The Social Good Fund is a left-of-center nonprofit organization and donor-advised fund provider that fiscally sponsors numerous left-of-center activist and public policy advocacy organizations, including the Climate Disobedience Center and the Marsha P. Johnson Institute. While the fund generates nearly $80 million in annual revenue with $69 million in total assets, the group maintains a relatively low public profile, operating mostly through its fiscally sponsored organizations. The fund has received significant grant funding from large left-of-center grantmaking foundations, including the Ford Foundation and the MacArthur Foundation. ^{1 2}

The organization’s founder, President, and CEO is Michael Pace. ³

Background

The Social Good Fund was founded in 2014 by Michael Pace, who previously operated a legal services company. The fund reported $2.3 million in revenue in 2015 and grew significantly over the next decade, raising $95 million in 2022 revenue and $79 million in 2023. The fund provides fiscal sponsorship to many left-of-center organizations and advocacy groups, lending such projects back office services and the use of the Social Good Fund’s 501(c)(3) tax-exempt status. In addition to its fiscally sponsored projects, the fund operates donor-advised funds (DAFs) similarly to other donor-advised fund providers, such as Fidelity Charitable and Schwab Charitable, and makes grants to other charitable nonprofits. The Fund also provides operations, financial management, and fundraising resources for its fiscal projects and other organizations. Notable groups funded by the fund include the Climate Disobedience Center and the Marsha P. Johnson Institute. ^{4 1}

The Social Good Fund lists over 100 organizations on its website as fiscally sponsored organizations and allows any group to apply online to receive fiscal sponsorship. The fund charges a $29 monthly fee to all sponsored organizations and either 8 percent or 6.5 percent of all revenue received. ⁵

Projects and Funding

The Social Good Fund sponsors a number of internal and external left-of-center advocacy and cultural projects with focuses ranging across issue areas and interest groups, including climate, race, gender, education, arts, and LGBT issues. ^{6 1}

As of 2024, notable Social Good Fund projects include the Climate Disobedience Center, Turnout Nation, PeoplesHub, the Marsha P. Johnson Institute, Dayenu: A Jewish Call to Climate Action, and CorpWatch. ¹

The Climate Disobedience Center (CDC) is a far-left environmentalist agitation group known for “nonviolent civil disobedience projects,” which include placing false bids for public lands, blocking pipeline construction projects, and closing manual shut-off valves carrying Canadian oil into the United States. ^{7 8}

Other projects include the Youth Democracy Institute, Earth Story, BIPOC Sex Worker Writing Space (BSWWS), Blue Heart, the Better Parks Project, the Legacy of Excellence Foundation, the Fair Budget Coalition (Washington D.C.), the African Human Rights Coalition, Health Care Voices, and TACT (Trans Advocacy and Care Team). ¹

HBCUvc is a project of the Social Good Fund that has received significant funding from the Ford Foundation and the MacArthur Foundation. The project is designed to aid students at Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) in entrepreneurship by “equipping HBCU students, alumni, faculty, and allies with the knowledge, networks, and capital access needed to thrive in the innovation economy.” ¹

HBUvc has also been funded by the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative, the Roy and Patricia Disney Family Foundation, and Target. ⁹ The MacArthur Foundation provided $600,000 to HBCUvc from 2020 to 2023. ¹⁰

In 2023, the Ford Foundation provided $400,000 to the Social Good Fund as “Core support for ADA Watch [AKA CDRJ] project, an alliance of national, state and local disability, civil and human rights, and social justice organizations united to advance and defend the human rights of people with all types of disabilities.” ¹¹

In 2021, the Ford Foundation provided $85,000 to the fund for core support for “Peacock Rebellion to advance the artistic work of queer and trans people of color, and build a culture of social justice, with a foundation in healing and disability justice.” ¹²

The David and Lucille Packard Foundation contributed a total of $260,333 from 2022 to 2024 to support projects including Salted Roots and Brown Girl Surf. ¹³

Leadership

Michael Pace is the founder, president, and CEO of the Social Good Fund. In 2022, the organization reported paying him $182,998. ¹⁴

1. “Current Projects.” SocialGood, February 13, 2024. https://www.socialgoodfund.org/fiscal-sponsorship/current-projects/.
2. “About Our Sponsorship.” Social Good Fund. Accessed July 11, 2025. https://www.socialgoodfund.org/fiscal-sponsorship/about-our-sponsorship/
3.  “User Profile: Michael Pace”. LinkedIn. Accessed July 13, 2025. https://www.linkedin.com/in/michael-pace-a64a71a3/
4. ^[1] Leonard Robinson III. “A SURJ of Social Justice from the Social Good Fund.” Capital Research Center. March 14, 2019. Accessed July 13, 2025. https://capitalresearch.org/article/a-surj-of-social-justice-from-the-social-good-fund/
5. “FAQ.” Social Good Fund. Accessed July 11, 2025. https://www.socialgoodfund.org/fiscal-sponsorship/faq/
6. Social Good Fund, Return of Organization Exempt from Income Tax (Form 990), 2022, Part III Line 4a https://projects.propublica.org/nonprofits/organizations/461323531/202313189349316041/full
7. DeChristopher, Tim. “About Tim DeChristopher.” Timdechristopher.org. Accessed July 13, 2025. http://www.timdechristopher.org/about
8. “Current Support.” Climate Disobedience Center. Accessed July 13, 2025. http://www.climatedisobedience.org/current_support
9. HBCUvc. Accessed July 11, 2025. https://www.hbcu.vc/
10. “Social Good Fund.” MacArthur Foundation. Accessed July 11, 2025. https://www.macfound.org/grantee/social-good-fund-10115316/
11. “Social Good Fund Inc.” Ford Foundation. Accessed July 11, 2025. https://www.fordfoundation.org/work/our-grants/awarded-grants/grants-database/social-good-fund-inc-142916/
12. “Social Good Fund Inc.” Ford Foundation. Accessed July 11, 2025. https://www.fordfoundation.org/work/our-grants/awarded-grants/grants-database/social-good-fund-inc-141769/
13. “Social Good Fund Inc.” David and Lucile Packard Foundation. Accessed July 11, 2025. https://www.packard.org/grantee/social-good-fund-inc/?cn-reloaded=1
14. Social Good Fund, Return of Organization Exempt from Income Tax (Form 990), 2022, Part VII Section A https://projects.propublica.org/nonprofits/organizations/461323531/202313189349316041/full