Fund for Policy Reform Inc.

Background

The Fund for Policy Reform was founded in 2009 and established through a $100 million donation by left-of-center billionaire and Democratic megadonor George Soros. Though the Fund for Policy Reform began with a focus on supporting left-of-center environmentalist advocacy, the Fund quickly became active in public welfare, opposition to capitalism, criminal justice reform, and drug policy. ²

The Fund for Policy Reform is part of Soros’s Open Society Foundations, a network of left-of-center foundations which comprise one of the largest left-of-center funding networks in the world, typically distributing roughly $1 billion per year to left-wing advocacy organizations and other charities around the world. ³

According to the Fund for Policy Reform’s 2024 tax return, it is directly related to the Soros Economic Development Fund, the Open Society Foundation London, the Alliance for Open Society International, and the Open Society Institute. ⁴

Activism

Media

In 2021, the Fund for Policy Reform Inc. gave a total of $2.5 million to Courier Newsroom, a collection of left-of-center media outlets that purport to be local, grassroots news companies. The Fund described Courier Newsroom’s efforts as “non-partisan journalism, which aims to further the common good and general welfare of U.S. communities by providing access to information” and said it aimed to support its “non-partisan journalism on democracy and voting rights issues.” ⁵

In 2022, the Fund for Policy Reform Inc. gave $2.5 million to Courier Newsroom. ⁵

In 2023, the Fund for Policy Reform Inc. gave a total of $15 million to Courier Newsroom. ⁵

The right-of-center Washington Examiner reported that Courier Newsroom spent millions of dollars on political advertisements lauding Democratic candidates and criticizing Republican candidates while presenting its content as nonpartisan local news, without disclosing its funding sources. ⁶

Audacy

In January 2024, Audacy, the nation’s second-largest broadcast radio network, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in Texas after accumulating approximately $1.9 billion in debt. Soros Fund Management had previously acquired approximately $415 million worth of Audacy’s senior debt. As part of the bankruptcy reorganization plan approved by a federal court in February 2024, control of the restructured Audacy was vested in Laurel Tree Opportunities Corporation, a company controlled by FPR Capital Holdings LLC, a Delaware corporation managed by the Fund for Policy Reform. ^{7 8}

In 2024, the  Federal Communications Commission (FCC) voted 3 to 2 to authorize Audacy Inc., which at the time was controlled by Fund for Policy Reform, to claim ownership of over 200 radio-station broadcast licenses. Then-FCC Chair Jessica Rosenworcel stated, “In this decision, we approve the assignment of licenses held by Audacy, which has been under the control of a bankruptcy court, to the new Audacy, so that the company can emerge from bankruptcy proceedings.”  ⁹

Republican FCC commissioner Brendan Carr dissented, calling the decision “unprecedented” and arguing that the FCC had never previously approved the transfer of broadcast licenses at this scale without following standard procedures and public comment processes. Quotations from his statement were featured in a letter from U.S. House Oversight Committee Chairman Rep. James Comer (R-KY) and U.S. Rep. Nick Langworthy (R-NY), which they sent to Rosenworcel demanding documents and communications related to the Audacy radio licenses. ⁸

The FCC’s approval triggered congressional scrutiny. Rep. Comer and Rep. Langworthy opened an investigation into the FCC’s handling of the transaction, alleging that the agency had bypassed standard procedures to benefit a Democratic megadonor just weeks before the 2024 presidential election. ¹⁰

In October 2024, then-House Energy and Commerce Committee chairwoman U.S. Representative Cathy McMorris Rodgers (R-WA) led 40 Republican colleagues in demanding answers from FCC chairwoman Rosenworcel regarding the decision, which they characterized as a temporary waiver of a required national security review that allowed foreign ownership of a significant share of American radio broadcasting—a concern triggered because Audacy’s estimated foreign ownership upon emerging from bankruptcy was 25 percent or higher, meeting the statutory threshold for FCC national security review. ¹¹

Audacy CEO David Field remained in his position, and the company’s existing management team stayed on following the restructuring. ¹²

