Our Organization

The Surdna Foundation supports social justice reform, healthy environments, inclusive economies, and thriving cultures across the United States. We dismantle the barriers that limit opportunity to create more prosperous, culturally enriching, and sustainable communities.

Our History

The Surdna Foundation was founded in 1917 by John E. Andrus to pursue a range of philanthropic purposes. Today, the Foundation fosters sustainable communities in the United States—communities guided by principles of social justice and distinguished by healthy environments, inclusive economies and thriving cultures.

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Vision, Mission & Values

At Surdna, social justice guides our internal operations, our programmatic work and our grantmaking partnerships.

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Surdna & Social Justice

Surdna’s commitment to social justice is grounded in and has evolved from the legacy of John E. Andrus and the Andrus family. In our mission, we have committed to using social justice as a compass, guiding the systemic change we strive for. We believe that these principles will increase our effectiveness and overall impact.

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Theory of Change

The Surdna Foundation believes that the inequities in American society are historical, attitudinal and structural. We believe that addressing racial inequity and power imbalances is critical to solving many of the long-term and embedded social, environmental, economic and cultural challenges that communities across the United States face.

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Code of Conduct

Board and Staff of the Surdna Foundation are committed to being responsible, transparent and accountable stewards of the public trust. We are committed to fulfilling our mission with personal and professional integrity.

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