The Warner Music Group / Blavatnik Family Foundation Social Justice Fund has named its first slate of 2026 grantees.
The docket covers 17 organizations and an investment of almost $6 million.
The latest round, announced on Thursday (August 27), includes six new grantees, with an emphasis on organizations that use music to drive social change.
Since its launch in 2020, the $100 million fund has committed more than $52 million to organizations focused on criminal justice reform, education, and arts and culture.
The four music-focused newcomers are Atlanta Music Project, which offers tuition-free music training and college and career preparation to students in under-resourced Atlanta neighborhoods; Brooklyn Youth Sports Club‘s VOICES (Vibrations Of Inner-City Excellence and Success) program, which helps Black and Latino youth write, perform, and engineer music; Classical Pride, a festival for LGBTQAI+ composers and musicians in classical music; and Generator, a music development organization for artists and creative professionals across the North of England.
Returning music-focused grantees include Black Lives in Music, which campaigns for equity for Black, Asian, and ethnically diverse musicians in the UK; Girls Make Beats, which teaches music technology to girls aged 5 to 17; The Hip Hop Museum, which celebrates hip hop culture and history, preserves its legacy, and inspires future generations; and the Jazz Power Initiative, which offers free and low-cost opportunities for youth ages 6 to 18 to immerse themselves in classic jazz repertoire through voice, piano, dance, and acting.
The 2026 grantees span the United States and the United Kingdom.
Over the next five years, the fund will support the creation and maintenance of 75 new prison libraries across the United States through new grantee Freedom Reads, which installs libraries in the center of prison cellblocks.
It will also fund voter education for people in the criminal legal system through new grantee Global Black Economic Forum, which pursues economic freedom for Black and marginalized communities through leadership development, policy advocacy, and litigation.
Other returning grantees include The Marshall Project, a nonprofit newsroom covering the U.S. justice system; Civil Rights Corps, which litigates against unlawful jailing; and the Caribbean Cultural Center African Diaspora Institute, which marks five decades of work in arts, culture, and education.
The wider 2026 slate also includes African Leadership Academy, SPARK Reproductive Justice NOW!, StopWatch, and JULIAN.
“Music has the power to help drive real societal change.”
Robert Kyncl, WARNER MUSIC
“We are honored to help talented people from all backgrounds turn potential into achievement,” said Len Blavatnik.
“Music has the power to help drive real societal change,” said Warner Music Group CEO Robert Kyncl. “We’re proud to support these organizations as they work to connect, heal, transform, and create important opportunities.”
“We are continuously evolving and sharpening our grantmaking strategy, so we can best help these phenomenal organizations work to create a lasting, measurable impact in our communities,” said Yrthya Dinzey-Flores, SVP of People, Engagement, and Culture at WMG and the fund’s President.
The WMG / Blavatnik Family Foundation Social Justice fund says it works to advance “racial justice at the intersection of culture and systems change,” investing principally in organizations that serve Black populations.
It was launched in June 2020 by WMG and the Blavatnik Family Foundation, led by Access Industries founder Len Blavatnik.
WMG/BFF SJF made its first two rounds of funding in 2021.
In 2022, the fund committed $9.35 million to15 organizations.
The Blavatnik Family Foundation has contributed more than $1.5 billion to over 250 organizations to date, according to the Foundation.
“We are honored to help talented people from all backgrounds turn potential into achievement.”
Len Blavatnik
Since its launch in June 2020, the fund has backed more than 50 organizations, according to WMG.Music Business Worldwide
