Meet the Justice-Focused Funders
This is a spreadsheet of 40+ funders who are actively committed to advancing justice in 2026. In fundraising terms, think of this as your prospect research list—funders who have publicly stated their support for justice in the U.S. and are backing up those commitments by funding economic, social, racial, gender, environmental, and other justice- and DEI-focused work.
*One Community Grant Consulting, LLC kindly requests written acknowledgment of Sharmila Sitther as the original author of this document, in the event it is repurposed, adapted, or shared.
How to Use This Research for Your Organization
Follow the steps below to make the most of this research and tailor it to your organization’s grant-seeking needs.
1. Create a Working Copy
Create a “save-as” copy of the read-only file. This will allow you to modify the sheet as needed without altering the original.
2. Screen and Narrow Down Potential Funders
Review the list and identify funders that may be a strong match for your organization by considering:
Geographic focus
Issue areas
Funder eligibility criteria
Next step: Delete funders who are clearly not a good fit. For those that remain, add funder contact information for easy reference.
3. Personalize and Organize the Sheet
Add columns or apply filters to customize the sheet for your internal use. For example:
Identify whether opportunities support general operating funding or project-specific funding
Filter by a minimum grant threshold
4. Find Deeper Synergies
Review funders’ public-facing materials such as annual reports, impact pages, and social media to learn more about their priorities. Look at past grantees to identify areas of alignment and potential synergies between the funder and your organization.
5. Add Notes
Edit or add notes in the “special notes” section to capture insights, questions, or follow-up actions.
6. Manage Long Lists Effectively
Large funder lists can become overwhelming. Consider funneling this information into a full-cycle grant management software or creating a custom workflow using a tool like Asana.
And for folks who are curious about how this list came together, keep reading.
The Back Story: How I Created This List
1. I crowdsourced funder recommendations on LinkedIn
I gathered ideas for funders that met the following criteria:
· Organizations with a publicly accessible website that clearly retains language about their commitment to justice and DEI
· Funders that are actively supporting economic, social, racial, gender, environmental, and other forms of justice and DEI
· Funders that support work in the United States
· Funders with non-functioning websites or without clear descriptions of grant support for U.S.-based organizations were excluded
2. I excluded information that varies widely
To keep the list usable and manageable, I did not include funder deadlines, detailed eligibility criteria, or types of support. These details often vary by program—for example, deadlines and funding types can differ across a single funder’s portfolio.
3. I used ChatGPT to build the spreadsheet template and populate the initial data.
4. I fact-checked everything
Every cell was reviewed, corrected, and edited by me to ensure accuracy.
Important Notes
· Unless specifically noted, the “giving history” column does not refer exclusively to grantmaking. Grant dollar amounts do not necessarily reflect total charitable disbursements; some funders include other forms of giving, such as investments.
· Every effort was made to verify accuracy at the time of research. That said, this information is not static. Funder priorities change. Giving methods change.
** If you choose to use this information, please note that you are solely responsible for verifying its accuracy at the time of use. Sources are included as comments in each cell, please check the data for yourself.
Friends, this is truly a labor of love, born out of my distress at the injustices that keep piling up. It’s my give-back. Share it, use it, and pass it along so it can help as many people as possible. Make it work for you, add it to your research, or modify the document in whatever way best supports your work.
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One Community Grant Consulting, LLC kindly requests written acknowledgment as the original author if this document is repurposed, adapted, or shared.
If you are looking for grant support, send me a message or schedule a time to chat.