Why we’re watching: Prior to the pandemic, the world was making progress on many of the Sustainable Development Goals, with one glaring exception: democracy and human rights. Now the world’s leading philanthropy on these issues is refocusing its approach.

Leadership: Mark Malloch-Brown, president since Jan. 1, 2021.
Staff: 1,649 globally, working across 44 countries.
Notable hire: Yamide Dagnet was hired in December from the World Resources Institute to take on the newly created role of director for climate justice. In announcing her hire, the organization said Dagnet would help make climate justice “the centerpiece of Open Society’s work.”
$: $1.4 billion in expenditures in 2020.
HQ: New York City.
Tidbit: In 2019, Open Society’s median grant was $86,000, compared with $200,000 at the Ford Foundation and $700,000 at the Gates Foundation.
Follow: Michael Igoe and Stephanie Beasley.

Analysis: While dedicating his life and fortune to fighting authoritarianism, George Soros ended up becoming the subject of antisemitic attacks and conspiracy theories. He even had to close his foundation’s office in his native Hungary due to pressure from Viktor Orban. Now, the 91-year-old Soros and Mark Malloch-Brown — his longtime friend and the foundation’s new president — are taking off the gloves. They have reduced head count by 10% and are paring down the number of grantees, all with a plan to do bigger, more impactful investments that are better matched to the power of their opponents. It remains to be seen if this billion-dollar foundation can truly narrow its focus and if that can make any real dent in the democratic backslide happening around the world. — RK.

→ Back to 22 global development organizations to watch in 2022