Past and Spin-Off Initiatives

Many Open Society Institute initiatives are established with pre-determined life cycles and funding levels. Over the years, several of them have been either closed down completely or spun off as entities that are no longer affiliated with OSI.

The list below contains a sampling of past initiatives that fall into both categories. The links provide access to archived material of concluded initiatives or go directly to independent organizations.

Arts Initiative
The Arts Initiative (1998-2002) focused on exploring the role of the arts and fostering civil society in the United States. Grants supported policy initiatives related to free expression and increased participation in arts activities for all citizens, efforts to strenghten organization capacity, and special projects that engaged the public on issues relevant to the goals of OSI.

Constitutional and Legal Policy Institute (COLPI)
COLPI contributed to the development of open societies in the countries of Central and Eastern Europe, Central Asia, and Mongolia by promoting the rule of law, respect for human rights, and modern democratic institutions. In 2002, COLPI was reconstituted as the Open Society Justice Initiative, which is affiliated with OSI.

Drug Policy Alliance
The Drug Policy Alliance works to end the war on drugs in the United States and to promote new drug policies based on science, compassion, health and human rights. The organization, formerly known as The Lindesmith Center – Drug Policy Foundation, has been spun off from OSI.

Emma Lazarus Fund
The Emma Lazarus Fund (1996-2000) focused on combatting the unfair treatment of immigrants in the United States. In its final year, it was the lead funder of the Los Angeles Immigrant Funders' Collaborative, which provides grants to nonprofit organizations that support the needs of immigrant and refugee communities in the areas of health care, education, civic participation, and economic development.

Forced Migration Projects
The Forced Migration Projects (1994-1999) sought to promote an open society and the rule of law by encouraging state responsibility and respect for the human rights of refugees and displaced persons.

Funders' Collaborative for Gun Violence Prevention
The Funders' Collaborative for Gun Violence Prevention (1998-2002) supported projects that reduce the harm caused by the widespread availability and misuse of guns. The collaborative was funded by OSI, the Irene Diamond Fund, and private donors. In April 2000, the initiative released Gun Control in the United States: A Comparative Survey of State Firearm Laws.

Governance and Public Policy
The Program on Governance and Public Policy (1998-2003) sought to strengthen the institutions of representative democracy in the United States, to reengage citizens in public life, and to ensure that public services respond to public needs.

Internet Program
The Internet Program (1994-2000) assisted Soros foundations and other Soros-supported organizations in delivering access, content, training and constituency building over the Internet to assist in acheiving open societies. In 2001, the Internet Program became a part of OSI's Information Program.

Landmines Project
The Landmines Project (1997-2001) supported nongovernmentalorganizations working to halt the use of landmines around the world, restore the land to communities, and assist survivors.

Library Program
The Library Program (1995-2000) helped transform libraries in newly democratic countries into true public, service-oriented centers. In 2000, the Library Program became a part of OSI's Information Program.

Program on Law and Society
The Program on Law Society (1997-2003) worked to expand access to civil legal assistance for low-income and marginalized communities in the United States, to protect the impartiality of U.S. courts, and to promote professional and public interest values over marketplace values in the U.S. legal profession. In 2003, many of the program's key grantmaking initiatives were brought within the broader U.S. Justice Fund. View a complete list of Program on Law and Society grants.

Program on Reproductive Health and Rights
The Program on Reproductive Health and Rights (1997-2003) promoted reproductive freedom as a core element in advancing women’s civil liberties and human rights, and in securing larger social and economic opportunities for women and their families.

Project on Death In America
The Project on Death in America (1994-2003) sought to transform the culture and experience of dying and bereavement by fostering innovations in the provision of care, public education, professional education, and public policy.

Soros Documentary Fund
The Soros Documentary Fund (1996-2001) supported the production of documentaries on social justice and human rights issues from around the world. The program closed in the summer of 2001 and was spun off to the Sundance Institute in Los Angeles, California.

Southern Initiative
The Southern Initiative (1999-2002) supported grassroots organizations working to enhance political and educational opportunities and reform criminal justice in the southern United States.

The After-School Corporation (TASC)
TASC is a nonprofit organization dedicated to enhancing the quality and availability of in-school after-school programs in New York City, New York State and, eventually, across the United States. TASC has been spun off from OSI.