Justice and Education Fund is a policy organization that follows a left-of-center agenda centered around the concept of wealth equity. ¹ It sends grants to wealth redistributionist groups; “popular education schools” in Latin America, Africa, and the United States; curriculum development groups; and social media content that advocates for a left-progressive agenda.

Activities

Justice and Education Fund is a policy organization and left-of-center grantmaker that sends grants to wealth redistributionist groups; “popular education schools” in Latin America, Africa, and the United States; curriculum development groups; and social media content that advocates for a left-progressive agenda. It states that the world’s “profound economic inequality” can only be overcome by “harnessing the power of capital across the spectrum of capital (individuals, foundations, pension funds, and other sources.” ²

Funding

In 2019, Justice and Education Fund reported revenue of $15,307,235, expenses of $12,958,009, and net assets of $3,204,013. ³

Justice and Education Fund received $5,545,000 via the Goldman Sachs Philanthropy Fund in 2018 for “general support” and $15,255,000 from the Fund in 2019 for “community & human services.” ^{4 5} According to IRS filings, Justice and Education Fund received $50,000 from Tides Foundation, a prominent center-left grantmaker. ⁶

In 2019, Justice and Education Fund gave $876,000 to the People’s Welfare Association, a 501(c)(4) group, and $8,330,000 to the United Community Fund, another 501(c)(4) group. ⁷ It also paid PPK Newsclick Studio Private Limited, a firm based in New Delhi, India, $1,318,124 to produce an online news program. ⁸

Leadership

According to its 2019 tax returns, Justice and Education Fund’s principal officer was Sung Mo Chung. ⁹

An individual named David Chung is listed on the board of directors of the fund, and is described as an organizer, educator, and activist from South Korea who lives in New York City. He has a history of involvement in protests and organizations in favor of “legal protections” for undocumented immigrants. As of June 2022, he was the general manager of the People’s Forum, an incubator for socialist groups. ¹⁰

Other individuals on the board of directors include Manolo de los Santos, Phil Wider, and Pilar Troya Fernandez. Manolo de los Santos was the founding director of the People’s Forum and has worked as an “educator and consultant” with “social movements” in Latin America and Africa. Phil Wider has worked with the National Union of the Homeless, the Kensington Welfare Rights Union, the National Economic and Social Rights Initiative, and the Poor People’s Economic Human Rights Campaign and co-founded the Media Mobilizing Project in Philadelphia. He was a board member of the Philadelphia Student Union. As of June 2022, Wider was working as a political education coordinator for Put People First! PA, the Pennsylvania Poor People’s Campaign, and the University of the Poor. ¹¹

Pilar Troya Fernandez is an activist, researcher, and “feminist anthropologist” from Ecuador. She was involved with the Women’s Assembly in Quito, Ecuador, and has worked as a researcher with the System of Social Indicators (SIISE) and the Latin America Faculty of Social Sciences (FLASCO) where she taught classes on policy. She served as an advisor to the Ecuadorian government regarding national planning and higher education, science, and technology. ¹²

1. “About.” Justice and Education Fund. Accessed 27 June 2022. https://web.archive.org/web/20220627194447/https://justiceandeducationfund.com/.
2. “About.” Justice and Education Fund. Accessed 27 June 2022. https://web.archive.org/web/20220627194447/https://justiceandeducationfund.com/.
3.  Return of Organization Exempt from Income Tax (Form 990) (2019). Justice and Education Fund. 2019. Lines 12, 18, and 22.
4. Return of Organization Exempt from Income Tax (Form 990) (2018). Goldman Sachs Philanthropy Fund. 2018. Schedule I, Part II.
5. Return of Organization Exempt from Income Tax (Form 990) (2019). Goldman Sachs Philanthropy Fund. 2019. Schedule I, Part II.
6. Return of Organization Exempt from Income Tax (Form 990) (2019). Tides Foundation. 2019. Schedule I, Part II.
7. Return of Organization Exempt from Income Tax (Form 990) (2019). Justice and Education Fund. 2019. Schedule I, Part II.
8. Return of Organization Exempt from Income Tax (Form 990) (2019). Justice and Education Fund. 2019. Part VII, Section B. Independent Contractors.
9. Return of Organization Exempt from Income Tax (Form 990) (2019). Justice and Education Fund. 2019. Box F.
10. “About.” Justice and Education Fund. Accessed 27 June 2022. https://web.archive.org/web/20220627194447/https://justiceandeducationfund.com/.
11.  “About.” Justice and Education Fund. Accessed 27 June 2022. https://web.archive.org/web/20220627194447/https://justiceandeducationfund.com/.
12.  “About.” Justice and Education Fund. Accessed 27 June 2022. https://web.archive.org/web/20220627194447/https://justiceandeducationfund.com/.