In a related move, in 2022, Soros Fund Management provided financing for the Latino Media Network’s $60 million purchase of 18 Spanish-language radio stations from TelevisaUnivision, representing a significant footprint across major U.S. Hispanic radio markets. Multiple radio hosts departed the acquired stations following the transaction, citing editorial disputes. ^{13 14}

Voting and Electoral Policy

The Fund for Policy Reform has given substantial funding to voter mobilization efforts and electoral reform. In 2017, the Fund gave $1 million to America Votes, which brands itself as the “coordination hub of the progressive community.”  ^{15 16} In 2020, the Fund for Policy Reform gave $1 million to America Votes. ¹⁷ In 2021, the Fund for Policy Reform gave another $1 million to America Votes. ¹⁸

In 2017, the Fund gave a $500,000 grant to the Democracy Integrity Project (TDIP), a Soros-funded organization that claims to investigate foreign interference in American elections. ¹¹ The TDIP endorses claims that Russia substantially manipulated the 2016 American presidential election, sending daily news briefs to media outlets across the country in an attempt to spread a narrative of election interference. ¹¹ Though the TDIP is ostensibly nonpartisan, Dan Jones, a former Clinton administration volunteer and top staffer to former U.S. Senator Dianne Feinstein (D-CA), incorporated the organization just 11 days after President Donald Trump took office. ¹²

From 2020 to 2021, the Fund for Policy Reform gave $1.1 million to the Committee on States, an organization known for its work on left-of-center redistricting efforts. ¹⁸

Campaign for One New York

The Fund for Policy Reform donated $250,000 to the Campaign for One New York (CfONY), a controversial advocacy group aligned with then-New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio (D) in 2015. In January 2015, Michael Vachon, one of Soros’s advisers, invited de Blasio to speak at the Democracy Alliance Conference in Chicago to a group of major left-of-center donors. In response to the invitation, one of de Blasio’s consultants encouraged de Blasio to accept the invitation because, in their words, “Vachon = Soros.” De Blasio went on to deliver the keynote address. ¹⁹

The CfONY was a source of controversy for its operations. De Blasio hired several outside political consultants while serving as mayor, whose salaries were funded by private interest groups, causing uproar over conflicts of interest between the consultants’ firms, who often worked with large special interest groups, and those of the public office. ¹⁴ The consultants were paid nearly $2.3 million in the first year and a half of de Blasio’s term, with most of the money coming from the “Campaign for One New York,” a nonprofit created by political professionals from de Blasio’s campaign to push his initiatives. ¹⁹

Because the Campaign for One New York was technically a nonprofit, there was no limit to the amount of funds it can accept from donors, and as such, was criticized as a dark money campaign to get around campaign finance regulations and allow special interest groups to buy off the New York City government. ²⁰

Drug Policy

The Fund for Policy Reform was one of the major donors behind the legalization of recreational marijuana in California in 2016, giving $1.97 million to the Open Society campaign committee, which passed it on to Drug Policy Action, an Oakland-based left-of-center drug advocacy organization. The Fund also gave a $9.5 million grant to Drug Policy Action to support its action in pushing left-of-center drug policy in 2014. ²¹

In 2016, Drug Policy Action launched a $4.7 million campaign to pass Proposition 64, a statewide measure to legalize recreational marijuana. Nearly $4 million of that total budget came from the Fund for Policy Reform. ²² Moreover, the Fund for Policy Reform directly donated $6.14 million to the measure. ²³

Criminal Justice

In 2017, the Fund for Policy Reform gave its second-largest donation to the left-of-center American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), totaling $13,750,000 in 2017 alone. ¹⁹ The Fund further granted $200,000 to the National Organization of Black Law Enforcement Professionals while also giving a total of $590,867 to local police associations in New Jersey, Texas, California, and Massachusetts. ²⁴

In 2016, the Fund for Policy Reform led the charge to abolish capital punishment in California through Proposition 62, leading a $16 million campaign which, if successful, would have ended the death penalty in the state. Proposition 62 failed, upholding capital punishment, while Proposition 66, which expedited the execution process and was opposed by the Fund, passed in 2016. ²⁵

