Exclusive: OSF will maintain US programming, go to court if needed

Open Society Foundations will not change any of its programming in the United States despite heightened scrutiny from the Trump administration and federal plans to investigate progressive nonprofits, OSF President Binaifer Nowrojee told Devex. U.S. President Donald Trump has in recent months stepped up attacks on organizations he views as left-leaning, including OSF, which is backed by billionaire George Soros. The administration has vowed to use the Justice Department and the Internal Revenue Service to investigate alleged wrongdoing by progressive groups. So far, OSF has received an inquiry from Congress, and not the Justice Department or IRS, Nowrojee said, adding that OSF would go to court to defend its constitutional rights. “Open Society Foundations has not changed anything that it's doing, and if we feel that our rights for free speech or the right for peaceful protest is being infringed on, we will move to court to defend our rights,” Nowrojee told Devex. An executive memorandum Trump released in September directed law enforcement to “disband and uproot” activist networks it associates with “domestic terrorism,” including nonprofits and foundations. And according to The New York Times, Justice Department leaders have instructed U.S. attorneys to draft plans to investigate OSF. These developments have prompted anxiety across the global philanthropic sector. The London-based Children’s Investment Fund Foundation, one of the world’s largest philanthropic organizations, announced it would no longer support U.S.-based nonprofits, citing uncertainty over the policy environment for foreign funders. That raised questions about whether other international funders might follow. But Nowrojee said OSF does not intend to follow suit. “Open Society Foundations works globally, and we work around trying to uphold human rights in all places, and so the United States is no exception,” she said. “We’ve not pulled back or changed anything that we’ve been doing in terms of the broad strokes.” In 2024, OSF’s expenditures were $1.2 billion across the more than 120 countries in which it operates. OSF’s U.S. program includes funding work on voting rights, criminal justice, migrant rights, and broader questions of civic participation — areas that have become political flash points in several U.S. states in recent years. Regarding the congressional inquiry, Nowrojee said: “They’re well within their rights to request, and we will comply with their request.” She added that OSF conducts extensive due diligence before issuing grants. “Every grant we give has an army of lawyers that looks at it, and we are in compliance with the laws,” she said. She emphasized that the foundation operates across many jurisdictions, currencies, and regulatory environments, which requires rigorous legal review. OSF, which originated from a foundation Soros founded in Hungary in 1984 and later promoted democratic principles in post-Soviet countries, has experience operating in countries where civic space has narrowed. The foundation moved its regional office from Budapest to Berlin, Germany, in 2018, citing an increasingly repressive political and legal environment. “We understand also that democratic space is not a given, it’s not guaranteed. It will come, it will go, and actually the greatest protection is to have an engaged citizenry that understands their rights,” Nowrojee said. Nowrojee, appointed in 2024, is guiding OSF through its transition to a new operating model after a multiyear restructuring that reduced staff from about 2,000 to 500 and consolidated its offices from roughly 40 to 13. The overhaul, led by board chair Alexander Soros, included cuts affecting programs such as LGBTQ+ work outside the United States and public health initiatives. OSF has rejected claims that the changes amount to a retreat from Europe. Nowrojee said the experience of working in varied political environments has underscored for the foundation that civic space can shift in any country and that its work must adjust without losing sight of its core mission. “We need to view the United States not as some exceptional example, but as part and parcel of just the nature of human rights and democratic space,” she said. “It’s never guaranteed, and there’s no finish line to the work we’re going to have to do.”