About Arca Foundation
A private grantmaking foundation dedicated to advancing equity, justice, and human rights. Arca supports grassroots movements and efforts that promote economic and racial justice, an inclusive democracy, human rights, and environmental sustainability through public education, community engagement, and policy change.
Focus Areas
economic justiceracial justicedemocracy and civic engagementhuman rightsenvironmental sustainabilitymovement buildingorganizing and leadership developmentrapid response grants
Who They Fund
Black communities and Black-led organizationsworking familiesyouth and young voterslocal/regional community organizations (Detroit, Wisconsin)
About Arca Foundation
The Arca Foundation repeatedly backs movement infrastructure rather than isolated programs: its largest recent awards go to organizations such as Just Future Fund for general support and to Tides Foundation for the Center for Working Families Fund. Those grants sit inside a broader pattern of funding grassroots organizing, policy campaigns, and fiscally sponsored projects tied to economic and racial justice, democracy and civic engagement, human rights, and environmental sustainability. The foundation’s recent roster also includes recurring support for state-based civic groups in Detroit and North Carolina, alongside national advocacy intermediaries in Washington, DC and San Francisco. Arca funds domestic public charities through invited biannual cycles, with general operating support, project support, and fiscally sponsored project requests all appearing in its grant types. It also makes rapid-response grants for emerging needs and gives an annual Smith Bagley Memorial Grant Award to one organization each year. The overall picture is of a regular funder that uses multiple grant structures to support organizing, civic participation, and advocacy-oriented work. Across the recent list, the foundation’s grantees include State Voices, We The People MI, Blueprint North Carolina, Michigan Voices, and Win Without War Education Fund. That mix suggests a preference for organizations that can move money into campaigns, coalition work, and public-interest advocacy at both local and national levels.
What Arca Foundation Funds
In democracy and civic engagement, The Arca Foundation supported State Voices with $200,000 for general support and gave $100,000 to Alliance for Youth Organizing for project support. Those grants show an interest in voter participation and civic participation through intermediary networks and youth-focused organizing. In economic justice, it made several large awards to working-family and financial-reform groups, including $200,000 to Tides Foundation for the Center for Working Families Fund and $100,000 to Americans for Financial Reform Education Fund for general support. The foundation also backed Action Center on Race and the Economy Institute with $100,000, linking economic policy work with racial justice priorities. Its racial justice and local organizing support appears in grants such as $150,000 to We The People MI for general support and $100,000 to PowerSwitch Action for project support. Environmental sustainability also remains in the portfolio through project support grants to Windward Fund.
Financial Snapshot
Annual Giving
$3.8M
Total Assets
$49.9M
Total Revenue
$2.8M
Total Expenses
$4.9M
Typical Grant Size
Most grants fall between $50K and $100K, with a median of $75K.
25th Percentile
$50K
Median
$75K
75th Percentile
$100K
Geographic Reach
National18 states funded
Funding intensity
LowHigh
Headquarters
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