Imaginable Futures (IF) is an education and social change funder that supports organizations and their collaborative efforts to advance equity in education and spark possibility.
Through collaborations, we hope to catalyze change that enables all learners to thrive, specifically across Brazil, Kenya and the United States.
Imaginable Futures has invested over $330 million in more than 265 partners.
Justice – Justice is rooted in genuine respect for all people and addressing the structural barriers that have unfairly excluded people from opportunity. At Imaginable Futures, justice means creating learning systems where every person—especially those who have faced exclusion because of race, class, gender, geography, life experience or circumstance—has a real chance to thrive.
Equity – Equity means being fair and impartial, recognizing that not everyone starts from the same place and providing the tailored support people need to succeed internally and externally. As funders, we invest in the people, systems and ideas that move communities toward equity in education—and, in doing so, toward greater opportunity.
Diversity – Diversity means the full range of identities, perspectives, circumstances and lived experiences that shape our world. Given our cross-geographic footprint, we value the opportunity to listen, learn and engage across all dimensions—race, ethnicity, gender, age, ability, culture, geography, politics and more—because better ideas and outcomes emerge when we see and hear from all sides.
Inclusion – Inclusion means creating environments—internally and externally—where everyone feels welcome, respected, valued and able to contribute meaningfully. At Imaginable Futures, inclusion means sharing power in ways that support true collaboration, where all participants feel they can fully engage, contribute and belong.
Imaginable Futures, formerly the education initiative at the Omidyar Network, spun out as an independent organization in 2020. When we became independent, we brought with us our learnings and relationships built over many years, as well as a portfolio of invested capital and grants. Omidyar Network is a distinct entity and a sister organization within The Omidyar Group, also founded and funded by Pam and Pierre Omidyar.
Imaginable Futures is a venture of The Omidyar Group. The Omidyar Group creates, funds and fosters a diverse collection of independent organizations and initiatives, all united in the pursuit of ideas that have the potential to create positive change in the lives of people and societies. Learn more about The Omidyar Group.
With a global team in Brazil, Kenya and the U.S., Imaginable Futures has invested over $330 million in more than 265 partners since 2009.
Historically, our portfolio has contained a wide variety of investments—from equity investments to loans to multi-year general operating grants to smaller research and project grants—across Brazil, Sub-Saharan Africa and the U.S. When we were a part of Omidyar Network, we also made investments across Latin America and India.
We identify partners on a rolling basis through research, listening and learning alongside partners and collaborators. All of our partners align with our strategies in the countries where we work. Currently, we don’t accept unsolicited applications.
To maximize impact, we take a flexible funding approach that tailors our support to the needs of our partners.
When possible, we aim to provide flexible, general operating support through grants. We also fund on a project basis for research, convenings and other initiatives.
We also aim to fund in ways that promote equity, trust and transparency. For many partners, we provide multi-year support attempting to minimize administrative burden, simplify processes and maintain open communication. We value feedback and hold ourselves accountable to impact.
Our funding process is agile and aligned with the needs of the partners we support. When evaluating an opportunity, our first step is determining strategic, geographic and values alignment. Next, we conduct business and impact due diligence before making funding decisions. We approve grants and investments on a rolling basis.
We often invest early and are willing to take thoughtful risk, knowing that making sustained change requires trying new things that may not succeed. We recognize the need to be able to pivot, adapt and respond to challenges and opportunities as we work to accelerate impact and ensure all learners have access to quality education.
We aim to build trusting, learning-centered relationships with our partners. We celebrate their wins and learn from their hard-earned wisdom. Our engagement emphasizes impact and learning, taking a strategic, hands-off approach that aims to empower partners and equip them with the resources needed to create lasting change.
As we make investments, we stay in conversation with our partners to understand what additional support is needed to strengthen their impact, while supporting organizational and leadership wellbeing. We adjust how and what we fund based on what we learn from our partners.
Additionally, we share co-created learnings and insights across our global network. We facilitate connections, convenings and shared spaces for reflection and collaboration. We see this as a reciprocal exchange, learning from our partners and openly sharing our insights back to them.
To support organizations and their impact efforts, we ground our learning in understanding how systems evolve and why. We believe learning must be in partnership with—and bring value to—our portfolio, recognizing that those working within complex systems can see and understand things we cannot.
We measure progress at three levels:
Learn more about our approach to understanding and measuring impact here.
