The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, one of the largest philanthropic organizations in the United States, has shifted its grantmaking strategy in recent years to focus more heavily on social justice issues, particularly those related to race and identity. In 2023, the foundation distributed over $524.6 million in grants and reported net assets exceeding $7.3 billion, making it a leading funder among major American foundations.
Founded in 1969 by Ailsa Mellon Bruce and Paul Mellon, children of former Treasury Secretary Andrew W. Mellon, the foundation has long supported the arts, culture, and humanities. According to Joel L. Fleishman’s book “The Foundation,” Paul Mellon’s influence shaped the organization’s priorities for decades through his interests and convictions.
Under current president Elizabeth Alexander—described by the foundation as “a nationally recognized thought leader on race, justice, the arts, and American society”—the Mellon Foundation announced a significant strategic change in June 2020. The organization stated it would prioritize “social justice in all of its grantmaking.” Alexander said that going forward every grant would be used to contribute “in some demonstrable way to a more fair and just society.”
One of the most prominent examples of this new direction is the Monuments Project. Launched with an initial commitment of $250 million in 2020—later doubled to $500 million—the project aims to reshape public memory by funding new monuments and altering or removing existing ones that do not reflect what the foundation sees as an inclusive narrative. The project’s goal is to “recalibrate the assumed center of our national narratives to include those who have often been denied historical recognition.”
By 2024, Mellon had awarded $215.1 million through 112 Monuments Project grants across nonprofits, governmental entities (including tribal governments), and one foreign recipient in South Africa. Major grants have gone toward memorializing histories connected with slavery at sites such as Richmond’s Shockoe Bottom ($11 million), James Madison’s Montpelier ($5.7 million), and Thomas Jefferson’s Monticello ($3.5 million).
A key partner in this initiative is Monument Lab, a nonprofit that has received at least $12 million from Mellon since 2020 for projects including a National Monument Audit intended to guide future funding decisions. The audit concluded that U.S. monuments are predominantly dedicated to white men and themes of war or conquest—a finding echoed by Alexander: “our commemorative landscape needs to change if we are to move towards a more just and equitable future.”
The foundation’s approach has drawn criticism from some observers who argue it prioritizes group identities over shared national values or individual merit.
As Brenda Hafera from the Heritage Foundation wrote: “Is the ethos of America best represented by the equitable portrayal of identity characteristics? Or is it our unifying maxim enshrined in the Declaration of Independence that all men are created equal…?” She continued: “The Mellon Foundation…seeks to displace the value of human equality with that of inclusivity.”
The changes at Mellon come amid broader scrutiny over how large philanthropic organizations use their resources—especially given their tax-exempt status—to shape public discourse about history and identity.
