Foundation for a Just Society

Foundation for a Just Society

The Foundation for a Just Society was established in 2011 by Audrey Cappell, who serves as its President and is the daughter of James Simons, the late founder of Renaissance Technologies. Her sister Elizabeth Simons serves as a Director, making FJS one node in a network of Simons-family philanthropic vehicles that includes the Sea Change Foundation, led by their brother Nathaniel. Unlike the family's science-focused giving, FJS concentrates exclusively on advancing racial, gender, and LGBTQI justice by channeling resources to those most affected by structural inequality. FJS strengthens social-justice movements through four distinct modes: direct grantmaking, organizational capacity building, strategic communications support, and convening leadership within philanthropy. The foundation operates globally, with grantee partners spanning multiple regions including North America, Sub-Saharan Africa, and Southeast Asia. Its long-term capital is drawn from an Altss-estimated $1.2 billion endowment, which is invested across a multi-asset institutional portfolio. The corpus holds direct commercial real estate at 25 East 22nd Street and 23 West 20th Street in Manhattan, a hedge fund portfolio, and a private equity and venture capital fund-of-funds program shaped by the analytical rigor associated with the family's quantitative finance legacy. The foundation's governance is led by Audrey Cappell as Founder and President, with Nicola McIntyre serving as Chief Executive Officer overseeing day-to-day operations. FJS is an active participant in the institutional philanthropy community, maintaining memberships in Philanthropy New York, the Council on Foundations, the Human Rights Funders Network, and Funders for LGBTQ Issues. The foundation also operates adjacent entities: the AC & JC Foundation, a separate nonprofit founded by Audrey Cappell and her spouse Jacob Cappell, and Felicity House, a New York-based community space for women on the autism spectrum. FJS occupies a distinctive position at the intersection of a multi-billion-dollar quantitative fortune and a highly focused social-justice mandate. Unlike broad-based foundations that diffuse capital across dozens of program areas, FJS operates as a precision instrument, targeting under-resourced populations and leadership with a coordination model that blends grant funding with non-financial movement support. Its multi-generational board structure, featuring siblings who each run separate philanthropic platforms, creates a decentralized governance model where distinct funding strategies are pursued without a centralized Simons family mega-foundation directing all priorities.