Arnold Ventures’ core objective is to maximize opportunity and minimize injustice.

Who We Are

Founded in 2008 by Laura and John Arnold with the launch of a foundation, the philanthropy is dedicated to improving the lives of all Americans through evidence-based policy solutions that maximize opportunity and minimize injustice. We are a team of more than 100 subject-matter experts headquartered in Houston with offices in New York and Washington, D.C.

Arnold Ventures supports research to better understand the root causes of broken systems that limit opportunity and create injustice. Our focus areas include Criminal Justice, Higher Education, Health, Infrastructure, and Public Finance. In each area, we advocate for policy reforms that will lead to lasting, scalable change.

Arnold Ventures manages the giving for various Arnold entities, including the Laura and John Arnold Foundation, Action Now Initiative, and the Arnolds’ donor-advised fund. 

Our Approach

Evidence-Based Policy, Research, and Advocacy guide our work. We focus on areas where public and private sector outcomes are falling short, incentives are misaligned, and political will is lacking. We follow the research to identify root causes of problems and gather evidence about what works and what doesn’t. We then fund policy development and technical assistance to create lasting change.

We work across the political spectrum to build durable, bipartisan coalitions and partnerships. We engage policymakers at all levels of government throughout the life cycle of policy change, from research and advocacy to implementation and evaluation of impact.

Why it Matters

Philanthropic dollars alone cannot solve the problems we face as a nation. But we believe philanthropy is uniquely positioned to take risks and make big bets in ways the public and private sector are often unable or unwilling to do. We approach philanthropy as an engine for innovation that can help catalyze new solutions, evaluate what works, and advocate for public policies that maximize opportunity and minimize injustice for all.