2023 Annual Report

so our communities can THRIVE.

Photo: Giniw Collective

Dear friends,

2023 was a transformative year at JustFund.

As we round the corner into 2024, we celebrate the $266 million that our funding community has moved to historically excluded communities.

We launched our flagship JustFund Common ApplicationTM making it simple for over 12,000 nonprofits to apply to over 140 funding opportunities, while saving them over 34 years of time. We believe that if funders change the way we give, our communities will thrive. JustFund seeks to make it easy for funders to make that choice.

In 2023, JustFund launched JustFund Search to help individual donors, program officers, and philanthropic advisors find and fund new organizations. We also introduced new features and products including our review and scoring tool to help funders manage participatory decision-making processes.

In addition, we raised nearly $7M of our $10M growth capital campaign from values-aligned, grants-based investors who chose to partner with JustFund to accelerate our product development and establish critical infrastructure to scale our impact.

Our incredible, expert team has grown as well: we introduced a new operations team, tripled our customer experience team, all while standing up an in-house product team. Our founding team members continue to thrive at JustFund, with Rachel Hyatt, Melody Lee, and myself continuing to anchor JustFund’s expansion in alignment with our core values.

We are ready for 2024 as we prepare to help funders collectively change the way we give, so our communities can thrive. We are poised to reach $500M moved, become a product-first SaaS company, and establish JustFund as the #1 destination for equitable grantmaking. Before we dive into 2024, we’re excited to take a look back with you at 2023 and celebrate our company and community’s major milestones, as we work together to #resetphilanthropy, for good.

Iara Peng (she/her) Founder and CEO

JustFund is the only common grant application platform connecting funders to leaders and organizations that are advancing social and racial justice.

Photo: Seedlings 4 Solidarity

2023 Milestones

In 2023, our team focused on building JustFund’s capacity and maturing our product so we are set up to seamlessly operate, deliver high quality service with realized efficiencies, move more money to movements, and continue to innovate through a financially sustainable model.

APRIL - JUNE

• Established our in-house product team

• Launched the new JustFund Common ApplicationTM

• Introduced JustFund’s Help Center and chatbot with nearly 100 articles

JANUARY - MARCH

• Saved applicants a collective 30 years of time

• Launched our net promoter score for applicants and funders

• Celebrated running over 350 grant cycles on JustFund

JULY - SEPTEMBER

• Reached $250M moved to movements

• Optimized accessibility features into the JustFund platform and website

• Raised $5M in grant-based growth capital

OCTOBER - DECEMBER

• Released our new review and scoring tool, simplifying the commenting, scoring, and decision making steps for our funders

• Introduced self-serve access for our grants management service

• Soft-launched JustFund Search to nearly 100 philanthropic advisors, program officers, and high net-wealth individuals

Aligning your grantmaking practice with your values has never been easier.

2023 by The Numbers

JustFund moves money to historically excluded communities, which is not only equitable, but strategic. We believe to make progress on the issues we care about, we must fund people with direct lived experience; people closest to the issues are closest to the solutions.

The data from JustFunders and their applicant networks tells the story of where resources are needed and where dollars are moving.

113

Budget Size of Organizations Who Have Received Funding:

<$500,000: 41%

$500,000 - $1M: 15%

$1M - $2M: 17%

$2 - $5M: 13%

$5M+: 14%

11,883 $71M 299,900

3,690 $50,458

Where Money is Going:

State: $93.12 million

National: $74.92 million

Local: $40.81 million

Regional: $24.69 million

6 years 2,214 88,560 34

501c3: 94%

501c4: 3%

Other: 2%

Federally recognized tribe: <1%

Organizations Funded By Region

South: 32%

West: 23%

Midwest: 19%

Northeast: 18%

US Territory: 8%

Issue Areas

Racial Justice - 18%

Democracy and Civic Engagement - 16%

Economic Justice - 13%

Environmental Justice / Climate Justice / Nature - 9%

Human Rights / Civil Rights and Liberties - 7%

Immigration - 5%

Healthcare Rights / Wellness / Public Health - 5%

Gender and Reproductive Justice - 4%

Education - 4%

Criminal Justice - 4%

Equitable Development - 3%

Housing / Homelessness - 3%

Food Justice - 3%

LGBTQ+ - 3%

Transportation / Utilities / Public Infrastructure - 1%

Other - 2%

We believe philanthropy shouldn’t be about barriers and bottlenecks, and that communities should have access to the resources they need to thrive.

