Amalgamated Foundation
OVERVIEW: The Amalgamated Foundation supports democracy, racial justice, climate change mitigation and disaster response through its over 100 donor advised and “combined impact” funds.
IP TAKE: The Amalgamated Foundation is the philanthropic entity of Amalgamated Bank, a union-owned bank that has aligned itself with many progressive causes since its founding in the 1920s. The Amalgamated Foundation’s grantmaking is conducted through more than 100 donor advised and “combined impact” funds, which the foundation directs. Its largest areas of giving are democracy and racial justice, and many grants have gone to organizations working to protect and encourage voting in Black and Brown communities across the U.S. Other areas of interest include climate change and COVID-19 response and recovery.
This funder is not accessible or typically accept unsolicited applications for funding, but organizations interested in working with Amalgamated should check its news page frequently for RFPs.
PROFILE: The Amalgamated Foundation is the philanthropic offshoot of Amalgamated Bank. Based in New York City, Amalgamated Bank describes itself as a majority union-owned bank and prides itself on providing affordable banking to individuals and small businesses. Since its founding in the 1920s, the bank has distinguished itself by aligning with many progressive social causes, most notably the Occupy Wall Street movement. Amalgamated established its charitable foundation in 2017 with the goal of using its banking expertise “to move resources to the frontlines of social change with nimble efficiency and maximum impact.” The foundation is mainly supported by donations, and grantmaking stems from over 100 donor advised and “combined impact” funds, which “bring together multiple funders for collective impact.” This funder makes grants in the areas of democracy, racial justice, economic opportunity, climate change and disaster relief.
Grants for Civic Engagement and Democracy
Amalgamated’s giving in the areas of civic engagement and democracy has recently focused on “voter education and engagement” leading up to the 2020 election. Grantmaking has prioritized “communities who are an important expansion of the electorate” and “Black and Brown communities in key states or regions where there is a growing electorate that supports equitable outcomes and an economy that works for all.” One recent grantee, the Alliance for Youth Organizing, works in 20 states to engage young people as voters and advocates for issues including education, climate change and economic security. Other grantees include Black Voters Matter, the Green New Deal Network and People’s Action, which engages volunteers to “build power for a multi-racial base of working-class people.” In 2021, the foundation established its Democracy Reinvestment Fund which aims “to serve as a collective platform for corporations who are ready to take a bold stand at this crucial moment in our nation’s history and invest directly in strengthening a reflective democracy.
Grants for Racial Justice and Indigenous Rights
The Amalgamated Foundation has supported racial justice through its 2020 Expanding Our Democracy funding program, which focused on voting rights and civic engagement in Black and Brown communities across the U.S. One grantee, Black Voters Matter, works in predominately Black communities throughout the American South to encourage voting, support the communications capabilities of grassroots organizations and enhance Get Out the Vote and census outreach programs. Moving forward, the foundation will continue to support racial justice via its 2021 Hate Is Not Charitable program, which aims to unite philanthropic organizations in a coordinated effort to “take a stand against the twisted use of charitable funds to support organizations that foment hatred.” In this area, the foundation aims to organize facilitators of donor-advised finds to “exercise their legal discretion over grants made by donor advised funds and reject donor recommendations to organizations engaged in hateful activities” including “anti-LGBTQ groups, anti-Muslim groups, anti-immigrant groups, and white nationalist groups, among others.”
Grants for Climate Change and Clean Energy
The Amalgamated Foundation has demonstrated a strong commitment to supporting organizations involved in climate change and clean energy over the past several years. Climate and Sustainability was a focus area of the foundation’s grantmaking in 2019. The program prioritized “local climate justice movements centering those most impacted by climate change.” Grantees included the Partnership for Southern Equity, which works to mobilize communities for energy and health equity in greater Atlanta and throughout the American South, and Harlem’s We Act, which conducts advocacy, urban planning and research “to mobilize low-income communities of color to make environmental change.” Since the close of the Climate and Sustainability program, the foundation has given to the Green New Deal Network, an organization that educates and organizes for climate change mitigation nationally.
Grants for Work and Economic Opportunity
The Amalgamated Foundation does not name economic opportunity as an area of grantmaking focus, but it has supported organizations in this area via its 2020 Expanding Our Democracy funding program and its COVID-19 response funding. The Expanding Our Democracy Program prioritized organizations working with Black and Brown working class communities, and its grantees included the National Domestic Workers Alliance and Ultraviolet, an organization that advocates for increasing paid and family sick leave benefits for women and others. Amalgamated’s COVID-19 response funding included a grant to the Frontline Workers Fund, which supported essential workers with funding for health, childcare, protective equipment and compensation for lost wages due to illness or quarantine.
Grants for Disaster Relief and Humanitarian Aid
The Amalgamated Foundation launched its COVID-19 Response funding program in 2020 to support “workers, families and communities” through the crisis. The program prioritizes vulnerable communities and the efficient coordination of responses and resources. Grantees include the Emergent Fund’s People’s Bailout Fund, which supports grassroots groups that work to ensure “resources flow to the organizations and communities most in need,” and the Families and Workers Fund, which provided cash assistance to communities that were disproportionately affected by the pandemic.
Important Grant Details:
In a recent year, the Amalgamated Foundation made about $60 million in grants through its donor-advised and combined-impact funds. Its largest areas of giving are democracy and racial justice, which together receive about two-thirds of all grants. Grantees tend to be large, collaborative organizations that work directly with communities and grassroots groups. For additional information about past grantmaking, see the foundation’s Insights and Initiatives page.
The Amalgamated Foundation does not accept unsolicited proposals for funding, but it occasionally posts RFPs on its news page and encourages prospective grantees to check back often. General inquiries may be directed to the foundation’s staff via its contact page.
PEOPLE:
Search for staff contact info and bios in PeopleFinder (paid subscribers only).
LINKS: