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Status: activeType: 🤝 philanthropyCountry: United States Website: www.opensocietyfoundations.org
Status active
Type 🤝 philanthropy
Country United States
Website www.opensocietyfoundations.org
Contact media@opensocietyfoundations.org
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News page www.opensocietyfoundations.org/newsroom
Concepts Democracy Radical Transparency Direct Democracy
Last activity 2026-08-11 scrape
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Open Society Foundations

The Open Society Foundations (OSF) are a global network of foundations founded by George Soros in 1979. Beginning with scholarships for Black South African students and support for East European dissidents, OSF grew into the world's largest private funder of independent civil society organisations working on democracy, human rights, justice, and equity.

OSF operates through a network of national and regional foundations and awards grants and fellowships throughout the year. The vast majority of grants are made through direct relationships rather than open calls, though some open opportunities are listed on their website. Relevant funding areas include democratic governance, civic participation, transparency, independent media, and civic technology.

For organisations working in the democracy design and civic tech space, OSF is one of the primary international funders to be aware of, alongside foundations like Luminate (Omidyar Network's democracy and civic tech arm) and the William and Flora Hewlett Foundation.

Key people

  • George Soros — founder. Hungarian-American investor and philanthropist who established OSF in 1979, drawing on philosopher Karl Popper's concept of the "open society" as a framework for pluralist, rights-respecting governance. One of the largest private funders of democracy, civil society, and human rights work globally.

See also

History