The Alexander Soros Foundation is a private foundation established by Alexander Soros, son of billionaire investor and liberal advocacy philanthropist George Soros. Its stated mission is to promote social justice and human rights, though its grants also focus on environmentalism, education, cultural causes, and more.

Soros, who calls himself an “avid supporter of many progressive politicians” such as Hillary Clinton, operates the foundation with a focus on left-leaning activism. ¹ The Wall Street Journal wrote of his initiative: “Mr. Soros is choosing to put his time and giving toward progressive causes that might not have widespread support.” ²

In 2017, the foundation’s gifts totaled $1.7 million and it had total assets of $840,000. ³

History and Mission

The Alexander Soros Foundation was founded April 5, 2012, when Alexander Soros was 26 years old and a doctoral student at the University of California, Berkeley. In a statement announcing its creation, he said he started the foundation to finance “more experimental and perhaps controversial projects that larger mainstream foundations might not be able to take on.” ⁴

Soros has based his philanthropy and activism on that of his father, George Soros, who operates the Open Society Foundations and donates heavily to left-of-center political causes and candidates. ⁵ The Alexander Soros Foundation, like the Open Society Foundations, is a single-donor fund controlled entirely by its founder. ⁶

Alexander Soros told the New York Times he was interested in championing causes to which he claims a personal connection, like the wellbeing of domestic workers in the United States, which he claimed to be passionate about because of his childhood nanny. ⁷ In 2012 the Alexander Soros Foundation helped fund the first national statistical study of domestic workers, called “Home Economics: The Invisible and Unregulated World of Domestic Work.” The study called for more benefits for workers and regulations on their employers. ⁸

In 2013, the Alexander Soros Foundation started the Alexander Soros Award for Environmental and Human Rights Activism, which so far has honored environmentalists from developing countries. Through the award, Soros says he seeks to “put a heroic, human face on the struggle to protect the environment.” ⁹

Beneficiaries

The Alexander Soros Foundation’s first grant was a $250,000 gift to Bend the Arc: a Jewish Partnership for Justice (formerly Jewish Funds for Justice). ¹⁰ Alexander Soros sits on the organization’s board of directors. ¹¹ The organization is a 501(c)(3) entity but the Alexander Soros Foundation helped finance the creation of a 501(c)(4) subsidiary called Bend the Arc: Jewish Action (BTA). ¹²

Bend the Arc: Jewish Action called itself “the Jewish resistance”¹³ and engages in left-leaning political activism in the United States, with a focus on defeating what it terms “the immoral agenda of the Trump administration and the Republican Party.” ¹⁴¹⁵ Alexander Soros told Forbes, “I have played a major role in the creation of BTA over the last couple of years, and over that time we have established ourselves as the go-to national Jewish organization driving a progressive domestic agenda.” ¹⁶

The Alexander Soros Foundation’s second donation was made to Global Witness, the British environmental and human rights organization known for exposing Africa’s “blood diamond” trade. ¹⁷ This donation received media attention, as it was coupled with a lavish fundraiser that Soros hosted with what the Wall Street Journal called “a cadre of socialites, Hamptonites and onetime reality-TV stars.” ^{18 19}

The foundation also donates to environmental organizations, which made up the majority of its beneficiaries in 2017. ²⁰ Recipients included Global Witness; DanMission, which supports environmental defense work in Cambodia; Reseau Cref, an anti-logging organization active in the Congo; and the Rainforest Foundation for its work to stop illegal logging in Peru’s Amazon rainforest. ²¹

The Alexander Soros Foundation has also donated annually to Seeds of Africa, an education organization for children in Ethiopia, including with a $1 million donation in 2014, its largest up to that point. ²²

The foundation has made grants to the National Domestic Workers Alliance and Make the Road New York, which support greater regulations governing the employment of Latinos and working-class immigrants. ²³

