Joe and Clara Tsai Foundation is a grantmaking organization founded by Joe and Clara Wu Tsai. In 2020, it launched its flagship program the Social Justice Fund, which carries out most of the Foundation’s philanthropic work.

Background

In 2020, Joe and Clara Tsai Foundation launched the Social Justice Fund, committing $50 million for its ten-year plan to address so-called racial justice and economic mobility challenges in Brooklyn, New York. It was founded to fight for left-of-center racial policies and economic policies to recover from the COVID-19 pandemic. Its official statement was, “We stand in solidarity with the Black community, and all Indigenous people and People of Color, to end racism in our organization and in our society.” ¹

Activities

Its goal is to support equitable growth and belonging for BIPOC (Black, indigenous, people of color) communities (especially Black communities) in Brooklyn. It funds left-of-center social policy organizations and community groups that advocate for left-of-center educational, criminal justice, health, and economic policies. ²

Social Justice Fund believes that racial injustice “continues to be pervasive in society” in the form of “systemic imbalances” that must be addressed by government, private businesses, and individuals. To help do its parts, the organization funds programs both new and established that promote left-of-center solutions to perceived “racial gaps in education, health and wealth.” Its central issue areas in its first few years of operation included mentorship of young adults of color and providing “access to capital for BIPOC and women-owned small businesses” as well as skill training initiatives. ³

Funding

Besides the Social Justice Fund, the Joe and Clara Tsai Foundation supports the Wu Tsai Human Performance Alliance, the Wu Tsai Neurosciences Institute at Stanford University, and the human cognition research project Wu Tsai Institute at Yale University. ⁴

Leadership

Social Justice Fund co-founder Clara Wu Tsai is a businessman and investor. She is the vice chairman of BSE Global, the parent company of Barclays Center, overseeing areas relating to civic and community engagement. Formerly, Clara Wu was the general manager of the Hong Kong operations of China’s largest online shopping website Taobao, as well as the vice president of American Express in New York and Hong Kong. ⁵

Clara Wu is also a founding partner of the criminal justice reform organization REFORM Alliance. She was named a Champion of Justice by the John Jay College of Criminal Justice in 2021. Clara Wu sits on the board of Stanford University, Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts, and the New York Presbyterian Hospital, as well as the advisory board of the Institute for Protein Design at the University of Washington. ⁶

Founder Clara Wu Tsai is the governor of the New York Liberty women’s basketball team, and both she and her husband Joe are co-owners of the Brooklyn Nets NBA team and the San Diego Seals professional lacrosse team. ⁷ Social Justice Fund has been given part-time access to the Barclays Center to serve as a place for gatherings of activists, protestors, and other constituents to voice their concerns. The fund, led by owners of the Nets and Liberty, intend to hold regular conversations with National Basketball Association (NBA) team governors and leadership to discuss the implantation of “diversity and anti-racism programs in their respective organizations.” ⁸

1. “About.” Social Justice Fund. Accessed April 18, 2023. https://www.bksjf.org/about.
2. “Social Justice Fund.” Social Justice Fund. Accessed April 18, 2023. https://www.bksjf.org/.
3. “About.” Social Justice Fund. Accessed April 18, 2023. https://www.bksjf.org/about.
4. “Leadership.” Social Justice Fund. Accessed April 18, 2023. https://www.bksjf.org/leadership.
5. “Leadership.” Social Justice Fund. Accessed April 18, 2023. https://www.bksjf.org/leadership.
6. “Leadership.” Social Justice Fund. Accessed April 18, 2023. https://www.bksjf.org/leadership.
7. “Leadership.” Social Justice Fund. Accessed April 18, 2023. https://www.bksjf.org/leadership.
8. “About.” Social Justice Fund. Accessed April 18, 2023. https://www.bksjf.org/about.