Wallace Global Fund to Spend Itself to Zero, Putting Its Entire Endowment Behind Movements as It Challenges Philanthropy to Pay Out More to Meet This Moment

Foundation rooted in U.S. Vice President Henry A. Wallace's legacy is accelerating its spend-out amid rising threats to democracy and calls on philanthropy to increase payouts, fund movements and align investments with mission

WASHINGTON, Sept. 16, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- Wallace Global Fund (WGF) announced today that it is spending its entire endowment down to zero, deploying every dollar toward frontline organizers and movements working to build a just multiracial democracy, advance human rights and economic justice, protect the planet and hold corporations accountable.

The decision comes as WGF warns that intersecting threats — including rising authoritarianism, democratic erosion, climate instability and the growing influence of corporate and billionaire power — require philanthropy to respond with greater urgency and courage. Rather than preserve its assets for an indefinite future, WGF is putting its resources behind the frontline organizers and movements working to confront these challenges and resist abuses of power.

WGF accelerated its planned spend-out and moved nearly $24 million in the last 15 months of U.S. grantmaking to support a growing, diverse, nonpartisan pro-democracy movement resisting assaults on democratic institutions and building the collective power needed to confront entrenched political and economic power and create lasting democratic, economic and social change. That funding is supporting activism, organizing, strategic litigation, leadership development and movement infrastructure — giving movements greater capacity to address today's compounding crises.

The decision reflects the legacy of WGF founder and former Vice President Henry A. Wallace, whose 1944 essay "The Danger of American Fascism" warned about the threat posed when powerful economic interests seek to influence government and put profit ahead of people. WGF sees another historic inflection point today — a test of whether institutions will choose bold action over preservation and put their resources behind the people and movements working not only to confront today's challenges, but to build transformative solutions.

"My grandfather understood that moments of profound crisis are also moments when history can change direction," said Scott Wallace, Co-Chair of Wallace Global Fund and Henry A. Wallace's grandson. "He responded to the challenges of his era by helping build the New Deal and challenging the outsized influence of powerful economic interests. We believe we are at a critical turning point today, and our responsibility is to put all of our resources behind the people building a better future."

"The scale of the threats facing our communities, our democracy and our planet demands an urgent response from philanthropy," said Dr. Ellen Dorsey, Executive Director of Wallace Global Fund. "This is a time for courage — for funders to move beyond simply stewarding capital to becoming activist funders, standing with the organizers and movements risking everything on the frontlines. Philanthropy must put its full weight behind the people defending rights, protecting the planet and fighting for a more just future. That means boldly funding movements, dramatically increasing payouts — from 10 percent up to 100 percent where possible — aligning investments with mission, and using every tool at our disposal to drive the change this moment demands. The time to act is now."

"Movements do not suddenly appear when a crisis reaches the headlines," said Scott Fitzmorris, Co-Chair of Wallace Global Fund and Henry A. Wallace's great-grandson. "They are built over years through organizing, leadership development, forging relationships and building infrastructure. Our role has been to stand behind those movements, not dictate their strategies, and give them the resources they need to build lasting power and drive meaningful change."

A Challenge to Philanthropy: Meet This Moment, Spend Until It Hurts

Alongside its spend-out, WGF is releasing ALL IN: Building Power, Scaling Change, Meeting the Moment, a report documenting WGF's approach and the impact of its partners, while calling on philanthropy to reconsider how much it gives, what and who it funds, and how it invests its assets and uses its institutional power — with a clear challenge to the sector: philanthropy's response must match the rapidly accelerating scale of the threats communities face.

The report warns that philanthropy cannot declare a state of emergency for democracy, the climate and human rights while only paying out the bare minimum required by law. WGF is calling on funders to act at the scale of the emergency — moving more money, taking greater risks and investing in the transformative change these crises demand.

New research from the Institute for Policy Studies (IPS), a longtime WGF partner and grantee, reveals the staggering scale of the capital philanthropy is still holding back.

U.S. foundations are legally required to pay out at least 5% of the value of their assets each year. According to IPS' new Gilded Giving 2026: Philanthropy Under Oligarchy report, the 144 U.S. private foundations with more than $1 billion in assets had a median payout rate of 5.1% in 2024, only slightly above that minimum. If the billion-dollar-plus foundations that paid out less than 10% had instead reached a 10% payout rate, IPS estimates an additional $23.4 billion would have gone to charitable causes that year.

For WGF, defending democracy is not a discrete funding issue: it underpins the work it seeks to advance across sectors. Real change requires more than responding to individual crises. It demands investing in organizers and groups for the long haul — fueling movements to challenge corporate interests, withstand evolving attacks and turn resistance into lasting political, economic and social change. For decades, WGF has put that principle into practice — backing movements ranging from U.S. pro-democracy organizing to the global fight to end female genital mutilation/cutting (FGM/C) to Standing Rock and fossil fuel divestment.