We have different legal entities under the Imaginable Futures umbrella, with different powers and authorities. Our structure provides us with the flexibility to fund a wide range of investments to maximize our impact – all while observing applicable compliance and ethics standards.
We aim for transparency and accountability and encourage our community to do the same. You can view some of our policies on our resource page.
Imaginable Futures is committed to creating and maintaining safe spaces free of harassment and discrimination.
If you have a concern about the conduct of Imaginable Futures staff, representatives or agents, you can send an email to reportconcern@imaginablefutures.com with your name and contact information and a summary of your concern.
If you would like to make a report anonymously, you can use The Omidyar Group’s EthicsPoint portal at https://secure.ethicspoint.com/domain/media/en/gui/22951/index.html.
We believe equity in education means that every learner—regardless of background, identity, or circumstance—has access to the resources, support, and opportunities they need to succeed. Equitable education systems are healthy education systems: they are transparent, responsive, and resilient, and they adapt to meet the diverse needs of learners and their families. These systems form the foundation for a more just and thriving society.
Learning is key to individual and multigenerational wellbeing. Learning is also key to equitable, healthy societies. We believe that the opportunity to learn is a human right and a fundamental element of thriving. Too often, the current systems reproduce inequities and create barriers to learning, failing to provide the space for all learners to thrive, reach their fullest potential or even dream of the reality they wish to see.
A systems approach helps us understand and tackle big, long-standing challenges in the complex environments where we work. It’s both a way of thinking and a way of working. We look at the bigger picture—how different parts of a system interact, where change is possible, and what can lead to lasting impact. This means listening to many and proximate voices, recognizing patterns and identifying the best opportunities for meaningful, sustainable change. Unlike traditional philanthropy or impact investing, which may offer quick fixes without addressing root causes, a systems approach works to shift the underlying structures that create inequities in the first place.
We are committed to principles of justice, equity, diversity and inclusion across all of our work, both internally and externally (see our definitions above). We know that in order to create the systemic change that we want to see, we must use and share our resources—financial, social, network and intellectual—to catalyze partnerships, ideas and initiatives that champion equity in education.
As a funder, we see our role as helping to strengthen a field by supporting organizations, fostering collaboration and funding initiatives that enable sustained progress. Sometimes this means investing in the essential, behind-the-scenes work—like the work of aligning actors and creating the connective tissue that helps them to work together over time. We view strong fields as an important condition for the changes we are aiming for at the systems level.
We strengthen the field by focusing on these key areas as defined by The Bridespan Group’s field framework:
*Not part of Bridgespan’s Strong Field Framework but added components in Imaginable Futures’ definition.
Our fields of focus depend on our strategy in each geographic region. Please review the pages about our work in Brazil, Kenya and the United States to see those areas of focus.
We recognize that the complex issues we address are rooted in deep, interconnected systems. Rather than focusing only on surface-level symptoms, we aim to tackle the root causes, such as the underlying beliefs, worldviews/narratives and institutional structures that shape these systems.
Our approach prioritizes transformational change, like shifting narratives and driving policy and structural changes. This often involves supporting advocacy and narrative change efforts that can reimagine and reshape the system for lasting impact.
We view strong fields as a necessary, but not sufficient, condition for systems change. By combining field building with systems change, we focus on strengthening the ecosystem while addressing the core drivers of complex problems, moving beyond solution-oriented approaches to create deeper, long-term change.
One key aspect of a strong field is alignment amongst the leaders and organizations around what needs to change. Another key aspect is the importance of sustained funding in service of that change. We actively and intentionally seek collaborations with those we fund, peer funders and other changemakers, not only to strengthen our support for the organizations we fund but also to align efforts with others who share our vision for a better world. Together, we can amplify impact and drive deeper, more sustainable change.
We welcome opportunities to work in coalition and community with our funding peers. We take a flexible and strategic approach to co-funding partnerships, recognizing that collaboration can strengthen impact in multiple ways. We look at funding partnerships with our peer funders ranging from direct contributions to more structured collaborations like pooled funds aligned with our strategy to relational, learning-oriented coalitions.
We also engage in project-based partnerships for time-limited initiatives, join coalitions and alliances for shared learning and strategic alignment, and explore joint ventures with individuals or corporates to create philanthropic consortia that support our mission.
Across all approaches, we prioritize funding partnerships that align with our values and amplify collective impact.
If you are an individual donor or institutional funder and are interested in co-funding with us, please email us at partnerships@imaginablefutures.com.