Open Society-U.S. supports efforts to advance equality, fairness, and justice, with a focus on the most marginalized communities and the most significant threats to open society in the United States.
Open Society-U.S. is committed to building a vibrant, inclusive, and more just society in the United States.
We combine grantmaking, advocacy, fellowships and field office work to create a single entity dedicated to promoting full participation in the nation’s civic, political, and economic life—particularly for communities that are historically marginalized—and to ensure that the core institutions of civil society are effective, equitable, and accountable to the public.
We work at the federal, state and local level, and are guided in all our work by the power of local voices—through our urban laboratory of change, the Open Society Institute–Baltimore, our work in helping to rebuild Puerto Rico, and our ongoing efforts in a number of primarily South and Southwestern cities and states.
The issues we work on include the following:
- ending mass incarceration, making police departments more accountable to the communities they serve, challenging the death penalty, and replacing youth justice policies that stigmatize and suppress with policies that safeguard the rights of children and young people
- promoting drug policies that ensure access to treatment and address drug use—and the health, mental health, and social needs it creates—within the context of communities, rather than the criminal justice system
- promoting fairness and equality for all people in the United States by removing barriers to full participation in economic, social, and civic life for all; seeking to reduce the racial wealth gap and change the national racial narrative
- strengthening the capacity of community and legal organizations that work to promote the rights of immigrants, safeguard them against unjust attack, and promote their full participation in American life
- supporting high-quality journalism to help hold powerful institutions accountable, protecting the public interest on matters of media and information policy, reducing various forms of corruption and the undue influence of money in politics, empowering communities to combat multiple forms of voter suppression, and advancing reforms safeguarding the independence of state and federal courts
- promoting the rule of law, defending civil liberties and human rights, and combatting Islamophobia generated by ill-defined or discriminatory counterterrorism policies and practices
- promoting economic opportunity for all, reducing income equality, establishing fairness in the workplace, and advancing fair housing and lending policies
Featured Work
In Remembrance
Lani Guinier’s Overlooked Education Legacy
The late Lani Guinier thought deeply about the intersection between education and criminal justice. Her leadership at Open Society helped pave the way to colleges across the country offering higher education to the incarcerated.
Multiracial Democracy
Post-Election Punditry Overlooks Asian American Gains
The pundits focused on a swing vote shift to the GOP in statewide races on the ballot November 2. But the election saw landmark strides toward a multiracial democracy at the local level, as Asian Americans made significant gains.
Racial Justice Matters
Open Society’s History Fighting for Racial Justice in the United States
For decades, George Soros and the Open Society Foundations have invested in racial equity and the movement to dismantle systemic forms of discrimination—from the drug war to segregated schools and housing to securing the right to vote.