JustFund was developed in 2017 by funders and organizers of color, with a new approach to moving money: one that is values-aligned, rooted in equity, and built on trust. Our model introduces the nation’s first common grant application platform that makes it simple and easy to move resources to historically excluded communities.

As a nonprofit, we’re not here to make money, we’re here to move money. In our early adopter period, we have built a uniquely dynamic solution that is transforming outdated systems and structures that prevent money from moving to communities working on the frontlines of the most critical and pressing issues facing our nation.

JustFund has been a trusted partner to over 140 funds and foundations that want to align their values with their practices by leveraging the JustFund Common ApplicationTM, saving their applicants valuable time and providing them access to dozens of other funding opportunities. From national foundations, donor networks, family foundations, collaborative funds, and community foundations - funders are saying yes to a new way of giving: one that puts our communities first.

moreaboutthe JustFundCommon

Photo: NOLA Artist Incubator

Photo: Peace of Mind, Inc.

Photo: Zero Hour

JustFund Is Core Infrastructure

Our unique technology saves applicants dozens of hours, allowing them to use their common application each time they apply for funding, democratizing access to resources. All applications are aggregated into a searchable database that allows funders to search for applicants that meet their interests and priorities, utilizing dozens of filters, and leveraging funding decisions from the growing JustFund community.

Quotes From Our Clients

“It’s time for philanthropy to become part of the solution, not part of the problem. That starts with democratizing our sector. JustFund is a critical partner when it comes to addressing the power dynamic of philanthropy and democratizing our work. With their partnership, we’re making informed and efficient decisions about how to move money in a way that will support a more equitable future.”

- Edgar Villanueva, Founder and Principal, Decolonizing Wealth Project and Liberated Capital

“We wouldn’t have been able to do this work without JustFund. We have been building our strategy and process over the last three years, but had we not linked up with JustFund as a partner, we would not have been able to move money in the way we want, with the values and principles that we want.”

- Melody Baker, Director of Programs and Strategy, Amplify Fund at Neighborhood Funders Group

“The JustFund Common ApplicationTM was simple and great, both for us as the funder and our community partners! I like the idea that our partners can use their common application to leverage additional funding.”

- Emi Wang, Director for Capacity Building, The Greenlining Institute

Whatis JustFundSearch?

Why Funders Choose JustFund

• We provide a uniquely simple experience for funders and their applicants.

• The JustFund Common Application™ frees up valuable time so applicants can focus on their mission and funders can focus on transformative relationships.

• Applicants have access to other funding opportunities - in perpetuity, and for free.

• JustFund tracks funding across networks and across the entire community to share who is funding what.

• JustFund’s custom dashboards simplify docket preparation and data analysis for funders.

• Each application profile is available in JustFund Search for philanthropic advisors, program officers, and high net-wealth individuals to find and fund.

• JustFund is the only nonprofit solution designed to move money, not make money, and the only platform that focuses on helping funders align their grantmaking practice with their core values.

Why We Built JustFund

Dollars Sitting Idle:

There’s an estimated $234 billion in assets parked in Donor Advised Funds (DAFs), that could be invested into historically excluded communities.1

Disparity in Distribution:

In 2020, BIPOC-led organizations received 4% of $472 billion, and Blackled organizations remained 91% smaller than their white-led counterparts.2

Capacity Crunch:

Applying for grants takes time away from mission-advancing work. 40% of grant applications take more than a week and cost over $5,000.3

What’s New in the Platform

JustFund is focused on optimizing our core products to provide philanthropy with a values-aligned grantmaking solution. Our two core products are focused on moving more money to movements, allowing funders to manage grant cycles and search for new organizations through our JustFund Common ApplicationTM

JUSTFUND APPLY

The entire application process is simple and easy for applicants and funders, offering funders three service levels to align their grantmaking practice with their values: Basic, Standard and Premium.

