Open Society Foundations to close Baltimore institute after 25 years

The Open Society Institute in Baltimore, a philanthropic organization that has catalyzed progressive initiatives in the area for over two decades, will close later this year as the Open Society Foundations sunset several offices worldwide.

The closing of the Baltimore institute comes as the Open Societies Foundations, a grantmaking network financially backed by billionaire philanthropist and financial speculator George Soros, winds down operations at several offices as part of a “strategic revisioning,” according to a letter from Danielle Torain, the Baltimore institute’s director.

“This decision pains me because OSI-Baltimore has been a staple in the community for more than 25 years,” Torain wrote.

First opening in Baltimore in 1998, the institute has aimed to tackle root causes of drug addiction, over-incarceration and education struggles through grants, fellowships and other social programs.

After becoming the first and only field office of the Open Society Foundations in 1998, the institute has funded job training, after-school programs, harm reduction ventures and several fellowships targeting social inequities.

Recently, the institute partnered with the Rockefeller Foundation to address inequities in COVID-19 vaccine distribution.

“OSI-Baltimore has been a 25-year proof of concept, a center of excellence for testing and trying out solutions to the city’s enduring challenges in education, criminal justice, drug dependency and more,” said Alex Soros, the chair of the Open Societies Foundations and a son of George Soros. “I am so proud of all that our colleagues there have accomplished.”

As the institute exits, it has committed $20 million “to make final investments in the community and sustainably deploy technical assistance to grantees for their near-term stability,” as well as a multiyear commitment to start evolving the Baltimore Community Fellowship, a corps of activists and social entrepreneurs who lead projects addressing issues in underserved communities, according to a news release.

The institute’s exit will also fund $6 million toward the launch of the Maryland Black Futures Fund, a fiveyear campaign to “ensure that Black power-building and movement-based organizations in Baltimore and across the state of Maryland have the sustained investments and resources they need in their fight to eradicate systemic and institutionalized racism,” the release says.

“True to our Baltimore spirit, we’ve decided not to view this development as a defeat but rather embrace it as a rare and timely opportunity,” Torain said in a statement, adding the funds will “facilitate a responsible closure of our office and seed an exciting evolution of this work.”

The institute plans to hold briefings in coming weeks with grantees, partners and other stakeholders to discuss the wind-down strategy.