Ploughshares Fund
 | |
| Formation | 1981 |
|---|---|
| Founder | Sally Lilienthal |
| Location |
|
President | Emma Belcher |
Chair | Terry Gamble Boyer |
| Website | ploughshares |
Ploughshares Fund is a public grantmaking foundation that supports initiatives to prevent the spread and use of nuclear weapons, and to prevent conflicts that could lead to their use.[1] Ploughshares Fund is a 501(c)(3) foundation that pools contributions from individuals, families and foundations.[2] Ploughshares Fund enables individual contributors to pool resources and provide support for initiatives[3] to prevent the spread and use of nuclear weapons. With over $100 million awarded in grants since its founding in 1981, Ploughshares Fund is the largest US philanthropic foundation focused exclusively on nuclear weapons.[4]
History
Concerned about the world's burgeoning nuclear arsenals, San Francisco philanthropist and activist Sally Lilienthal founded the organization in 1981. Since it was founded, Ploughshares has made grants totaling nearly $100 million to hundreds of people and organizations around the world.[4][5] Lilienthal died in October 2006, at the age of 87, while still serving as Ploughshares Fund's president.[6]
In 2008, the Board of Directors appointed Joseph Cirincione as Ploughshares Fund's president, the same year that the organization opened an office in Washington, DC.[7][8] Cirincione stepped down as president in July 2020 and was succeeded by Dr. Emma Belcher, formerly of the MacArthur Foundation.[9]
Issue areas
Ploughshares Fund's grantmaking is focused on the following issues:
- Promoting the reduction and eventual elimination of nuclear weapons
- Preventing the emergence of new nuclear states
- Building regional peace and security[10]
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