1. Forbes, Miguel. “Alexander Soros: Man On Fire.” Forbes. Jan 25, 2016. Accessed October 29, 2019. https://www.forbes.com/sites/miguelforbes/2016/01/25/alexander-soros-man-on-fire/#6efcedae3304
2. West, Melanie Grayce. “Younger Soros Tries to Learn From Father’s Giving.” The Wall Street Journal. September 16, 2011. Accessed October 29, 2019. https://www.wsj.com/articles/SB10001424053111904060604576573191027617806?KEYWORDS=MELANIE+GRAYCE+WEST
3. “Return of a Private Foundation.” The Alexander Soros Foundation. IRS Form 990 PF. 2017.
4. Joslyn, Heather. “Soros Philanthropy: the Next Generation.” The Chronicle of Philanthropy. April 5, 2012. Accessed October 29, 2019. https://www.philanthropy.com/article/Soros-Philanthropy-the-Next/227641
5. West, Melanie Grayce. “Younger Soros Tries to Learn From Father’s Giving.” The Wall Street Journal. September 16, 2011. Accessed October 29, 2019. https://www.wsj.com/articles/SB10001424053111904060604576573191027617806?KEYWORDS=MELANIE+GRAYCE+WEST
6. Williams, Alex. “Making Good on the Family Name.” The New York Times. July 18, 2012. Accessed October 29, 2019. https://www.nytimes.com/2012/07/19/fashion/alexander-soros-tries-to-live-up-to-his-family-name.html
7. Williams, Alex. “Making Good on the Family Name.” The New York Times. July 18, 2012. Accessed October 29, 2019. https://www.nytimes.com/2012/07/19/fashion/alexander-soros-tries-to-live-up-to-his-family-name.html
8. Greenhouse, Steven. “A Study of Home Help Finds Low Worker Pay.” The New York Times. November 26, 2012. Accessed October 29, 2019. https://www.nytimes.com/2012/11/27/business/a-study-of-home-help-finds-low-worker-pay-and-few-benefits.html?emc=eta1
9. Forbes, Miguel. “Alexander Soros: Man On Fire.” Forbes. Jan 25, 2016. Accessed October 29, 2019. https://www.forbes.com/sites/miguelforbes/2016/01/25/alexander-soros-man-on-fire/#6efcedae3304
10. Joslyn, Heather. “Soros Philanthropy: the Next Generation.” The Chronicle of Philanthropy. April 5, 2012. Accessed October 29, 2019. https://www.philanthropy.com/article/Soros-Philanthropy-the-Next/227641
11. West, Melanie Grayce. “Younger Soros Tries to Learn From Father’s Giving.” The Wall Street Journal. September 16, 2011. Accessed October 29, 2019. https://www.wsj.com/articles/SB10001424053111904060604576573191027617806?KEYWORDS=MELANIE+GRAYCE+WEST
12. Forbes, Miguel. “Alexander Soros: Man On Fire.” Forbes. Jan 25, 2016. Accessed October 29, 2019. https://www.forbes.com/sites/miguelforbes/2016/01/25/alexander-soros-man-on-fire/#6efcedae3304
13. “Home page.” BendtheArc.us. Accessed October 29, 2019. https://www.bendthearc.us/
14. “About.” BendtheArc.us. Accessed October 29, 2019. https://www.bendthearc.us/about
15. “Twitter Post by Bend the Arc Jewish Action.” October 29, 2019. https://twitter.com/jewishaction/status/1187125851067949056
16. Forbes, Miguel. “Alexander Soros: Man On Fire.” Forbes. Jan 25, 2016. Accessed October 29, 2019. https://www.forbes.com/sites/miguelforbes/2016/01/25/alexander-soros-man-on-fire/#6efcedae3304
17. Joslyn, Heather. “Soros Philanthropy: the Next Generation.” The Chronicle of Philanthropy. April 5, 2012. Accessed October 29, 2019. https://www.philanthropy.com/article/Soros-Philanthropy-the-Next/227641
18. Vilensky, Mike. “Alexander Soros Is Unmasked for Charity.” The Wall Street Journal. July 8, 2012. Accessed October 29, 2019. https://www.wsj.com/articles/SB10001424052702303567704577515252719390234
19. Williams, Alex. “Making Good on the Family Name.” The New York Times. July 18, 2012. Accessed October 29, 2019. https://www.nytimes.com/2012/07/19/fashion/alexander-soros-tries-to-live-up-to-his-family-name.html
20. “Return of a Private Foundation.” The Alexander Soros Foundation. IRS Form 990 PF. 2017.
21. Forbes, Miguel. “Alexander Soros: Man On Fire.” Forbes. Jan 25, 2016. Accessed October 29, 2019. https://www.forbes.com/sites/miguelforbes/2016/01/25/alexander-soros-man-on-fire/#6efcedae3304
22. “The Alexander Soros Foundation Awarded $1million in 2014 and $100,000 to Pioneering Ethiopian School.” Seeds of Africa. Accessed October 29, 2019. https://seedsofafrica.org/grants-and-awards/the-alexander-soros-foundation-awarded-1million-in-2014-and-100000-to-pioneering-ethiopian-school/
23. Joslyn, Heather. “Soros Philanthropy: the Next Generation.” The Chronicle of Philanthropy. April 5, 2012. Accessed October 29, 2019. https://www.philanthropy.com/article/Soros-Philanthropy-the-Next/227641