In 2016, the Fund also contributed to the campaign for Proposition 57, which would allow parole consideration for people convicted of nonviolent felonies once the prison term for the primary offense has been completed, allow sentence credits for good behavior or educational achievements, and allow juvenile judges to determine whether juveniles aged 14 or older should be prosecuted and sentenced as adults. The measure passed with the support of the Fund in 2016. ^{26 27}

Education

In 2023, the Fund for Policy Reform gave $250,000 to the Florida Education Association “to support the United Faculty of Florida’s work on academic freedom.” As of 2026, the labor union federation described itself as “the state’s largest association of professional employees, with more than 120,000 members.” ^{5 28}

Disability Rights

In 2022, the Fund for Policy Reform gave a total of $379,000 to Ndopu, LLC “to support Ndopu LLC with medical needs given the financial need and severe hardship, in order to continue Mr. Ndopu’s work on disability rights and advocacy.” According to a 2024 bio, Eddie Ndopu was serving as one of the UN Secretary-General’s Sustainable Development Goal Advocates and was sitting on the board of the United Nations Foundation. ^{18 29}

Election Funding

2020 Election Cycle

The Fund for Policy Reform served as the principal funding vehicle for Democracy PAC, a super PAC created by George Soros in January 2019. For the 2020 election cycle, the Fund contributed $75.5 million to Democracy PAC, representing the substantial majority of the super PAC’s $81.4 million in total receipts for that cycle. ^{30 31}

The super PAC in turn disbursed more than $81 million to an array of left-of-center political organizations, including $11.5 million to the Senate Majority PAC, $5 million to Win Justice PAC, and $4.1 million to Strategic Victory Fund PAC. ³²

2022 Election Cycle

For the 2022 midterm election cycle, the Fund for Policy Reform contributed $25 million to Democracy PAC, while George Soros contributed an additional $50 million directly. Separately, the Fund for Policy Reform served as the largest donor to Democracy PAC, which distributed a combined total of more than $46 million to congressional leadership super PACs. Soros also separately launched Democracy PAC II in July 2021, with an initial personal contribution of $125 million. ^{33 31 32 34}

2024 Election Cycle

In January 2024, the Fund for Policy Reform contributed $60 million to Democracy PAC. Nearly all of Democracy PAC’s $60.7 million in receipts for that cycle came from the Fund for Policy Reform, according to Federal Election Commission filings. ^{31 32 30}

International Grantmaking

In addition to domestic policy, the Fund for Policy Reform has provided substantial international grants to promote left-of-center policy abroad. Most of the international funding in 2017 went to Europe, with grants totaling $12,086,117.  ³⁵

In 2017, the Fund for Policy Reform also provided $548,010 in South America in order to “strengthen democracy,” offered $247,879 in grants to Sub-Saharan Africa, and gave $570,000 total in grants to South Asia. ³⁶

In 2020, the Fund for Policy Reform gave $500,000 to the New Israel Fund, a left-of-center organization based in the United States but dedicated to pursuing policy changes in the nation of Israel. ¹⁸

In 2020, the Fund for Policy Reform transferred $426,000 to Open Society Institute Company Limited to support the organization’s programs in Africa. ¹⁸

In 2021, the Fund for Policy Reform gave $420,000 to Best for Britian Limited, $999,774 to the European Council on Foreign Relations, and $156,325 to Mina’s List to “support Grantee’s Afghan Women’s Advocacy Project.” ¹⁸

In 2021, the Fund for Policy Reform gave $1.57 million to Power to Change. The stated purpose of the grant was to support its efforts to “advance a shared economy across the U.K. and its work to integrate employee and worker ownership into its broader organizational strategy.” ¹⁸

In 2022, the Fund for Policy Reform gave $384,615 to Best for Britain and $263,000 to Centre for European Reform. ^{5 5}

In 2022, the Fund for Policy Reform gave $2.13 million to the European Council on Foreign Relations to support its flagship project, Unlock Europe’s Majority, in its efforts to “improve social welfare of European Union citizens by helping policymakers connect with citizens and to bridge the gap on citizens’ expectations from their government.” ¹⁸

