Soros nonprofit limiting new grantmaking

The nonprofit founded by prominent Democratic donor George Soros plans to limit new grantmaking from October through next February, as it shifts to a new operating model under Soros’s son.

The Open Society Foundations plans to focus the majority of its grantmaking around “specific opportunities for impact” under the new model, nonprofit President Mark Malloch-Brown said in a letter Thursday.

“It will free us from annual strategy and budget cycles, allow us to pursue campaign arcs of different durations, and make us more responsive to a rapidly changing world,” Malloch-Brown said.

While there will temporarily be limits on new grantmaking, a spokesperson with the nonprofit told The Hill that it plans to honor all existing financial commitments to grantees and will resume grantmaking “as needed in response to urgent priorities.”

As part of the shift, the Open Society Foundations also estimates that it will need to cut no less than 40 percent of its staff globally.  

However, Malloch-Brown emphasized in Thursday’s letter that the changes are not about “belt-tightening” and that the nonprofit remains in a strong financial position.

“Technological, environmental, political, and socioeconomic shifts are challenging open society ideals around the world,” Malloch-Brown said. “This flux demands that we reimagine our philanthropy.”

The nonprofit confirmed last month that Soros, who is 92 years old, had passed control of the nonprofit over to son Alex Soros.