What grants has Open Society given to Indivisible and for what purposes?
Executive summary
Open Society’s grantmaking to the Indivisible network has been substantial and distributed over multiple years, totaling at least several million dollars across a mix of grants from different Open Society entities; public reports and watchdog sites cite sums ranging from roughly $7.6 million to more than $9 million since 2017, with notable single-year awards reported in 2021–2023 [1] [2] [3]. Open Society and its affiliates characterize these awards as support for civic engagement, social-welfare activities and strengthening democratic participation, while critics frame the funding as political influence; the foundation’s own searchable grants database is the primary source for exact award descriptions [4] [5].
1. What money flowed — headline totals and year-by-year snapshots
Multiple public accounts and nonprofit trackers report millions in Open Society funding to Indivisible: InfluenceWatch and other compendia list cumulative totals “over $8 million” or “$7.6 million” between roughly 2017 and 2023, and local reporting has cited an OSF figure of $9.475 million since 2017; fiscal-year breakdowns reported in secondary sources show the Open Society Policy Center making grants of $875,000 (year ending 2021), $1.135 million and $3 million (reported in 2023) to Indivisible-related entities [2] [1] [3].
2. Who within the Open Society network made the grants
Reporting names different Open Society entities as grantmakers: the Open Society Policy Center (an OSF affiliate) is explicitly cited for multi-hundred-thousand and million-dollar grants in 2021–2023, and broader Open Society Foundations grant records are referenced by journalists and local outlets for aggregate totals [2] [1] [3]. The OSF’s public grants database is identified as the authoritative source for searching by grantee name, indicating the organization tracks individual awards online [4].
3. For what purposes did Open Society say the money was given
Open Society spokespeople and grant descriptions quoted in reporting frame the awards as support for democratic participation and civic engagement—“to deepen civic engagement through peaceful democratic participation” or broadly to “support the grantee’s social welfare activities,” language that emphasizes nonviolent civic work rather than operational direction of protests [5] [3]. InfluenceWatch’s summary of grant use does not contradict that characterization and cites grant amounts tied to organizational support rather than explicit single-event funding [2].
4. How critics and supporters interpret those grants
Critics—principally conservative outlets and watchdogs cited in the search results—portray the grants as evidence of top-down political influence and have highlighted the timing and scale of particular awards to argue strategic intervention in U.S. politics [6] [7]. Supporters and Indivisible spokespeople respond that foundation funding does not direct grassroots tactics and point out that many grantees funded by OSF “have no involvement with protests of any kind,” framing the money as capacity-building for civic participation [3] [5]. Both perspectives are present in the public record.
5. What the available records do — and don’t — show
OSF’s own grants database exists and is the primary place to see grant descriptions and terms, but the excerpts in the available reporting provide aggregate totals and summary language rather than full grant contracts or day‑by‑day spending breakdowns [4] [1]. Secondary sources and nonprofit trackers supply useful year-by-year headline figures (e.g., the Policy Center’s 2021, 2022 and 2023 awards) and totals since 2017, yet public reporting here does not include the full itemized grant agreements or audited line‑item uses, so precise activity-level attribution (which staff or program received each dollar and how each dollar was spent on the ground) is not fully documented in these excerpts [2] [1] [3].
6. Bottom line and where to confirm specifics
The documented picture from multiple outlets is that Open Society entities have provided millions to Indivisible-affiliated organizations since 2017, with specific tranches reported for 2021–2023 and grant language described as supporting social-welfare activities and civic engagement; for definitive, line‑by‑line confirmation, the Open Society Foundations’ searchable grants database and the grantee’s tax filings/IRS disclosures are the primary records to consult, as the public reporting here summarizes totals and purposes rather than reproducing full grant agreements [4] [2] [1].