Solidarity Giving is a left-of-center grantmaking and advocacy donor-advised fund located in Palo Alto, California. The fund was created in 2016 immediately after the election of President Donald Trump to change government systems, laws, and policies nationwide. ¹ Grants are allocated to organizations that support the organization’s efforts, and focus on social issues impacting indigenous people, people of color, women, families, immigrants, and people in poverty.

History

Following founder Brian Acton’s sale of WhatsApp, he donated approximately $290 million in Facebook shares to the Silicon Valley Community Foundation, a left-of-center grantmaking organization that provides donor-advised funds. Silicon Valley Community Foundation then helped Brian start his three philanthropic entities, Sunlight Giving, Acton Family Giving, and Solidarity Giving. ²

Solidarity Giving is part of the Wildcard Giving Family, a family of three philanthropic groups, consisting of Sunlight Giving, Acton Family Giving, and Solidarity Giving. While Sunlight Giving is a private foundation, both Acton Family Giving and Solidarity Giving are donor-advised funds, which allows donors to dictate how the donation money is allocated, through Fidelity Charitable. Solidarity Giving is the smallest of the three sister organizations with a $10 million annual grant target. ³ At the end of 2020, the combined asset valuation of the three organizations was over $1 billion. ⁴

Grantees

Solidarity Giving has a balance of approximately $170 million and allocates sizable amounts of money to both large, well-known, and smaller left-of-center and left-leaning organizations across the country. For 2022, the organization’s planned giving features left-progressive groups, including the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), NAACP Legal Defense and Education Fund, and Planned Parenthood. ⁵

Typically, grants are awarded for multiple years, although there is money available for immediate support. In 2021, Solidarity Giving funded 62 grants to 59 organizations totaling nearly $13 million. In 2020, it funded 91 grants to 81 organizations totaling nearly $15 million. In 2019, Solidarity Giving funded 87 grants to 85 organizations totaling nearly $10 million. In 2018, it funded 113 grants to 129 organizations totaling just over $10 million. In 2017, Solidarity Giving funded 110 grants to 98 organizations totaling just over $10 million. ⁶

From 2017 -2020, Solidarity Giving allocated $3.325 million to the left-leaning activism organization ACLU; $500,000 to the Anti-defamation League (ADL), a civil rights advocacy group;  $1.9 million to the Brennan Center for Justice, a hybrid think-tank and left-leaning activist center; $300,000 to Justice Collaborative Education Fund, a Tides Foundation project focused on supplying communication, legal, and policy support to left-progressives; $550,000 to the NAACP Legal Defense and Education Fund; and $2.6 million to New Venture Fund. ⁷

Solidarity Giving has been a large financial supporter of Planned Parenthood Federation of America and its numerous affiliate organizations. Since 2017, Solidarity Giving has allocated over $6.5 million with $1 million in 2021 specifically to support abortion access. ⁸

Sundance Institute, a nonprofit focused on independent artists, has received at least $6 million from Solidarity Giving between 2016 to 2020. ⁹

Solidarity Giving supports The Sentencing Project, an advocacy group that promotes and advocates voting for those who are incarcerated and attempts to change disenfranchisement laws. ¹⁰

In Detention Watch Network’s 2019 annual report, Solidarity Giving was one of the primary funders of the organization which advocates to defund the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and Customs and Border Protection (CBP), fights against the use of detention centers, and provides educational programs. ¹¹

People

Tegan and Brian Acton are the founders and co-chairs of Wildcard Giving, the umbrella entity of Sunlight Giving, Acton Family Giving, and Solidarity Giving. Tegan acts as the principal, president, and co-chair of Sunlight Giving, ¹² and the principal at Solidarity Giving, and Acton Family Giving. Brian is the secretary and treasurer of Sunlight Giving. ¹³

Tegan Acton

Tegan Acton oversees Good Gravy Films, which is also associated with the Wildcard Giving Family and provides grants and funding to independent films. ¹⁴ She is on the Board of Trustees at the Monterey Bay Aquarium. ¹⁵

