Marguerite Casey Foundation

About Marguerite Casey Foundation

Marguerite Casey Foundation uses large grants to support organizing, research, and power-building infrastructure, with several awards at the $1.5 million level in the recent grants list. In 2023, it gave $1.5 million to Highlander Research and Education Center for general operating support, and another $1.5 million to the UCLA Luskin Institute on Inequality and Democracy for institute support. Those grants sit alongside support for institutions tied to Black publishing, social justice research, and community organizing. The foundation also backs direct organizing and movement work. Buildus received $1.5 million in 2025 for advocacy, while Scholars for Social Justice received the same amount in 2025 for community organizing. Other grants in the list support fellows, coalition infrastructure, and local groups working on immigrant rights, voting access, and community-led change. Its grantmaking includes operating support and project support, with some awards repeated across years, such as Freedom Inc and Tides Foundation. The mix of grantees ranges from universities and research centers to coalitions, organizers, and intermediary funders, reflecting a broad approach to supporting people and organizations that shape policy and public life.

What Marguerite Casey Foundation Funds

A major thread in the foundation’s work is community organizing and grassroots power-building. In 2025, it gave $1.5 million to Scholars for Social Justice for community organizing, and in 2023 it provided $500,000 to Communities United for general operating support. It also funds public-dollars and public-good work through intermediary and fellowship structures. One example is the $750,000 grant to Amalgamated Charitable Foundation for up to three Public Dollars for Public Good Senior Fellowships. Racial justice research and education appear in the portfolio as well. The foundation gave $1.5 million to the Board of Trustees of the University of Illinois for the Portal Project of the Social Justice Initiative at UIC, and $1.5 million to UCLA Luskin Institute on Inequality and Democracy. Protecting vulnerable communities shows up through immigrant and rights-restoration grants, including $900,000 to Tennessee Immigrant and Refugee Rights Coalition for general operating support and $500,000 to Tides Foundation for the Florida Rights Restoration Coalition.

How Marguerite Casey Foundation Gives