Arcus Foundation is a grant-making foundation formed by billionaire Jon Stryker in 2000. The majority of its funding comes from Stryker and goes towards organisations focused on LGBTQ rights and great ape conservation. Jon Stryker is a board member of Save the Chimps as well as other environmental groups. In 2019, the foundation shifted its focus further towards LGBTQ issues.

Arcus has partnered with more than 400 organisations, ranging in scope from advocacy groups to community centres to sanctuaries. They partner with experts, activists, and other brave advocates for change who confront injustice around the world.

Arcus Foundation grantees have worked in more than 30 countries around the world and affect millions of lives. Some of their grantees include the African Wildlife Foundation to help apes in the Congo, the Jane Goodall Institute for Wildlife Research, Education, and Conservation and the Greenpeace Fund to protect apes threatened by logging and industrial agriculture.

They are committed to removing barriers to full participation in society, strive to apply a high level of transparency in their operations and relationships with grantees, partners and other stakeholders. Their commitment to being open and inclusive includes financial disclosure, comprehensive and timely dissemination of public information, responsiveness to requests for information, and accurate representation of policies and practices.

Arcus Foundation has offices in both the United Kingdom and the United States.

Arcus believes that respect for diversity among peoples and in nature is essential to a positive future for our planet and all its inhabitants. We partner with experts and advocates for change to ensure that LGBTQ people and our fellow apes thrive in a world where social and environmental justice are a reality.

Much of Arcus Foundation’s funding comes from its founder, Jon Stryker and the JLS Global Opportunity Fund care of Greenleaf Trust. In 2017, the foundation brought in almost US$38 million, of which US$30 million was donated by Stryker. To date he has given over US$500 million.

Arcus Foundation’s only other funding source is the Collingwood Foundation, a funding group advocating for LGBT rights. They donated US$10,000 in 2017, a sum consistent with the Collingwood Foundation’s past giving.

Find out more.