Disrupt is the Podjarny family foundation. We seek to disrupt the status quo of social injustice by supporting people, local communities and organisations working for positive change, and by amplifying their impact through technology.
Disrupt was established in 2021 and is incorporated and registered in England and Wales with registered charity number 1198872, company number 13738626.
As a new foundation, we are on a learning journey as we build our strategy. We are a small team and we currently primarily work proactively to seek out organisations, rather than assessing unsolicited applications.
We aim to build a relationship of trust with those we support, and hope over time to explore new and more participatory models of giving. We prefer to give organisations core funding, and we hope to offer grantees not only funding but also the tools to grow and scale their work, either through tech solutions or through other organisational resources.
Disrupt makes grants to organisations and people whose mission aligns with ours. At this early stage in our development, we will mostly reach out to organisations directly as we learn the needs of the communities we work with.
What we look for
We want to tackle the root causes of a problem, not the symptoms, and we believe this can be achieved using a multilevel approach.
Alongside our long-term work for change, we want to be able to identify and respond to current external opportunities and urgent needs.
We will not fund pure service providers, unless the provision is levered to effect long-term social change.
We will not fund activities that are run by, dependent on or chiefly funded by government agencies.
Our current focus is on grassroots organisations, initiatives and activists from marginalised communities, who employ an intersectional sociopolitical and gender approach.
In the UK, we currently support organisations that engage with:
Migrant Rights and Racial Justice
Social and Economic Rights
In Israel/Palestine, we currently support community organising initiatives. Disrupt Foundation is firmly opposed to the occupation of the Palestinian territories, to measures of apartheid, and to all human rights violations against Palestinians and other oppressed or marginalised communities.
We have a cross-sectional interest in tech solutions for social change and will work with grantees to develop their abilities in this field.
To get in touch, please email contact@disrupt.org.