It was launched in 2020 after the police killing of George Floyd and the #BlackLivesMatter protests at the arena. Press coverage has mainly been driven by their public relations efforts.
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Has the Social Justice Fund done some valuable things? Surely. Have they spent $5 million a year? Hard to say. Have they fulfilled their goals, for example, to create scalable programs? Maybe not.
Is the spending dwarfed by the annual tax break the Tsais get and recent gains in the value of their holdings? Dramatically.
Should they be more transparent? Yes. Are they revising their history as they go? Yes. Does the spending boost their businesses? Sometimes.
Philanthropy often operates without scrutiny or accountability, so there’s a role for journalism, especially when philanthropy helps buff the reputations of businesspeople who benefit from public largesse, such as the tax-exempt arena site.
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| From Social Justice Fund Impact Summary, annotated and updated from the version published Feb. 4. |
The new articles follow up on my previous coverage:
- Feb. 4, Has the Tsais’ Social Justice Fund Really Invested $25M “In Brooklyn” Since 2020? I analyzed the Social Justice Fund’s newly released five-year Impact Summary and found that the numbers didn’t add up.
- April 6, Art or Advertising? Behind the Tricky “You/We Belong Here” Signage Outside the Barclays Center. Is that signage really social justice? Other projects claim to combine art with social justice, but also boost the brand.
New Coverage
1) My overall analysis. Their “family office–led philanthropy” can be innovative, but its claims and spending are fuzzy. The parent “Foundation” is a cipher. Were key initiatives scalable, as intended?
The Tsais' Social Justice Fund: "Lasting Change" or Strategic Brand Management?
2) If you’re wondering about all the programs the Social Justice Fund has announced, they’re in the article below, plus details and context. If you’re wondering about programs the SJF hasn’t announced, perhaps because they’re self-serving, I’ve included them too. You can skim this one.
What Has the Social Justice Fund Been Doing for Five Years?
3) Perhaps the most important and praised Social Justice Fund program is the emergency loan program, granted without a credit check, to help BIPOC businesses in the wake of COVID. Why, though, do they not promote the successor program?
How Has the EXCELerate Loan Program for BIPOC Brooklyn Businesses Worked?
4) Another much-promoted program was a new accelerator to help minority-led start-up companies. It lasted for two rounds but isn’t being renewed. The promised connection to “Brooklyn” proved tenuous.
The Tsais' BK-XL Accelerator Put $4M+ Into 17 BIPOC-Led Start-Ups. Was This "Wealth Creation in Brooklyn"?
5) In the course of my research, I found myself comparing the Social Justice Fund website with past versions. The retcon (or retroactive continuity) is glaring: the Tsais now promote the philanthropy as the work of Clara Wu Tsai, erasing her more controversial husband.
Is Clara Wu Tsai Founder of the Social Justice Fund? No, but Claim Diverts from Joe Tsai and Alibaba
6) I found another retcon: while the Social Justice Fund once explicitly addressed race and racism, it now focuses on “economic mobility.”
The Social Justice Fund Pulls Back on Race Talk, But Grantmaking Doesn't Change Much
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