FundNY$5,000,000TO PROVIDE GENERAL SUPPORT
5Rockefeller Philanthropy Advisors IncNY$5,000,000TO ADVANCE OPEN SOCIETIES AND INCLUSIVE DEMOCRACIES IN POLITICS AND GOVERNANCE BY HOSTING AND SUPPORTING THE ESTABLISHMENT OF THE WOMEN'S POLITICAL LEADERSHIP FUND, A FISCALLY-SPONSORED PROJECT OF THE GRANTEE
6The Barack Obama FoundationIL$3,000,000TO SUPPORT THE FOUNDATIONS EFFORTS TO SCALE UP THEIR INTERNATIONAL PROGRAMS AND IN PARTICULAR, OBAMA FOUNDATION LEADERS, SCHOLARS AND FELLOWS PROGRAMS
7Bard CollegeNY$2,825,471TO SUPPORT BARD COLLEGE'S CENTER FOR CIVIC ENGAGEMENT AS THE NEW ADMINISTRATIVE HUB FOR THE OPEN SOCIETY UNIVERSITY NETWORK'S OPERATIONS
8AspirationCA$2,000,000TO ENSURE EFFECTIVE ENFORCEMENT OF SOCIAL MEDIA ACCOUNTABILITY RULES DURING THE 2024 EU ELECTIONS IN ORDER TO REDUCE AND MITIGATE THE SPREAD OF DISINFORMATION
9Reset TechDC$2,000,000TO SUPPORT THE GRANTEES WORK IN PROTECTING PUBLIC SAFETY, FUNDAMENTAL RIGHTS AND ELECTION INTEGRITY BY ENCOURAGING EFFECTIVE ENFORCEMENT OF THE DIGITAL SERVICES ACT
10Institute of International Education IncNY$1,500,000TO ALLOW THE GRANTEE TO MANAGE A TRAVEL AND LEARNING FUND FOR INDIVIDUALS AND ORGANIZATIONS TO PARTICIPATE IN CONVENINGS, EXCHANGES, EDUCATION, GLOBAL LEARNING, CONDUCTING RESEARCH, AND TRAVEL
11Rockefeller Philanthropy Advisors IncNY$1,500,000TO SUPPORT THE INTERNATIONAL FUND FOR PUBLIC INTEREST MEDIA TO SEED NEW REVENUE STREAMS FOR PUBLIC INTEREST MEDIA IN THE GLOBAL SOUTH
12Tides FoundationCA$1,350,000TO SUPPORT THE ASIA EMPOWERMENT FUND FOR CIVIL SOCIETY GROUPS ADVANCING DEMOCRATIC GOVERNANCE
13International Development Economics Associatesn/a$1,250,000TO PROVIDE GENERAL SUPPORT
14Access NowNY$1,200,000TO PROVIDE GENERAL SUPPORT
15Brac Usa IncNY$1,000,000TO SUPPORT BRAC USA'S ULTRA POOR GRADUATION INITIATIVE, WHICH AIMS TO MOBILIZE GOVERNMENTS GLOBALLY TO SCALE GRADUATION AND ECONOMIC INCLUSION PROGRAMS THROUGH GOVERNMENT SOCIAL PROTECTION SYSTEMS

Giving by year, and who received it

Grants paid by year

Every year of this foundation's grants that Civly holds
Tax yearGrantsPaid
20201,168$127.9M
20211,191$309.5M
2022929$221.8M
2023666$269.2M
2024539$146.6M

Where the money went

Share of 2024 grant dollars by recipient state
New York64%
??12%
District of Columbia5%
New Jersey3%
California3%

Who decides

Officers, directors and trustees as filed, with the year of the return they appeared on.

Alexander SorosTRUSTEE · 2024
Binaifer NowrojeePRESIDENT (AS OF 4/1/2024) · 2024
Catherine LivingstonGEN COUNSEL, SECRETARY (THRU 1/17/24) · 2024
Debbie FineGEN COUNSEL, SECRETARY (AS OF 1/17/24) · 2024
Greg TaylorGLOBAL DIRECTOR OF OPS (FORMER) · 2024
Laura SilberTRUSTEE (AS OF 12/19/2024) · 2024
Leonard BenardoSENIOR VICE PRESIDENT · 2024
Maija ArbolinoTREASURER/CFO · 2024
Mark Malloch-brownTRUSTEE & PRESIDENT (THRU 3/31/2024) · 2024
Nicole WilettCHIEF OF STAFF (THRU 1/31/2024) · 2024
Pedro AbramovayVICE PRESIDENT, PROGRAMS · 2024
Samantha Stokes-baydurCHIEF PEOPLE AND CULTURE OFFICER · 2024
Sandra BrekaVP AND COO · 2024
Smita SinghCHIEF STRATEGY OFFICER (FORMER) · 2024

Every figure on this page is that foundation's own latest filed year, which is 2022 or later. This foundation is listed because its Form 990-PF says it does not restrict giving to preselected organizations and it paid at least 5 grants totaling $100K or more that year. Latest-year grants and terms per foundation from IRS 990-PF e-file returns; the newest tax year is partial until the IRS finishes releasing it. Grants are de-duplicated on funder, year, recipient and amount, so identical repeat grants collapse into one and totals can run low. Full method.

Source: IRS Form 990-PF e-file releases (public domain). Analysis: Civly.

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