Sandler Foundation is a left-of-center charitable foundation formed in 1991 with support from Herbert Sandler and Marion Sandler. In 2006, the Sandlers made a contribution of $1.3 billion to the foundation, which was the second largest American charitable contribution of 2006.

In response to the 2020 George Floyd and Black Lives Matter protests, board trustee and Sandler heiress Susan Sandler announced that the Sandler Foundation donated $200 million to “racial justice groups.” ^[1] These groups were the Texas Organizing Project, New Florida Majority, New Virginia Majority, the Arizona Center for Empowerment, the Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) Civic Engagement Fund, PICO California, and Advance Native Political Leadership. Sandler explained that her goal was to facilitate change at the policy level to lift people out of oppression, basing her policy prescriptions on her belief that systemic racism is the greatest obstacle facing societal progress. ^[2]

Sandler and the executive director of the foundation, Vivian Chang, came to the conclusion that establishing power in Republican states will be the most effective way to accomplish this goal. One of the grant recipients, co-director of PICO California Joseph Tomás McKellar, stated that the initiative “is about building a strong constituency that can withstand the kind of storms of the moment and help us build long-term resiliency and commitment amongst a large base of people for systemic change.” Sandler chose grantees that would use the funds to advocate for Democratic-aligned policies in battleground states and create a long-term constituency that supports these issues. ^[3]