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Abbreviation | OSF |
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Founded | April 1993 |
Founder | George Soros |
Location |
|
Chair | Alexander Soros |
President | Binaifer Nowrojee |
Revenue (2021) | $988 million[1] |
Endowment (2021) | $5.89 billion[1] |
Website | opensocietyfoundations |
Formerly called | Open Society Institute |
Open Society Foundations (OSF), formerly the Open Society Institute, is a US-based grantmaking network founded by business magnate George Soros.[2] Open Society Foundations financially supports civil society groups around the world, with the stated aim of advancing justice, education, public health and independent media.[3][4] The group's name was inspired by Karl Popper's 1945 book The Open Society and Its Enemies.[5]
As of 2015, the OSF had branches in 37 countries,[6] encompassing a group of country and regional foundations, such as the Open Society Initiative for West Africa, and the Open Society Initiative for Southern Africa. The organization’s headquarters is located at 224 West 57th Street in Midtown Manhattan, New York City. In 2018, OSF announced it was closing its European office in Budapest and moving to Berlin, in response to legislation passed by the Hungarian government targeting the foundation's activities.[7] As of 2021, OSF has reported expenditures in excess of US$16 billion since its establishment in 1993, mostly in grants towards NGOs, aligned with the organization's mission.[8]