Libra Foundation

It is the principal philanthropic vehicle for Nicholas Pritzker and his wife Susan. Pritzker is a billionaire member of the Pritzker political family that made its money through the Hyatt hotels chain.  ^{2 3}

Background

Since its founding in 2002, the Libra Foundation has donated millions of dollars to hundreds of left-of-center advocacy organizations. ^{4 5}

Serving as the philanthropic vehicle of billionaire philanthropists Nicholas and Susan Pritzker, and their four children, the Libra Foundation funds left-wing social policy, drug policy, environmentalist policy, and LGBT advocacy.  ^{5 6}

In 2019, the Pritzker family appointed a new executive director of the Libra Foundation that would help the organization transition into a so-called “Libra 2.0.” ^{7 8}

Major Grant Areas

As of 2019, the organization reported it had over 230 regular grantees. At that time, the Libra Foundation estimated it had disbursed $76 million to support left-wing causes since its inception. ⁹

The Libra Foundation initially claimed its main priority was supporting smaller startup organizations, but large, well-established, organizations had received more funding beginning in the late 2010s. ⁵

Allegedly opposed to the political influence levied by businesses and special interests, the foundation backs various labor unions and union-aligned advocacy groups, including National Domestic Workers Alliance and the Working World. It also supports left-of-center news outlets such as Mother Jones, New Media Ventures, and the Center for Investigative Reporting.  ⁵

The foundation has given more money to left-wing “social justice” organizations than any other area, a total of nearly $38 million since 2011. A sizeable portion of its social justice funding had gone to the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), the Drug Policy Alliance, and other large organizations.  ⁵

In November 2021, the foundation announced $20.3 million in grants to 56 organizations advocating for left-of-center criminal, environmental, and climate justice policies. These include the Black Feminist Fund, the Trans Justice Funding Project, the Southern Power Fund, the New Georgia Project, Mi Familia Vota Education Fund, and People’s Action Institute. ^{10 11}

On its website, as of 2026 the Libra Foundation’s listed three core program areas were “Community Safety & Justice,” “Environmental & Climate Justice,” and “Gender Justice.” Libra claimed its grantmaking focused on “frontline organizations led by people of color transforming the criminal justice system” as well as advancing climate and gender policy. ¹¹

Immigration

In response to the Trump administration’s intensified efforts to curb illegal immigration, the Libra Foundation has enhanced its funding of liberal expansionist immigration groups. ¹²

Abortion

The Libra Foundation has ramped-up its funding of abortion providers and activists since President Donald Trump took office. By the first half of 2019 alone, the group had already spent $550,000 combatting new abortion restrictions in some Southern states, the money flowing to groups such as Planned Parenthood Federation of America and Center for Reproductive Rights. ⁹

Environment

In 2019, the foundation set aside $12.7 million for environmental causes. It currently focuses on conservation efforts and what it calls “environmental justice” initiatives. ¹³

From 2020 to 2025, the Libra Foundation was one of the top 30 donors to members of Louisiana Against False Solutions (LAFS), a coalition of left-wing advocacy groups advocating in favor of a “transition away from fossil fuels.” This was made known by a March 2026 white paper published by the right-of-center Pelican Institute for Public Policy. ^{14 15} The Libra Foundation’s contributions to LAFS members during the period totaled $1 million, according to the report. ¹⁴

Race

The Libra Foundation was one of the original donors to fund the creation of the California Black Freedom Fund (CBFF) at the end of 2020. The CBFF is a left-of-center grantmaking organization that funds California-based groups that seek to eliminate what it perceives as systemic racism. It used funding from the original donors to provide grants that went towards advocacy for targeted redistricting, so-called racial equity, and the firing of who it determines are racist police officers. ¹⁶

In 2020, following the death of George Floyd, the Libra Foundation co-founded the Democracy Frontlines Fund (DFF), a pooled-funding initiative it organized with 11 philanthropic partners to direct grants to social justice advocacy groups. From 2023 to 2023, approximately $39 million was passed to several groups including Black Futures Lab, Black Voters Matter Capacity Building Institute, the Movement for Black Lives, and State Voices. In October 2023, the DFF committed an additional $35.5 million through 2026. ^{17 18 19 11}

Response to the Second Trump Administration

In October 2024, prior to the November 2024 presidential elections, the Libra Foundation released a blog post on its website advocating “a more liberated future” against “oppressive forces” by making its “grantmaking practices” functional “both during and beyond election years.” ²⁰

An Inside Philanthropy article published in December 2025 described the Libra Foundation as a “social justice grant maker” while highlighting the Foundation’s Community Safety and Justice program, which it described as working toward “the abolition of jails and policing.” ²¹

Incoming Libra president Supriya Lopez Pillai had previously co-signed a 2021 open letter organized by the left-of-center Groundswell Fund calling on “white donors” and “white-led institutions” to support social justice initiatives by distributing “flexible, long-term grants” to organizations led by “people of color.”  ^{22 21}

Financials

According to its 2022 990 forms, the Libra Foundation announced it had $3,443,825 in revenue, $39,201,527 in expenses, and $451,295,059 in total assets. ²³

According to public records from 2017, the Libra Foundation has approximately $334 million in total assets on hand. ²⁴ Meanwhile, the foundation’s annual grants and contributions amount to nearly $16 million. ²⁴

On its 2024 tax return, the Libra Foundation reported total revenue of $23 million, total expenses of $32 million, and net assets of $428 million. ²⁵

Leadership

In 2024, Libra Foundation co-founder Nicholas Pritzker was the board chair of the organization. Other members of the board that year included his wife and fellow co-founder, Susan Pritzker, and their children Regan Pritzker, Isaac Pritzker, Jacob Pritzker, and Joseph Pritzker. ²⁶

As of September 2024, Ashley Clark was the acting president of the Libra Foundation, who will continue to serve in her role until September 2024 when Supriya Lopez Pillai will take the position. ²⁷ She has previously worked as the knowledge and grants manager for the Foundation until becoming acting president. Prior to working at Libra, Clark was the director of grantee impact and strategic strategies for donor-advised fund Silicon Valley Social Venture Fund (SV2). ²⁸

In December 2024, Supriya Lopez Pillai began work as the president of the Libra Foundation, having been announced in July 2024 as the incoming president.  ²⁷ Prior to working at Libra, Pillai was the executive director for left-of-center grantmaking group the Hidden Leaf Foundation from 2018 through 2024.  From 2008 through 2012 she was the executive director for the Funders’ Collaborative on Youth Organizing (FCYO). In 2011, she started her own law firm, Vision & Ink, which had received funding from left-of-center organizations including the California Endowment, the Hyams Foundation, the Nathan Cummings Foundation and the W.K. Kellogg Foundation. Prior to that, she was the program officer for Asia at the International Women’s Health Coalition. She had previously served on the boards of several organizations including the Global Fund for Women, Political Research Associates (PRA) and the Third Wave Fund. ^{29 27 30}