Funding for a healthier civil society – Lessons from an OSF program

The Economic Justice Program (EJP) of the Open Society Foundations ran from 2018 until the end of December 2021. During this time, and building on the work of its two parent programs (Fiscal Governance and Economic Advancement), EJP developed the Foundations’ first-ever strategy dedicated to fighting economic injustice and pioneered approaches to good grantmaking for social change.

This brief summarizes early successes and lessons from EJP’s pilot Organizational Health Fund, the first such fund at OSF. Our hope in sharing these insights is to equip grantee partners seeking OHF-type support and to inspire funders looking to develop similar practices.