In 2023, the Fund for Policy Reform gave $274,000 to the Centre for European Reform for general support and gave $3.3 million to the Civil Society Foundation, an organization based in the country of Georgia, “to support the grantee’s social welfare activities.” ⁵

In 2023, the Fund for Policy Reform gave $500,000 to Best for Britian “to provide support for grantee’s programs and operations.” ⁵

In 2024, the Fund for Policy Reform gave $225,000 to Norton Rose Fulbright South Africa Incorporated “to support the grantee’s provision of legal services in support of human and civil rights.” ⁵

In 2024, the Fund for Policy Reform gave $2.2 million to Amplus Gemeinnutzige Stiftung, an Austrian non-governmental organization, “to protect open society values and institutions.” ⁵

Leadership

George Soros is the founder of the Fund for Policy Reform. Soros is the founder of the Open Society Foundations, a private grantmaking foundation closely affiliated with the Fund for Policy Reform. ³⁷

In June 2023, George Soros transferred control of the Open Society Foundations network, including the Fund for Policy Reform, to his son, Alexander Soros. Alexander Soros, who had already sat on the Fund for Policy Reform’s board, told the Wall Street Journal at the time of the transition that he was “more political” than his father and intended to direct the network’s resources more aggressively toward partisan Democratic objectives. ³⁸

As of 2024, Binaifer Nowrojee was listed as a “director” of the Fund for Policy Reform, receiving a base compensation of $903,712 and a total compensation of $1.058 million. She worked alongside Leonard Bernardo, who received $791,360 in base compensation and $953,848 in total compensation. ³⁹

Other key employees as of 2024 included program director Hugo Arley Tobar Otero, program director Kyong Hwa Seok, associate director Angelica Prieto Maria Zamora, senior program manager Daniel Enrique Gonzales Rivera, and vice president of programs Pedro Abramovay. ⁴⁰

As of 2024, the Fund for Policy Reform’s board of directors was comprised of Michael Vachon, Maryann Canfield, George Soros’s son Alexander Soros, Maija Arbolino, outgoing secretary Caterine Livingston, and incoming secretary Debbie Fine. ⁴¹

Financials

In 2024, the Fund for Policy Reform reported total revenues of $470.1 million, expenses of $265.9 million, and ended the year with net assets of $819.3 million. Of its total expenses, roughly $196.7 million went to grants and similar expenditures. ⁴²

In 2024, the Fund for Policy Reform reportedly spent $7.2 million on so-called executive grants, or grants directed toward supporting its grantees’ operations and activities related to journalism, “civic engagement,” “equality,” and “anti-discrimination programs.” It spent $4.7 million on so-called opportunity programs, or “network opportunities” for supporting various left-of-center causes domestically and internationally, including but not limited to “human rights,” “democracy,” and “justice” watchdog groups. Another $1.9 million was spent on “regional programs” supporting “democratic practice, human rights, economic justice, etc.” in unspecified geographic areas. Finally, it reported spending $198 million on grants “to support the grantees’ operations and activities that advocate for the reform of laws and regulations that affect the public welfare.” ⁴³

Funding

The Fund for Policy Reform was provided seed funding entirely by George Soros in 2009, when he gave $100 million to establish the Fund for Policy Reform directly to support the Climate Policy Initiative. ⁴⁴

Fund for Policy Reform Trust

The Fund for Policy Reform Inc. has a single donor: the Fund for Policy Reform Trust, another Soros-affiliated 501(c)(4) nonprofit that acts as a financial clearinghouse for the Fund for Policy Reform, typically its sole grant recipient. In 2024, Fund for Policy Reform Trust gave Fund for Policy Reform Inc. $412 million. ⁴⁵

Grantmaking

In 2024, the Fund for Policy Reform Inc. directly reported on its tax return giving $157.1 million to the Open Society Action Fund, $5 million to the Courier Newsroom, and $50,000 to Pareco “to provide program support for the grantee’s work on the curriculum on antisemitism.” ⁴⁶