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Following every major national crisis, federal and state governments mobilize resources at a scale no other institution can. That public investment saves lives. But this spending is most effective when philanthropy steps up to fill critical gaps and help people in urgent need.

What follows demonstrates that the risks of going after private philanthropy show up in more than one part of public life. ⬇️ 

 

During the Great Recession, federal stimulus kept the economy going. What it didn’t do was meet some of the immediate needs of daily life, like whether a child could get to school and be ready to learn.

The Open Society Foundations stepped in with a $35 million initiative in New York state that provided families on public assistance $200 per child for basics like winter coats and school supplies. That effort helped unlock another $140 million in federal funds, a reminder that targeted action from philanthropies can strengthen public programs, not replace them. 

COVID taught us the same lesson. The federal response was unprecedented. Yet millions of essential and domestic workers – caregivers, cleaners, day laborers – were excluded from relief.

We stepped in and committed $68 million to support those workers, fund childcare centers for essential workers, and bolster emergency remote learning programs, ensuring the people who keep our country running were not left out of the national response meant to protect them. 

After Hurricane Katrina, federal aid rebuilt levees and highways. But what many seniors, immigrants, and low-income families needed just as urgently was support navigating displacement.

Open Society funded organizers, legal supports, and community networks so residents had information, representation, and a voice in how their neighborhoods were rebuilt. 

We see this again with the opioid crisis. Public funding is essential, but communities benefit most when those dollars are guided by the people on the front lines. 

That’s why Open Society has worked to increase access to naloxone and supports harm-reduction groups and local advocates working to make sure settlement and grant funds go toward treatment, recovery, and proven strategies that are saving  lives. 

 

In Puerto Rico, the 2015 economic collapse – followed by an austerity plan, and Hurricanes Irma and Maria – devastated the island. So in 2017, we launched the Puerto Rico Project to increase civic participation, build the political strength of Puerto Ricans in the diaspora, and elevate Puerto Rican voices in Congress. 

This is why attacks on independent philanthropy are so dangerous.

Government remains the backbone of any national crisis response. But private philanthropy is an essential partner, supporting ideas, movements, and communities that public systems can't always reach.