Draft:Lever for Change

  • Comment: It would be best to reduce the amount of sources to the groups own website. -- NotCharizard 🗨 12:47, 7 December 2025 (UTC)


Lever for Change is a nonprofit organization established by the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation in 2019.[1] Headquartered in Chicago, the organization manages philanthropic grantmaking and coordinates competitions between donors and nonprofit organizations. By late 2025, the organization reported directing more than US$2.5 billion in funding to various initiatives.[2]

Operations and Funding Model

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Lever for Change originated from the MacArthur Foundation's "100&Change" competition, which launched in 2016.[3] That program awards a US$100 million grant every three years to a single project.[4] Lever for Change utilizes a similar competitive model to vet organizations and manage grantmaking processes for third-party donors.

Open Calls

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The organization conducts funding competitions known as "open calls", through which philanthropic funders award grants for specified social issues. These competitions are open to organizations that meet the eligibility criteria established for each funding round. Applications are evaluated through a review process that may include expert and peer assessment.[5] Funders that have used the open call model include MacKenzie Scott and Pivotal Ventures.[6]

The organization also maintains a network of grant recipients and finalists from previous competitions.[7]

Advisory Services

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Lever for Change provides advisory services to several philanthropic institutions and individuals, including Yield Giving (MacKenzie Scott), Pivotal Ventures (Melinda French Gates), ICONIQ Impact, the W.K. Kellogg Foundation, and the LEGO Foundation.[8]

Leadership

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References

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  1. "990 Finder | Candid". app.candid.org. Retrieved 2026-02-11.
  2. "Winning large-scale philanthropic grants: Inside Lever for Change's model". Devex. 9 May 2025.
  3. "MacArthur Foundation Will Award $100 Million for Solution to a Global Problem (Published 2016)". 2016-06-02. Retrieved 2025-11-13.
  4. Blair, Elizabeth (22 May 2024). "The MacArthur Foundation wants bold solutions to big problems -- the prize is $100M". NPR.org. NPR.
  5. Scutari, Mike (2024-05-06). "A Look Under the Hood of MacKenzie Scott's Yield Giving Open Call". Inside Philanthropy. Retrieved 2026-06-22.
  6. "More than 80 nonprofits receive $250M for global women's health from Melinda French Gates". AP News. 2025-11-12. Retrieved 2026-06-22.
  7. Daniels, Alex (2023-09-21). "Can a Grant-Making Competition Stop Rich Donors From Getting Cold Feet?". Chronicle of Philanthropy. Retrieved 2025-11-13.
  8. Daniels, Alex (2023-09-21). "Can a Grant-Making Competition Stop Rich Donors From Getting Cold Feet?". Chronicle of Philanthropy. Retrieved 2025-11-13.
  9. "TIME100 Philanthropy: Cecilia Conrad". TIME. 2025-05-20. Retrieved 2026-06-22.
  10. Roberts, Andrea Suozzo, Alec Glassford, Ash Ngu, Brandon (2013-05-09). "Lever For Change - Nonprofit Explorer". ProPublica. Retrieved 2026-06-22.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)