The Guardian.org Foundation is the US-based fundraising arm of the Guardian Media Group, publisher of the Guardian newspaper. The foundation receives contributions from individuals and nonprofits and issues grants for left-leaning journalism and advocacy projects.
The Guardian.org Foundation was founded as a nonprofit funding arm of The Guardian Media Group. Although the foundation is a formally independent entity, it has a resource-sharing agreement in place with Guardian News and Media.
The president of the Guardian.org Foundation, Rachel White, is a former executive at the left-leaning think tank New America Foundation. Board secretary Victoria Collins also worked as a deputy director at the New America Foundation. Board member Vivian Schiller formerly worked as president and CEO of National Public Radio but departed after two high-profile controversies. 12
Activities
The Guardian.org Foundation uses contributions from individuals and organizations to fund journalistic projects that underpin left-leaning environmental, economic, and social initiatives. An area of heavy focus for these projects is climate change. With assistance from the Skoll Foundation, the Guardian.org Foundation funded a Guardian US series about the dangers of rising sea levels and other extreme weather events supposedly caused by climate change. The series also promotes the expansion of weather-dependent energy sources and phaseout of conventional energy sources. 34 The foundation also funds the Age of Extinction project, which is a series of articles attributing species loss to anthropogenic climate change. 5
The foundation also funds the Climate Crimes series, which is dedicated to “Investigating how the fossil fuel industry contributed to the climate crisis and lied to the American public” as well as the Big Oil Uncovered series, which has the objective of “reporting on the efforts to hold the fossil fuel industry, and its enablers, accountable for the climate crisis, and investigating attempts to disrupt the transition to clean power.” 67
The Guardian.org Foundation also funds journalism projects on left-leaning social issues, including critical race theory-inspired concepts of social justice and environmental justice. It funds the Antiracism and America series, which is a Guardian US collaboration with American University’s Antiracist Research and Policy Center to examine “structures at the root of racial inequities.” 8
The foundation also funds the Our Unequal Earth series focused on “environmental injustice and the efforts to address it” and the Genderqueer Generation series aimed at covering “the experiences and perspectives of non-binary and other gender-nonconforming young people.” 910
The foundation also funds the Guns and Lies series, which advocates for gun control measures that have been instituted in the state of California. 11
Financials
The Guardian.org Foundation receives significant contributions from left-leaning non-profit organizations. The foundation reported $2.3 million in donations from the Open Society Foundations between 2020 and 2022 for reporting on topics including “environmental and climate justice,” “vaccine equity,” and “gender equality in the US.” 3
The foundation also reported contributions of $1.75 million from the 11th Hour Project between 2019 and 2022 for reporting on “environmental justice” and $1.6 million from the David and Lucile Packard Foundation between 2018 and 2023 for reporting on “the connections between ocean conservation and climate change.” 3
The Guardian.org reported $2.2 million in contributions from the Open Philanthropy Project between 2017 and 2019 for reporting on “factory farming and animal cruelty” and a contribution of $1.5 million from the Helmsley Charitable Trust in 2021 for reporting on “non-communicable diseases in the developing world.” 3
The foundation reported $775,000 in contributions between 2018 and 2021 from the Park Foundation for reporting on US voting rights and $800,000 from the Society of Environmental Journalists between 2017 and 2023 for reporting on “public land” and “oceans.” 3
The Guardian.org Foundation reported payments to U.S.-based Guardian News and Media LLC of $1.2 million in 2020, $1.9 million in 2021, and $2 million in 2022. The foundation also reported grants to European journalism projects of $2.3 million in 2020, $2 million in 2021, and $2.7 million in 2022. 121314
to renew support for Seascape, an environmental reporting series focused on illegal, unreported, and unregulated fishing and the connection between ocean conservation and climate change
$900,000
2021
Arcadia
To support the Age of Extinction series, a reporting project that aims to draw attention to the global biodiversity crisis. This grant will help sustain increased capacity and expand reporting on the planet's biodiversity crisis, driving measurable impact through Guardian journalism
To report on issues related to factory farming. In keeping with The Guardian's journalistic and transparency standards, all supported content will be clearly labeled, and Open Philanthropy will have no editorial control over the content ultimately published
$875,000
2022
The Leona M and Harry B Helmsley Charitable Trust
AN INDEPENDENT JOURNALISM SERIES ON NON-COMMUNICABLE DISEASES
FOR PROJECT SUPPORT FOR GUNS AND LIES, A REPORTING PROJECT INVESTIGATING THE INTERSECTION OF HOW GUN ACCESS, TRAUMA, SOCIAL AND ECONOMIC POLICIES, AND POVERTY CONTRIBUTE TO COMMUNITY VIOLENCE AND SPOTLIGHTING THOSE MOST IMPACTED AND COMMUNITY-DRIVEN SOLUTIONS ACROSS CALIFORNIA.
$625,000
2024
The Leona M and Harry B Helmsley Charitable Trust
A GROWING CRISIS: NON-COMMUNICABLE DISEASES, AN INDEPENDENT JOURNALISM SERIES BY THE GUARDIAN
To renew support for Seascape, an environmental reporting series focused on illegal, unreported, and unregulated fishing and the connection between ocean conservation and climate change
$600,000
2020
Oak Foundation
To provide core support to theguardian.Org to fund the Age of Extinction reporting project by The Guardian. The Age of Extinction aims to draw attention to the planet’s catastrophic species loss, as well as ways to tackle the biodiversity crisis. The series features in-depth reporting and rich visual storytelling to shine a spotlight on issues from all corners of the world.
