What Borealis Philanthropy does

Borealis Philanthropy is a 501(c)(3) philanthropic intermediary headquartered in Minneapolis that connects institutional and individual donors to grassroots social-justice movements through pooled donor collaboratives, multi-year unrestricted grants, and rapid-response funding. Founded in 2015 at the urging of frontline queer and trans organizers and seeded jointly by Arcus Foundation, Ford Foundation, and Wellspring Philanthropic Fund, the organization has grown from a single Transforming Movements Fund into nine distinct collaborative funds organized under five thematic pillars: Race, Gender, and Disability Justice; Media, Journalism, and Narrative Change; Community Safety and Justice; Movement Infrastructure; and Economic Justice and Inclusion. Across its decade of operation, Borealis has routed more than $200M to frontline communities and supported 445+ organizations.

The operational backbone consists of thematic funds (Black-Led Movement Fund, Disability Inclusion Fund, Fund for Trans Generations, Emerging LGBTQ Leaders of Color Fund, Racial Equity in Journalism Fund, Racial Equity to Accelerate Change Fund, Spark Justice Fund, Communities Transforming Policing Fund) layered with time-bound initiatives (Black Disabled Liberation Project, Just Futures Initiative, SAFE Initiative, Movement-Defined Learning Project). Grantmaking is participatory and trust-based: 79% of 2024 grants were unrestricted general operating support, $2.9M was distributed as rapid-response funding, and 552 grants supported 444 grantee partners across all U.S. regions. Distinctive methodology includes the Movement-Defined Learning Project, a participatory evaluation framework co-developed with Social Insights Research that centers grantee-defined measures of success rather than funder-centric metrics.

The business model is fund-routing rather than product-selling: Borealis receives tax-deductible contributions from individual donors and institutional foundations, pools them into thematic collaboratives, and regrants them to vetted grassroots organizations with minimal administrative friction. It charges no fees to grantees. In 2024, the organization distributed $37.2M in total grantmaking, supported by a Senior Leadership Team of four Vice Presidents and four Directors and a movement-rooted Board of Directors chaired by Stephanie Fuerstner Gillis of Raikes Foundation. Recent operational moves include a 2025 programmatic reorganization that sunset the seven-year-old Racial Equity in Philanthropy Fund and launched the SAFE Initiative to meet grantees' rising security needs.

Name

Borealis Philanthropy

Legal name

Borealis Philanthropy

Website

https://borealisphilanthropy.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

2015

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Borealis Philanthropy is a 501(c)(3) philanthropic intermediary founded in 2015 that operates nine collaborative funds to route pooled donor resources to grassroots justice movements led by BIPOC, queer, trans, disabled, and migrant communities across the U.S., having moved over $200M since inception.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Philanthropic Intermediary Services

NAICS

Grantmaking Foundations (813211), Grantmaking and Giving Services (81321), Grantmaking and Giving Services (8132), Social Advocacy Organizations (8133), Civic and Social Organizations (813410)

SIC

Services-Social Services (8300)

akta.pro primary industry

Public Charities & Grantmaking Intermediaries (BPAGAKAE)

akta.pro secondary industries

Social Justice & Human Rights Grantmaking Foundations (BPAGAKAN), Federated Giving Organizations (e.g., United Way-type) (BPAGAKAG), Grantmaking & Philanthropic Funds (Institutional Donors) (BPADAOAB)

Keywords

• Philanthropic intermediary
• Donor collaboratives
• Pooled grantmaking
• Grassroots movement funding
• Regranting services

Headquarters

HQ city

Minneapolis

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales

Revenue model

1. Donor Collaboratives and Pooled Funds: Borealis facilitates pooled funding through multiple donor collaboratives focused on distinct thematic areas (Race/Gender/Disability Justice, Media/Journalism, Movement Infrastructure, Economic Justice, Community Safety). Individual donors and foundations contribute to these pooled funds, which Borealis then regrants to grassroots organizations through competitive and participatory grantmaking processes.
2. Direct Donations and Grants: Individual donors and institutional foundations make direct donations and multi-year grants to Borealis to support its programmatic work and operations. Borealis receives and stewards funds for specific initiatives including the newly launched Just Futures Initiative and Security, Action, and Freedom for Everyone (SAFE) Initiative.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels5 records

Marketing channels9 records

Core offering

Borealis Philanthropy is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit philanthropic intermediary that pools resources from multiple donors and foundations into collaborative funds, then regrants those resources to grassroots social justice movements and BIPOC-led organizations. It connects funders seeking to resource movements with vetted grassroots groups through participatory, movement-defined grantmaking.

