Global Impact Social Welfare Fund

In 2022, GISWF gave substantial contributions to left-of-center activist groups, including $2,000,000 to Western Futures Fund, $700,000 to Alliance for Gun Responsibility Foundation, $650,000 to Goodnation Philanthropy Advisors, $600,000 to Democratic-aligned PAC for America’s Future, $500,000 to Tides Advocacy, $500,000 to Our American Future Action, and $500,000 to Local Jobs and Economic Development Fund. ²

History and Leadership

Global Impact Social Welfare Fund (GISWF) was formed on October 6, 2022, and began its program operations during 2023. ³ In May 2023, GISWF received tax-exempt status from the Internal Revenue Service. ⁴

Steve Polo is the executive director of GISWF. ⁵ He is also an advisory board member of the Eurasia Foundation and the Conscious Venture Lab. ⁶

Activities

Global Impact Social Welfare Fund (GISFW) is a project of Global Impact Ventures. ¹ GISFW is a left-of-center advocacy and activist organization that delivers funding to organizations seeking to make social impact on the issues of education and advocacy. ⁷

GISWF’s advocates for left-of-center policy positions climate and the environment, criminal justice reform, global health, voter rights, economic development, and racial and gender equality issues. ^{8 9 10}

In 2022, GISFW spent $3,387,412 on “voter rights and education programs,” $1,764,998 on gun violence prevention, and more than $1,038,235 on left-of-center environmentalist and climate-related projects. ¹¹ In June 2024, GISWF gave $50,000 to left-of-center PA Values, according to Federal Election Commission (FEC) records. ¹² Two days after the donation, PA Values paid $48,000 for an advertisement that urged “MAGA Patriots” to stand with former President Donald Trump against mail-in voting. The advertisement was criticized as “borderline criminal” by liberal law professor Richard Hassen, who called it “trickery and voter suppression” in left-of-center publication Slate. ^{13 14}

Reporting on Michigan ballot committees in 2026 noted that GISWF helped fund opposition to a proposed constitutional convention through contributions to a ballot committee, alongside other similarly structured nonprofits. Such organizations are often described as operating through multiple affiliated entities or alternative names, a practice that can make it difficult to trace the original sources of funding while enabling coordinated political spending across different campaigns and jurisdictions. ¹⁵

Lobbying

Global Impact Social lobbies in support of left-of-center policy positions on issues including climate and the environment, criminal justice, global health, voting rights, economic development, and racial and gender equality. ⁹

In 2022, Global Impact Social Welfare Fund spent $1,770,000 on lobbying expenses. GISWF paid Democratic-aligned PAC for America’s Future $600,000, Tides Advocacy $500,000, Local Jobs and Economic Development $500,000, Open Democracy PAC $100,000, and PAC for Justice $70,000. ¹⁶

Grantmaking

In 2022, Global Impact Social Welfare Fund spent more than $6.5 million on grants. These grants included $2,000,000 to Western Futures Fund, $700,000 to Alliance for Gun Responsibility Foundation, $650,000 to Goodnation Philanthropy Advisors, $600,000 to the PAC for America’s Future, $500,000 to Tides Advocacy, $500,000 to Our American Future Action, $500,000 to Local Jobs and Economic Development Fund, $250,000 to Protect our Families Inc, $200,000 to Road to Michigan’s Future, $150,000 to Protect Minnesota, $100,000 to Open Democracy PAC, $75,000 to ReAction, and $50,000 to Kansas Values Institute. ²

Funding

Global Impact Social Welfare Fund is a project of Global Impact Ventures. ¹

In 2022, GISWF reported revenue of $22,480,002 and expenses of $7,115,824. ⁵