Great apes and gibbons The foundation's
great apes and
gibbons strategy funds projects that promote conservation of the world's
gorillas,
chimpanzees,
bonobos,
orangutans, and gibbons in 24
ape-range landscapes in 19 countries in Africa and Asia, as well as in the U.S. and Kenya, where apes are cared for outside of their range. The foundation also funds projects that advocate strengthening international protection of great apes and sanctuaries. Arcus advocates increased recognition of the rights of great apes to live free of
abuse, exploitation and private ownership. The Arcus Foundation funding provided to
Save the Chimps in 2002 purchased the 190-acre Fort Pierce facility to house and rescue chimps de-acquisitioned by the U.S. Air Force and by entertainment companies. Arcus also provided a $3.7 million grant to Save the Chimps to purchase the lab and chimpanzees of Dr.
Frederick Coulston. The foundation was also involved in the publication of
Opening Doors: Carole Noon and Her Dream to Save the Chimps, a book about
Carole Noon and her organization's efforts on behalf of apes. Arcus has also supported
Jane Goodall's work around great ape conservation in eastern
Democratic Republic of the Congo as well as that of
Max Planck Institutes and others. The foundation started "Giving Day for Apes," a fundraising event hosted by Mighty Cause and now run by the
Global Federation of Animal Sanctuaries to benefit great ape sanctuaries across Africa, Asia and North America. The foundation also supports the UN's
Great Apes Survival Partnership (GRASP) and the
International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) to address threats to the survival of great apes. The foundation publishes a series of publications entitled "State of the Apes" which reviews threats, research and policy implications for apes. The publication was first introduced at the 2014 United Nations Environment Assembly in Kenya.
LGBT rights around the world The Arcus Foundation is a major supporter of
LGBT social justice. In January 2011, the foundation made a $23 million grant to establish the Arcus Center for Social Justice Leadership at
Kalamazoo College in
Kalamazoo, Michigan. It was the largest grant in the history of the university. In 2013, the Arcus Foundation launched a new Social Justice Initiative which works with faith communities around the world to build cultural acceptance for LGBT people. In 2017, Arcus founded the Global Religions Program to work with the three
Abrahamic religions (Christianity, Judaism and Islam) to promote tolerance and advocate on behalf of the LGBTQ community. The foundation has allocated funds to promote civil liberties and oppose religious liberty exemptions, including a $600,000 grant to the
ACLU in 2013 to support the Campaign to End the Use of Religion to Discriminate, and a 2014 grant of $100,000 to the American Civil Liberties Foundation supporting “communications strategies to convince conservative Americans that religious exemptions are 'un-American'". In 2014, Arcus awarded $75,000 to the
Washington, DC–based Faithful America to “promote greater media visibility for Christians who denounce the abuse of religious-freedom arguments to oppose full equality” for LGBT people. Arcus has also awarded at least $200,000 to a coalition of groups seeking to "counter the narrative of the Catholic Church" and "to support pro-LGBT faith advocates to influence and counter the narrative of the Catholic Church and its ultra-conservative affiliates." In 2014, the foundation provided grants to organizations that address LGBTQ and immigration issues, including United We Dream Network, the
Transgender Law Center,
Astraea Lesbian Foundation for Justice and others. In April 2015, the
Catholic News Agency (CNA) published an article disclosing that the
Religion News Service (RNS), a U.S. news agency focused on religion, ethics, spirituality and moral issues, had received a grant of $120,000 from the Arcus Foundation. The grant's stated intent was “to recruit and equip LGBT supportive leaders and advocates to counter rejection and antagonism within traditionally conservative Christian churches.” The CNA story questioned whether the grant had biased RNS's coverage of traditional religion, specifically citing an RNS article on
Cardinal Raymond Burke. In response to the CNA report, RNS's editor-in-chief denied that the Arcus grant had any influence over editorial decisions at RNS. In December 2015, the Arcus Foundation announced $15 million in funding to boost the
transgender movement in the U.S. and globally to increase job opportunities and fight a "rising tide of violence against transgender people". ==Personnel==