Funders can manage their entire grantmaking process through the JustFund platform from setting up their RFP, inviting groups to apply, reviewing and scoring applications, and analyzing data via their custom dashboards.

“If we change the way we give, communities can thrive.”

- Iara Peng, JustFund Founder and

CEO

Learn moreabout JustFund’sevolution

JUSTFUND SEARCH

Individual donors, philanthropic advisors and program officers looking for new grantees can now find and fund within our growing database of over 12,000 nonprofits and fiscally sponsored projects.

Funders use over a dozen filters to ensure they find projects and organizations at the intersection of their interests and priorities.

Funders can opt into various learning modules powered by our partners to better understand complex issues and receive daily or weekly emails with recommended grantee lists.

1 National Philanthropic Trust, The 2023 DAF Report https://www.nptrust.org/reports/daf-report/

2 “Racial Equity and Philanthropy: Disparities in Funding for Leaders of Color Leave Impact on the Table,” The Bridgespan Group and Echoing Green, 2020 https://www.bridgespan.org/insights/disparities-nonprofit-funding-for-leaders-of-color

3 “Shallow Review of Grant Writing,” Charity Science

Our Community Who’s With Us

JustFund helps philanthropy reimagine the way we give: from donors looking to fund groups new to their networks to foundations that want to center equity in their grantmaking, JustFund’s unique technology and expert team ensure that funders and their applicants experience grantmaking and grantseeking processes that are rooted in equity and built on trust.

Over 140 funders have said yes to the JustFund solution. Hear directly from our partners in the case studies that follow how JustFund has transformed their giving and helped them center equity in their grantmaking.

Meet some of the funders who are working to #resetphilanthropy, for good:

Photo: KEVIN CHANG 11

Stories of Impact

Constellations Culture Change Fund moved $1,000,000 through JustFund in 2023

ABOUT CONSTELLATIONS CULTURE CHANGE FUND

The Constellations Culture Change Fund housed at The Center for Cultural Power, was imagined and designed by BIPOC grassroots cultural practitioners from the ground up. Constellations is dedicated to the redistribution of resources to advance BIPOC cultural and narrative power, and build collective power among BIPOC Artist Disruptors, Culture Bearers and cultural strategy organizations working at the intersection of arts, culture and social justice, and provides a unique opportunity for funders to grow the cultural strategy field at this intersection.

WHAT THEY LOVE ABOUT JUSTFUND

• A values-centered partnership rooted in trust, transparency, and resourcefulness

• The ability to ensure applicants have equitable access to grant applications

• Organizational profiles allow for more visibility and opportunities for additional resourcing

““We really want to shift the worldview from one of domination towards one of liberation and collaboration…a world where power and resources are distributed more equitably. It was a gift to learn about and work with JustFund and we couldn’t do our work without them.”

- Cinthia Carvajal, Grantmaking Strategist

The California Wellness Foundation moved $633,000 through JustFund in 2023

ABOUT THE CALIFORNIA WELLNESS FOUNDATION

The California Wellness Foundation seeks to protect and improve the health and wellness of the people of California by increasing access to health care, quality education, good jobs, healthy environments, and safe neighborhoods.

Cal Wellness partnered with JustFund with a desire to find new grantees and identify emerging issues in California, with a specific focus on finding smaller organizations seeking to build capacity and take that important next step in their growth.

WHAT THEY LOVE ABOUT JUSTFUND

• Grantees reported that they were thrilled that Cal Wellness found them and that the platform was working as they hoped - by getting in front of funders without spending time they didn’t have on filling out multiple applications.

• The partnership with JustFund helped inform Cal Wellness about the current priorities and needs of smaller nonprofits across the state. It has contributed to their process of listening and learning as they undergo strategic planning for the future, especially among smaller and lesser-funded organizations.

Emergent Fund moved $2,081,380 through JustFund in 2023, with $11,267,076 moved to over 1,000 organizations since joining JustFund

ABOUT EMERGENT FUND

In the aftermath of the 2016 election, the Emergent Fund launched to issue rapid response organizing funding to organizations mobilizing for change in the face of crisis or social catalyst. As a movement-aligned and participatory fund led by queer women of color Emergent Fund partnered with JustFund so they can be nimble in times when the movement of money is most critical.