"If foundations believe the threats are as serious as they say they are, if we believe democracy is under siege worldwide and believe the science of climate change, then our behavior — how much we give, who we fund, and whether we invest in corporations driving the problems rather than the solutions — must reflect that," Dr. Dorsey said.

WGF is calling on philanthropy to:

• Increase payouts to match the urgency of today's intersecting crises, including payouts of at least 10% and, where appropriate, up to 100%
• Fund organizers and movements for the long haul, including the leadership and infrastructure needed to sustain their work, while helping them scale at moments of crises and success;
• Align investments with institutional values and missions, so philanthropic capital is not perpetuating the problems grantmaking seeks to solve; and
• Use all of the tools within reach, including institutional influence, convening power and advocacy voice.

Putting the Other 95% to Work

WGF's own experience demonstrates the potential of aligning capital with mission. In 2010, years before "divestment" was mainstream, WGF moved its entire endowment out of fossil fuels and other harmful industries into a 100% mission-aligned portfolio that integrated environmental and social criteria, catalytic investment capital and shareholder advocacy. The approach achieved top-decile returns in its last full decade, demonstrating that institutions can align investments with their values without sacrificing financial performance.

"If you own fossil fuels, you own climate change. Full stop," Dr. Dorsey said. "You cannot drive the problem with your investments while supporting grantees working to solve it. The mission and the money should point in the same direction."

That investment shift was paired with a strategy to help turn fossil fuel divestment into a global force. WGF invested in early organizing, convened student activists and helped seed and scale the infrastructure that ultimately contributed to a $40 trillion global divestment movement spanning 1,700 institutions.

For WGF, the lesson is that a foundation's grantmaking and its capital should work together — with both used to advance, rather than undermine, its mission.

Investing in What Comes Next

As WGF spends itself out, it is investing in two legacy initiatives designed to carry this work forward: Her Horizon Fund, a new regranting fund focused on advancing the global movement to end FGM/C, and the Henry A. Wallace Legacy Initiative and Fellowship Program at the Institute for Policy Studies, which will invest in the next generation of leaders carrying forward Wallace's legacy.

Drawing upon WGF's almost 50-year history of grantmaking focused on FGM/C, Her Horizon Fund is a new pooled fund and movement-support hub supporting frontline- and survivor-led organizations working to end FGM/C worldwide. The fund launched at the Justice for Girls convening in Kenya on September 2, with WGF announcing a $14 million catalytic investment. The goal is to mobilize $100 million from bilateral, philanthropic, and corporate donors toward ending FGM/C.

"Wallace Global Fund joined the movement to end FGM/C almost 50 years ago, when Gordie Wallace chose to confront this extreme form of gender-based violence that the international community was largely ignoring," said Susan Gibbs, Wallace Global Fund's Senior Advisor on Women's Rights and FGM. "She believed lasting change must be driven by people in affected communities, with philanthropy backing their long-term vision and leadership. Her Horizon Fund carries that approach forward at a much larger scale — creating a catalytic pooled fund and a direct pipeline of resources to historically underfunded frontline organizations, while centering survivors in shaping how those resources are used."

WGF is also providing a $10 million endowment for the Henry A. Wallace Legacy Initiative at the Institute for Policy Studies to carry Wallace's legacy forward by equipping emerging leaders to confront economic power over political systems and advance a more just, democratic and sustainable future. At the center of the initiative is the Henry A. Wallace Fellows Program, which will help young leaders across movements develop the skills, relationships and networks to lead for the long term.

"Wallace Global Fund's generous $10 million investment will empower IPS to make a lasting commitment to the next generation of progressive leaders," said Tope Folarin, Executive Director of the Institute for Policy Studies. "In the spirit of the New Deal visionary that our Fellows Program honors, we will prepare leaders who can carry grassroots movements into the halls of power, winning lasting change through transformative policy."

"These initiatives reflect what we believe philanthropy should do at its best: put resources behind the people closest to the challenges and the movements building solutions," Scott Fitzmorris said. "Institutions are tools. The mission is what matters. Our hope is that these investments continue strengthening movements and leaders for generations to come."

About Wallace Global Fund

Founded by former U.S. Vice President Henry A. Wallace, Wallace Global Fund supports people-powered movements working to advance human rights, defend democracy, and fight for a healthy planet. The Fund supports these movements through grantmaking, mission-aligned investing, and philanthropic advocacy.

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SOURCE Wallace Global Fund