The Open Society Foundations and Protest in the United States

NEW YORK-The Open Society Foundations help fund an array of non-profit civil society groups across the United States that advocate for a fairer world.

The vast majority of these groups have no involvement with protests of any kind. Others may seek to articulate and amplify dissenting voices through, for example, petitions, meetings, and peaceful public protests.

These decisions on how best to advance change lie with our grantees, not with Open Society; we adopt an arm's length approach to grantees once our publicly disclosed funding decisions are made. Open Society does not pay protestors. We never, and will never, coordinate, train, or strategize with protest organizers or participants.

At the same time, in all their work, our grantees are expected to adhere to the principles of non-violence grounded in the human rights that are inherent to Open Society's mission.

We recognize that the ability to engage in non-violent public protest is a hallmark of any vibrant democracy-and that in the United States this right is secured by the Constitution.