Product overview

Borealis Philanthropy is a social justice philanthropic intermediary that connects funders to grassroots movements for transformative change. The organization operates through a portfolio of nine collaborative funding programs across five interconnected thematic pillars: Race, Gender, and Disability Justice; Media, Journalism, and Narrative Change; Community Safety and Justice; Movement Infrastructure; and Economic Justice and Inclusion. The core products include dedicated funds such as the Black-Led Movement Fund (BLMF), Disability Inclusion Fund (DIF), Fund for Trans Generations (FTG), Emerging LGBTQ Leaders of Color Fund (ELLC), Racial Equity in Journalism Fund (REJ), Racial Equity to Accelerate Change Fund (REACH), Spark Justice Fund (SJF), and Communities Transforming Policing Fund (CTPF). Special initiatives include the Black Disabled Liberation Project, Just Futures Initiative, and Movement-Defined Learning Project. The organization provides rapid response grantmaking, participatory grantmaking models, and capacity-building support to grantee partners.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Quantifiable outcome

• $200M+ routed to grassroots justice movements since founding in 2015
• +4 more outcomes

Named customers11 records

Segments2 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature1 record

Partnerships

Six partnerships are on record, tiered supporting and core.

• BDO USAsupportingImplementation/ SI/ Consulting Partner · 1 January 2024Borealis partnered with BDO USA, an accounting and professional services firm, to develop a new, accurate, and values-driven financial model. Borealis invited others in the sector to join a wider conversation about aligning values, practices, and beliefs with the models and structures used in philanthropy.
• ZEAL Co-OpsupportingStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2024Borealis' Racial Equity in Journalism Fund partnered with ZEAL, a worker-owned creative arts studio alliance, to launch 'Infinite Patterns,' a podcast demystifying the building of a sustainable, thriving BIPOC newsroom.
• ResonancesupportingStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2024Borealis partnered with Resonance, a progressive communications collective, to provide narrative change support to grantee partners working to curb criminalization and develop alternatives to community safety.
• Yomi YoungcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2024Yomi Young served as a guide for the Black Disabled Liberation Project, helping align teams under disability justice principles and Black radical tradition before grants were made to Black disabled grassroots groups.
• India HarvillecoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2024India Harville served as a guide for the Black Disabled Liberation Project, co-developing the grantmaking process alongside Borealis staff and helping align teams under disability justice principles and Black radical tradition.
• Social Insights ResearchcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2022Borealis partnered with Social Insights Research to launch the Movement-Defined Learning Project, a participatory learning journey that shifts Borealis' approach to understanding impact. Social Insights Research worked alongside a Liberatory Learning Lab of grassroots organizers to develop new evaluation frameworks.

Scale indicators21 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Justice Funders: Justice Funders is a philanthropic intermediary that supports a network of foundations committed to resourcing social justice movements. It overlaps with Borealis in advancing movement-aligned grantmaking and reimagining philanthropic practice.
• Threshold Foundation: Threshold Foundation is a multi-generational LGBTQ-led giving circle that pools donor resources for grassroots social justice. It shares Borealis' commitment to LGBTQ movement resourcing and participatory donor decision-making.
• Funders for LGBTQ Issues: Funders for LGBTQ Issues is a philanthropic intermediary that tracks and mobilizes resources for LGBTQ movements. Its thematic funding focus and movement-aligned infrastructure make it a close comparator, particularly to Borealis' Emerging LGBTQ Leaders of Color Fund and Fund for Trans Generations.
• Solidaire Network: Solidaire is a donor network mobilizing resources to frontline movements led by communities most impacted by oppression. It shares Borealis' movement-rooted philosophy, pooled giving model, and intersectional justice focus.
• NEO Philanthropy: NEO Philanthropy is a 501(c)(3) intermediary that houses pooled donor collaboratives across multiple progressive causes. It is one of the closest direct comparables to Borealis, offering comparable pooled funds and donor-collaborative infrastructure across intersecting justice areas.
• Common Counsel Foundation: Common Counsel Foundation is a 501(c)(3) intermediary that provides fiscal sponsorship, pooled funds, and capacity-building to grassroots movements. It offers comparable infrastructure services for multiple movement-aligned funds similar to Borealis' portfolio.
• Third Wave Fund: Third Wave Fund is a movement-led feminist fund that mobilizes resources for young women, trans, and queer activists. It mirrors Borealis' model of participatory grantmaking, multi-year unrestricted support, and resourcing intersectional youth-led movements.

Emerging players

• Hill-Snowdon Foundation: Hill-Snowdon Foundation is a family foundation practicing trust-based, multi-year unrestricted grantmaking to grassroots movements. It overlaps with Borealis in advancing trust-based philanthropy, though as a single-family foundation rather than a pooled intermediary.

Broad incumbents

• Tides Foundation: Tides Foundation is a large philanthropic intermediary and fiscal sponsor offering services and grantmaking vehicles to a wide range of social justice and environmental causes. It operates at a much broader scale than Borealis but shares the intermediary model.
• Arabella Advisors: Arabella Advisors is a philanthropic advisory firm that helps donors and foundations deploy capital to social justice and other causes. It is a broader, more established player offering strategic philanthropy services that intersect with Borealis' donor-collaborative work.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/borealisphil
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/borealis-philanthropy

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Borealis Philanthropy