OVERVIEW: The Levi Strauss Foundation seeks organizations that advance the rights and well-being of apparel workers in regions of the world in which Levi’s products are made. While not a big global health funder, the foundation supports international HIV/AIDS work and addresses related human rights issues in the 40 countries where it markets and manufactures its apparel. The Levi Strauss Foundation’s human rights grants largely focus on the rights and protections of textile workers. However, this funder awards grants for other rights work as well such as the rights of sex workers, social justice causes, and women’s rights.
IP TAKE: This funder typically awards grants for project specific support rather than those for general operating support. Levi Strauss conducts work nationally and globally, but remains inaccessible and less unapproachable, making it a tough nut to crack. While the foundation’s staff is proactive and seeks those conducting gaming-changing work in the foundation’s areas of interest, plenty of organizations contact this foundation, so make a succinct pitch if a program officer seems interested and your work might get advanced. Grants are highly competitive here. This is also a collaborative funder that likes to give multi-year grants and is in for the “long haul.” Persistence is key here — assuming your work aligns with the foundation’s.
Global health organizations can improve their chances of getting Levi Strauss support by emphasizing how their work aligns with the foundation's HIV/AIDS funding priorities.
PROFILE: The Levi Strauss Foundation was established as the philanthropic arm of Levi Strauss & Company in 1952. It was also the first U.S. corporate donor to combat HIV/AIDS through a donation to San Francisco General Hospital in 1982. The foundation supports “advances in human rights and well-being of underserved populations,” that are “touched” by the apparel and textile industry. Around 68 percent of the world’s apparel workers are women and around 45 percent of people working in the textile industry are women. Levi’s grantmaking interests include HIV/AIDS, asset building, worker rights and well-being, human rights and social justice, and employee engagement.
Grants for Global Health
Since it began working on HIV/AIDS issues in 1982, Levi Strauss has supported the most marginalized populations by addressing stigma and discrimination in laws, policies, and social settings, building advocacy capacity for vulnerable groups affected by HIV/AIDS, and providing direct services (such as prevention, testing, and treatment) for apparel workers.
As noted above, the foundation is not strictly interested in the health aspects of the HIV virus, but also seeks to improve the social and political infrastructure contributing to and exacerbating the spread of HIV through discrimination, entrenched poverty, lack of services, and human rights violations generally. Recent grantees include Intercambios Asociación Civil of Argentina, AIDS Legal Network, and The Coalition of Asia Pacific Regional Networks on HIV/AIDS.
Grants for Women and Girls
The foundation takes a broad approach to women-related grantmaking in order to better adapt to women and girl’s needs. While much of its human rights work focuses on women and girls, the foundation gives to this space in a variety of ways. Past grantees range from La Cocina’s work to help low-income women start and expand their food businesses to Mercado Global’s work, which combats poverty and seeks to empower indigenous women living in Guatemala’s highlands.
Grants for Global Human Rights and Economic Development
The foundation seeks to advance “the human rights and well-being of underserved populations” that are a part of the apparel and textile industry. However, it also provides more broad grantmaking toward women’s rights, sex workers, and social justice causes both in the U.S. and abroad. Past grantees include the Asia Foundation, which received an award for its program to improve and strengthen garment workers’ access to legal aid in Bangladesh and to improve industrial relations and worker protections and rights in Cambodia. Sampada Gramin Mahila Sanstha, or SANGRAM, is also a past Levi Strauss Foundation grantee. SANGRAM received a grant to support its projects building leadership in the sex worker community in India, fighting against stigma, and advocating for health and human rights of sex workers.
Grants for LGBTQ
While the foundation does not have a grantmaking program specifically dedicated to LGBTQ causes, its tax filings indicate a strong interest in this field. Levi’s grantmaking interests include HIV/AIDS, worker rights and well-being and social justice. Past LGBTQ grantees include the Transgender Law Center, which received funding for its leadership development and advocacy of transgender women living with HIV/AIDS living in the United States; and the Equality Foundation of Georgia, which received a grant for its advocacy and leadership development of black, gay men in the United States.
Grants for Violence Prevention
While the foundation does not have a grantmaking program specifically dedicated to anti-violence causes, its tax filings indicate an interest in this field, particularly in terms of gender-based and anti-gay violence. Past grantees in this space include Callisto, which received a grant related to its work with women’s human rights and sexual violence; and St. James Infirmary in support of its work addressing HIV/AIDS discrimination and violence as well as advancing the rights of sex workers in San Francisco, California.
Important Grant Details:
Grant amounts typically range from $10,000 to $50,000, but may go as high as $250,000. To get a broader sense of the types of organizations the Levi Strauss Foundation supports, explore its grant list. Note that the Levi Strauss Foundation primarily supports work in cities and regions where it has a significant business or manufacturing presence, such as the San Francisco Bay Area, New York, Atlanta, and Washington D.C., as well as over forty countries, including China, Argentina, South Africa, Thailand, and Mexico. The foundation does not accept unsolicited requests for funding.
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