Previously, Tegan Acton was the director of communications and strategic initiatives for the office of the Vice Provost of Undergraduate Education at Stanford University. She also worked at Yahoo! and the Sundance Institute. ¹⁶ She is a graduate of the University of California, Santa Barbara. ¹⁷

Brian Acton

Brian Acton is a computer programmer who has worked at Apple, Yahoo!, and Adobe. In 2009, he co-founded WhatsApp, which was then sold to Facebook in 2014 for $22 billion in cash and stocks. ¹⁸ In 2018, he was the 76^th richest man in America with a net worth of $6.9 billion. ¹⁹ With the sale of his company, he had the funds to create the Wildcard Giving entities. ²⁰ In 2018, Brian co-founded Signal Foundation, a nonprofit focused on open-source technology and communication. He initially invested $50 million and is now the executive director. ^{21 22}

1. Adeniji, Ade. “How Billionaire Couple Tegan and Brian Acton are Giving n the Bay Area and Beyond.” Inside Philanthropy. December 20, 2021. Accessed July 23, 2022. https://www.insidephilanthropy.com/home/2021/12/20/how-billionaire-couple-tegan-and-brian-acton-are-giving-in-the-bay-area-and-beyond
2. Hoffower, Hillary. “WhatsApp co-founder Brian Acton Invested $50 million into the Signal App – Here’s How He Spends His $6.9 Billion Fortune.” Business Insider. March 12, 2018. Accessed August 5, 2022. https://www.businessinsider.com/whatsapp-billionaire-co-founder-brian-acton-net-worth-2018-3
3. Homepage. Wildcard Giving. Accessed June 30, 2022. https://wildcardgiving.org/
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8. 2022-03 Solidarity Giving Grants List. Accessed July 12, 2022. https://solidaritygiving.org/
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10.  “Voting in Jails.” The Sentencing Project. May 2020. Accessed August 5, 2022. https://www.sentencingproject.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/05/Voting-in-Jails.pdf
11. “Annual Report 2019.” Detention Watch Network. 2020. Accessed August 5, 2022. https://www.detentionwatchnetwork.org/sites/default/files/DWN%202019%20Annual%20Report%20-%20English.pdf
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14. Home. Good Gravy Films. Accessed August 5, 2022. https://goodgravyfilms.org/
15. Our Mission and Leadership. Monterey Bay Aquarium. Accessed August 5, 2022. https://www.montereybayaquarium.org/about-us/our-mission-and-leadership
16. Tegan Acton. National Center for Family Philanthropy. Accessed July 23, 2022. https://www.ncfp.org/people/tegan-acton/
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18. Adeniji, Ade. “How Billionaire Couple Tegan and Brian Acton are Giving n the Bay Area and Beyond.” Inside Philanthropy. December 20, 2021. Accessed July 23, 2022. https://www.insidephilanthropy.com/home/2021/12/20/how-billionaire-couple-tegan-and-brian-acton-are-giving-in-the-bay-area-and-beyond
19. Hoffower, Hillary. “WhatsApp co-founder Brian Acton Invested $50 million into the Signal App – Here’s How He Spends His $6.9 Billion Fortune.” Business Insider. March 12, 2018. Accessed August 5, 2022. https://www.businessinsider.com/whatsapp-billionaire-co-founder-brian-acton-net-worth-2018-3
20. Meet the Team. Acton Family Giving. Accessed July 23, 2022. https://actonfamilygiving.org/about-us/meet-team#:~:text=Tegan%20and%20Brian%20Acton%20are,!%20in%20the%20mid%20’90s.
21. Meet the Team. Acton Family Giving. Accessed July 23, 2022. https://actonfamilygiving.org/about-us/meet-team#:~:text=Tegan%20and%20Brian%20Acton%20are,!%20in%20the%20mid%20’90s.
22. Home. Signal Foundation. Accessed July 23, 2022. https://signalfoundation.org/en/