Arcus Foundation

• If your work advances LGBTQ social justice or the conservation of great apes and gibbons, the foundation's stated focus fits, though no geographic focus is stated, so its grants across the United States, the United Kingdom and elsewhere do not by themselves rule out your location.
• About 8 in 10 of its grants to organisations fall between $300 and $175,000, with a median of about $68,500, so a request near that figure is typical, not a ceiling, given that its largest grant was about $1,450,000.
• Repeat giving is strong: 85% of its grant dollars to organisations in the filing went to organisations it had also funded in an earlier filing, so approaching it cold is possible but most of its money goes to existing grantees.
• For the Great Apes & Gibbons Program, begin with an Initial Funding Concept submitted online; for Social Justice, you may submit an Initial Funding Concept online or a Letter of Inquiry directly to an Arcus staff member, and invitations to a Letter of Inquiry or full proposal follow review.
• The filing gives no deadlines, and only an organisation without an equal employment opportunity policy that separately includes sexual orientation and gender identity as protected categories should hold back, since the foundation requires that policy.

The largest grants to organisations in the foundation’s latest filing:

• Save the Chimps · General operating support
  $1,167,8762024 tax year
• Borealis Philanthropy · Support for the fund for trans generations to build a free and safe future for transgender, gender nonconforming, and nonbinary people.
  $750,0002024 tax year
• Forest Peoples Programme · Support for rights-based conservation policy and practice.
  $583,3742024 tax year
• Borealis Philanthropy · Support for the emerging lgbtq leaders of color fund to resource the leadership of young people for policy and culture change.
  $525,0002024 tax year
• International Trans Fund · Support for grantmaking and capacity strengthening for increased lgbtq safety, protection, and social inclusion.
  $500,0002024 tax year
• PanEco Foundation · Support for the leuser ecosystem alliance to protect its orangutans and gibbons.
  $481,3122024 tax year
• Borealis Philanthropy · Support for the emerging lgbtq leaders of color fund to resource the leadership of young people for policy and culture change.
  $475,0002024 tax year
• Proteus Fund · Support for the rights, faith, and democracy collaborative.
  $400,0002024 tax year

Grants to organisations listed in the foundation’s Form 990-PF filings. Grants to individuals are not shown.

Figures from the foundation’s IRS Form 990-PF filings. Assets are at fair market value at year end. The document icon links to each year’s filing on ProPublica Nonprofit Explorer.