Our Funding Priorities

Ploughshares Fund partners with the most promising efforts striving to reduce and eventually eliminate the extraordinary dangers that nuclear weapons pose to humanity. 

We give grants that:

  • Promote the Elimination of Nuclear Weapons. Building a consensus among the world’s leaders creates a global norm against nuclear weapons and increases the momentum toward zero. Along the way, concrete steps to limit and reduce current arsenals must be realized, such as rolling back the US government’s unnecessary, immoral and unaffordable $1 trillion plan to rebuild America’s nuclear weapons that could spark a new arms race with Russia, China and other countries. 
  • Prevent the Emergence of New Nuclear States. We believe that, though difficult, solutions are possible through effective diplomacy and engagement grounded in well-informed and strategic analysis. Ploughshares Fund invested $12 million over a five-year period in our Iran campaign, contributing significantly to what many experts consider the greatest nuclear security agreement in a generation. Along with our grantees, we are now working to protect the deal from continued, politicized opposition. Meanwhile, we are redoubling investments in our work on North Korea. Although circumstances differ in many ways, we believe that our Iran campaign model can be adapted and applied to help find solutions to the growing North Korea nuclear crisis.
  • Build Regional Peace and Security. In South Asia the threats of nuclear weapons, terrorism and conflict converge, making it one of the most dangerous regions on Earth. Our investments support fact-finding missions, on-the-ground analysis, high-level dialogue, confidence-building measures, policy advocacy and media outreach to advance the transformation of conflicts in South Asia.

We also amplify and coordinate the work of our grantees to

  • Develop winning strategies that push forward the vision of a world where nuclear weapons can never be used again
  • Bring together experts, analysts, lobbyists and activists to create and win shared campaigns
  • Build a bipartisan legislative consensus for eliminating nuclear weapons
  • Expand the public’s knowledge and catalyze public support for the elimination of nuclear weapons
  • Foster innovative sociocultural strategies to highlight and create awareness of nuclear weapons issues in popular culture

Apply for a Grant:

Ploughshares is looking for the smartest minds and organizations to partner with. Contact us to inquire about current grant opportunities, or apply for a grant.