To expand coverage of grassroots organizing and pro-democracy movements in the U.S., RWJF funds will help launch a reporting initiative at The Guardian led by senior staff. The project features a dedicated editorial series, data journalism on public data loss, and strategic audience engagement. Outcomes include greater awareness, real-world impact, and ongoing evaluation. Sustainability will depend on engagement, impact, and successful integration into The Guardian's core operations.
FOR PROJECT SUPPORT FOR GUNS & LIES, A REPORTING PROJECT INVESTIGATING THE INTERSECTION OF HOW GUN ACCESS, TRAUMA, SOCIAL & ECONOMIC POLICIES, & POVERTY CONTRIBUTE TO COMMUNITY VIOLENCE & SPOTLIGHTING MOST IMPACTED & COMMUNITY-DRIVEN SOLUTIONS ACROSS CA.
GRANTEE SHALL USE THE GRANT FUNDS SOLELY TO SUPPORT INVESTIGATIVE JOURNALISM WHICH EXPOSES THE HUMAN RIGHTS VIOLATIONS THAT PERSIST IN THE WORLD, INCREASED JOURNALISM ON FACTORY FARMING AND ANIMAL CRUELTY, CLIMATE CHANGE, THE HEALTH OF OCEANS, BIODIVERSITY LOSS AND SPECIES EXTINCTION, NON-COMMUNICABLE DISEASES, WORKERS' RIGHTS AND VACCINE EQUITY.
GRANTEE SHALL USE THE GRANT FUNDS SOLELY TO SUPPORT INVESTIGATIVE JOURNALISM WHICH EXPOSES THE HUMAN RIGHTS VIOLATIONS THAT PERSIST IN THE WORLD, INCREASED JOURNALISM ON FACTORY FARMING AND ANIMAL CRUELTY, CLIMATE CHANGE, THE HEALTH OF OCEANS, BIODIVERSITY LOSS AND SPECIES EXTINCTION, NON-COMMUNICABLE DISEASES, WORKERS' RIGHTS AND VACCINE EQUITY.
$3,055,000
2024
Guardian News and Media, Limited
TO SUPPORT THEGUARDIAN.ORG IN ESTABLISHING VARIOUS PROJECTS.
GRANTEE SHALL USE THE GRANT FUNDS SOLELY TO SUPPORT INVESTIGATIVE JOURNALISM WHICH EXPOSES THE HUMAN RIGHTS VIOLATIONS THAT PERSIST IN THE WORLD, INCREASED JOURNALISM ON FACTORY FARMING AND ANIMAL CRUELTY, CLIMATE CHANGE, THE HEALTH OF OCEANS, BIODIVERSITY LOSS AND SPECIES EXTINCTION, AND EDUCATION OF GIRLS IN AFGHANISTAN.
$2,305,150
2020
Multiple EUROPE (INCLUDING ICELAND & GREENLAND) Recipients
Grantee shall use the grant funds solely to support investigative journalism which exposes the truth of modern slavery and the worst forms of labor exploitation that persist in the world today, to produce impactful journalism on issues relating to early childhood development, to support increased journalism on factory farming and farm animal cruelty.
$2,050,000
2022
Guardian News and Media, Limited
TO SUPPORT THEGUARDIAN.ORG IN ESTABLISHING VARIOUS PROJECTS.
GRANTEE SHALL USE THE GRANT FUNDS SOLELY TO SUPPORT INVESTIGATIVE JOURNALISM WHICH EXPOSES THE TRUTH OF MODERN SLAVERY AND THE WORST FORMS OF LABOR EXPLOITATION THAT PERSIST IN THE WORLD TODAY, TO PRODUCE IMPACTFUL JOURNALISM ON ISSUES RELATING TO EARLY CHILDHOOD DEVELOPMENT, TO SUPPORT INCREASED JOURNALISM ON FACTORY FARMING AND FARM ANIMAL CRUELTY.
$1,940,000
2025
Guardian News and Media, Limited
TO SUPPORT THEGUARDIAN.ORG IN ESTABLISHING VARIOUS PROJECTS.
$1,913,000
2021
Guardian News and Media, Limited
TO SUPPORT THEGUARDIAN.ORG IN ESTABLISHING VARIOUS PROJECTS.
GRANTEE SHALL USE THE GRANT FUNDS SOLELY TO SUPPORT INVESTIGATIVE JOURNALISM WHICH EXPOSES THE HUMAN RIGHTS VIOLATIONS THAT PERSIST IN THE WORLD, INCREASED JOURNALISM ON FACTORY FARMING AND ANIMAL CRUELTY, CLIMATE CHANGE, THE HEALTH OF OCEANS, BIODIVERSITY LOSS AND SPECIES EXTINCTION, NON-COMMUNICABLE DISEASES, WORKERS' RIGHTS AND VACCINE EQUITY.
$1,230,000
2020
Guardian News and Media, Limited
To support theguardian.Org in establishing various projects.
$1,100,000
2023
Guardian News and Media, Limited
TO SUPPORT THEGUARDIAN.ORG IN ESTABLISHING VARIOUS PROJECTS.
