Overview
We believe that a strong philanthropic and nonprofit sector, that centers diversity, equity, and inclusion, can help society meet its biggest challenges. By this we mean a sector that invites in, respects, and values people across the full spectrum of backgrounds and lived experiences, and encourages multiple ways of thinking. With philanthropic support, the organizations and individuals who are innovating and advocating for a more representative and responsive sector have the power to change the world.
Our strategy works to strengthen the domestic philanthropic sectors in the countries where we have offices—the U.S., Nigeria, and India. We aim to increase transparency and feedback between funders, nonprofits, and the public; to reduce burdens on nonprofits and changemakers to increase their impact; and to strengthen skills for philanthropic staff.
What We Fund
We fund organizations working in the U.S., India, and Nigeria working across our three approaches.
Supporting a Strong Philanthropic Sector includes
- Philanthropy supporting organizations that promote more equitable and effective practices in the sector;
- Conveners and facilitators that bring funders together in learning communities and collaboratives; and
- Organizations that build and support philanthropic infrastructure.
Promoting Research and Communication among Funders and Nonprofits includes
- Organizations that make sense of data on philanthropic giving and where it is going;
- Research that analyzes “best practices” in an effort to learn if they are having the intended effect; and
- Critical friends that hold philanthropy accountable and promote transparency.
Supporting a Strong Nonprofit Sector includes
- Organizations that provide publicly accessible nonprofit resources, including research on how policy affects nonprofits, training peers to be advocates for themselves and their communities or issue areas, and providing peer networks for learning alongside one another; and
- Support for professional growth for development and fundraising professionals.
In the U.S., we focus on influencing our peer independent, private philanthropies, rather than community and family foundations or individual donors and charitable giving.
While MacArthur has been a long-time funder in India and Nigeria, our Philanthropy field support grantmaking in those countries is nascent. Our grantmaking seeks to strengthen the domestic, homegrown sector in both countries, investing in philanthropic infrastructure and learning with and from giving communities.
Updated June 2024
We are not accepting unsolicited proposals at this time. However, contact us to share new ideas and perspectives.