For decades, the Open Society Foundations (OSF) have worked tirelessly to advance justice and human rights in Africa, the Middle East, and other troubled regions worldwide. However, the organization's latest major investment targets a crisis closer to home. On Tuesday, the foundation, established by billionaire philanthropist George Soros and headquartered in New York, announced a $300 million initiative aimed at bolstering economic security and safeguarding civil liberties in the United States.
This substantial commitment comes 16 months into Donald Trump's second presidential term, as millions of Americans grapple with an affordability crisis and activists warn of an unprecedented assault on the rule of law. Laleh Ispahani, managing director for the US at OSF, emphasized the necessity of the move: "We certainly believe that civil society is essential and must stay on the playing field. We've had experience in other countries, unfortunately, where civil society has been targeted by autocratic administrations. It does matter that we still are funding in most parts of the world and are very much in communication with one another as things are happening in the US."
Soros has donated over $32 billion of his personal fortune to global causes. He is also a long-time Democratic donor and a frequent target of right-wing criticism, often laced with antisemitic tropes that portray Soros—a Jewish survivor of the Nazi occupation in Hungary—as a "globalist" puppet master. When asked if the foundation was prepared for inevitable backlash accusing Soros of meddling in US democracy, Ispahani remained undeterred: "We fully expect that. We wouldn't expect anything less. But we also won't be intimidated into silence. We think our work has never mattered more. It matters most in places when democracy is under attack, when rights are being rolled back and peaceful dissent is being criminalized. We expect it, we're prepared for it and we will keep at it."
The Guardian has received funding from OSF for reporting on climate and democracy, but all editorial content remains independent.
Breaking Down Silos: A Unified Approach
Historically, reformers have often operated in silos, focusing either on democratic rights or economic justice. OSF's new initiative aims to dismantle these barriers. Ispahani explained: "What's new and different and perhaps most distinct about this is that it's a unified and focused effort. We want to fund this integrated strategy to improve our democracy by both modernizing our rights and freedoms and reforming our economy as things that are two sides of the same coin, because when one suffers, inevitably the other does, too."
This approach builds on a long tradition, from Franklin Roosevelt to Martin Luther King Jr., that links liberty to livelihood. "The thought is not necessarily a new one because proponents of the civil rights movement and Roosevelt-era New Deal understood that these things go hand in hand. We certainly need a new social compact today," Ispahani added.
Urgency Driven by Legal Reversals
The urgency is fueled by what OSF perceives as an alarming reversal of fundamental protections, spearheaded by a right-wing majority on the Supreme Court. The 1950s and 1960s produced historic gains that transformed US society, but now the tide is turning rapidly. "It's pretty clear to us that today these rights are being rolled back, including the right to protest, civil rights and voting rights, with the Supreme Court's recent decisions eviscerating very key protections of the civil rights era," Ispahani said. "We had the Supreme Court putting a nail in the coffin of what was a very widely respected Voting Rights Act with its recent decision in the Louisiana v. Callais case, so we're back to this pre-60s moment in the world."
To counter this, OSF is advocating for an expansion of the civil rights paradigm to address modern threats, from securing the right to elect representatives of the voter's choice to combating new forms of discrimination in algorithmic and technology-driven bias.
Immediate Funding and Strategic Partners
OSF has already committed $20 million for this year to support organizations on the frontlines, including strategic litigation, non-profit sector defense, and efforts to track government corruption. Beneficiaries include the Roosevelt Institute, whose "good life" agenda focuses on dignity and affordability; the Groundwork Collaborative think tank; the National Women's Law Center; and state-level groups such as Living United for Change in Arizona.
Economic Security: A Central Pillar
The other central pillar of the $300 million investment is economic security. Even in the wealthiest country globally, the child poverty rate stands at 14.3%, affecting approximately 10.4 million children. The top 20% of households currently capture over half of all national income. Ispahani argues the current system is failing. "Why not have moral and material rights that resonate across constituencies?" she asked. "The right to a good job with fair wages and safe working conditions isn't controversial. The right to stable and affordable housing is likely very popular. The right to accessible and affordable childcare is likely also very popular. The right to healthcare and bodily autonomy the same. The right to safe communities free from violence also the same. And the right to economic mobility and opportunity regardless of background the same."
This integrated strategy aims to create a new social compact that addresses both democratic and economic challenges, ensuring that progress in one area supports the other.
