Supporting Just and Sustainable Communities

Our History

The Surdna Foundation was founded in 1917 by John Emory Andrus to pursue a range of philanthropic purposes. To this day, family stewardship of the Foundation is guided by Andrus’ commitment to serving those in need.

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Programs

Through our investments, we dismantle the barriers that limit opportunities to create more prosperous, enriching, and sustainable communities. Taken together, our investments build capacity, spark innovation, and connect stakeholders while encouraging lesson-sharing between grantees.

Inclusive Economies

We support and invest in the growth of robust, sustainable economies with diverse businesses owned by people of color and the advancement of equitable economic development.

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Sustainable Environments

We support the creation of just and sustainable communities in which low-wealth and communities of color have the power to self-determine the ownership, control and stewardship of land and its infrastructure assets.

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Thriving Cultures

We invest in artists, culture-bearers, designers, and media-makers of color who partner with their communities to radically imagine justice and foster the conditions for just systems and practices to be adopted.

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JOB: Director of Impact Investing

The Surdna Foundation, a New York City-based family foundation, seeks a Director of Impact Investing to lead internal and external impact investing activities of the Foundation. The Director of Impact Investing will manage, refine, and enhance…

From the President

June 18, 2021

Juneteenth: Promise and Progress

At long last, Juneteenth is recognized as a national holiday. It marks the day Black enslaved people in Galveston, Texas learned that they were legally free on June 19, 1865--a full two years after President Lincoln signed the Emancipation…

Inclusive Economies

May 30, 2021

Tulsa's Greenwood neighborhood wasn't America's only Black Wall Street

"On this centennial of the brutal Tulsa riots, let’s remember other cities where Black wealth was decimated. In building the future of Black wealth, it’s important that we ground it in the history of its destruction." - Fay Horwitt, Lanessa…

What We're Learning

April 29, 2021

Leaning into Racial Justice with the Surdna Foundation and Andrus Family Fund

Amid a national reckoning with race and the pandemic, foundations are leaning into racial justice like never before. Yet many foundations are grappling with how to fund racial equity and the best way forward for their institution and grantees.…