WHAT THEY LOVE ABOUT JUSTFUND

• Efficiently responding to organizers and moving funds as quickly as possible

• Sharing feedback from applicants and seeing that feedback implemented by JustFund onto the platform

• Ability for organizers to access values-aligned funders

• Ability to fund grantees they’ve never funded before with just one click and without needing a brandnew application

• Reviewing the wide range of movement work happening in real-time through their dashboard

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“Here’s a powerful example of how JustFund has had an impact: We had a grantee, who in the midst of the political uprisings and protests, was able to apply for funding from the floor of a prison while offering jail support to arrested protestors. This meant the world for their organization and their peers who surrounded them.”

- Angela Vo, Senior Program Officer

Zoom Cares moved $446,250 through JustFund in 2023

ABOUT ZOOM CARES

Zoom established the Zoom Cares foundation during the height of the pandemic to support organizations focused on youth mental health, climate solutions, innovative learning, and social equity. Their goal was to reach BIPOC-led organizations that have operating budgets under $5 million and to build long-term funding sustainability for their nonprofit partners.

WHAT THEY LOVE ABOUT JUSTFUND

• The JustFund Common ApplicationTM is innovative and creates a seamless experience for their applicants, saving them time and exposing them to multiple funding opportunities

• It is easy to share nonprofit partner profiles and to pull key information into a beautiful and easy-tounderstand format

• Nearly every organization on the JustFund platform is values-aligned and meets the criteria for funding from Zoom Cares

“

“We have been impressed with JustFund’s attention to detail and how they constantly evolve the platform to ensure applicants have the best experience possible.”

- Erica Esposito, Grantmaking Partnerships Program Manager

Applicant Spotlight

Applicants on JustFund use our flagship common grant application to save time and be able to efficiently apply to other funding opportunities. The impact on organizations around the country is significant. Collectively they have already saved 34 years of time they would have spent applying for funding that they can put toward mission-advancing work. Hear what some of our 12,000+ applicants have to say about their experience on JustFund:

“ ““This is my first time using the common application and I find this experience to be one that is logical and useful especially to an under-resourced organization. I hope that we are able to be seen for the capacity we deserve to have to achieve the incredible work we do at a faster pace - near equal to the pace at which systems work with historically damaging outcomes that we hope to stop.”

- NWA Black Heritage

“The process was seamless and clear. The platform provides a welcome process for organizations with limited capacity and no specified job responsibility to fundraise, to apply for funding partnership.”

- Florida Restorative Justice Association

Financials

JustFund is a nonprofit company focused on ensuring our communities can thrive by helping to move more resources to the frontlines. Our goal is to have our service fees cover our expenses and for any future additional earned income to generate sustainable funding to the funds and applicants on our platform. Until that time, JustFund relies on the grant-based investments from our core partners who make it possible for JustFund to grow our team, invest in our product and accelerate our impact.

The JustFund Team

We are proud to have a team of dynamic individuals with backgrounds spanning nonprofits, campaigning, fundraising, engineering, SaaS, and more.

Our Board of Directors

Looking Ahead To 2024

JustFund is preparing to move our first billion dollars using our unique solution. In 2024, we are focused on:

01. Becoming the #1 destination for equitable grantmaking

02. Reaching $500M moved to historically excluded communities

03. Operating as a SaaS company

Join Us

Help us get to our goals faster by contributing grant-based growth capital. Contact iara@justfund.us to learn more.

Stay connected with JustFund by joining us on our social platforms or subscribing to our newsletter

Let’s get to know each other! Request a funder demo and connect directly with our Founder and CEO to see how JustFund can help you align your grantmaking practice with your core values.

The Hill-Snowdon Foundation

Iara Peng (she/her) Founder and CEO, JustFund

Molly Schultz Hafid (she/her) Executive Director, Butler Family Fund

Steve Phillips (he/his) President, Sandler Phillips Center