By Anna Fink, CEO

In 1923, when Wall Street banks refused to serve immigrants and low-wage workers, the Amalgamated Clothing & Textile Workers of America did something radical: they built their own bank. Not as a business—as a tool for collective power. Workers pooled their resources to finance cooperative housing, support organizing, and build economic independence. They understood something that still holds true today: working people need institutions built for them, not against them. And lasting change requires more than advocacy. It requires institutions that can sustain movements over time.

From the New Deal to the challenges of our day, progress has always depended on the power of working people—on the ability of the majority of Americans to organize, build collective strength, and demand their full share of the economy and democracy they helped build. That is the tradition AUM+ carries forward. And today, it drives us into our next chapter.

Today, Amalgamated Foundation officially becomes AUM+ (Assets Under Movement)—a purpose-built enterprise designed to activate capital at the scale democracy now demands.

On a personal note, this evolution resonates with me deeply. I came to philanthropy as an organizer — and that experience shapes everything about how I approach this work. After more than two decades working on gender equality in the US and Latin America, economic justice, and democracy, I understand that lasting change requires more than capital — it requires trusted partners, flexible tools, and institutions committed to the long haul. Leading grantmaking portfolios across these issues taught me that the most powerful thing a funder can do is show up as a genuine partner to movements, not just a source of dollars. That conviction is what AUM+ was built to deliver. We are at an inflection point, and this moment demands something bigger, bolder, and built to last. AUM+ is built for exactly this — aligning solidarity with strategy, centering relationships as the foundation of everything we do, and measuring success by the capital activated and the lasting change achieved for working people and democracy.

Why Assets “Under Movement” Changes Everything

In finance, “assets under management” is a metric of wealth captured—locked away, growing for its own sake, serving the few. We embrace a different frame entirely.

Assets under movement describes capital that is deployed—to the people, organizations, and leaders strengthening democracy and ensuring working people are at the center of it, not on the margins. It means capital flowing to the organizers fighting for fair wages and safe workplaces, to the campaigns protecting voting rights, to the coalitions building the kind of durable institutions that working people have always needed and too rarely had. Our donors have always understood this distinction intuitively. They don’t want their wealth sitting still. They want it under movement. Philanthropy is at an inflection point, where the sector is expanding and shifting faster than the infrastructure built to support it. There is increasing demand from donors, funders, and organizations for trusted, efficient, and flexible infrastructure. Our opportunity and responsibility is to meet the moment with clarity and integrity. 

This moment also marks a new chapter in our identity. While AUM+ was born out of a partnership with Amalgamated Bank—one we remain grateful for—we now step forward with a fully independent brand and platform. This allows us to move swiftly, pursue diverse partnerships, and scale with a singular focus on  deploying capital for democracy and a future where the majority —not just the few—can thrive.

This is more than a rebrand. It is an evolution—one we have been building toward with intention, and one this moment demands. Our mission is simple: ensure that capital serves democracy, democracy serves working people, and movements have the institutional strength to create lasting change.

What Movements Need — And What We Deliver

Since our founding, we have grown from an idea into a leading force in social justice philanthropy, channeling significant resources to advance equity. But our impact goes beyond scale.

Our partners bridged the gap for working families during COVID. They are reimagining how communities respond to climate disaster. They are confronting the rise of authoritarianism and building the infrastructure that prepares us for a future where democracy is strengthened and working people are centered. And they are doing it with the financial and institutional support required to move fast and think long-term.

Lasting change requires more than capital. The movements at the forefront need trusted partners who understand their work, flexible tools that match their strategies and meet the moment, and institutions committed to the long haul. We provide all three. That is what it means to be a true partner to movements. This was the type of support I was looking for as an organizer nearly two decades ago, and why I came to this work to transform the way capital flows to build lasting change.

When movements control their own capital, they reduce their vulnerability to corporate and political pressure. They can deliver tangible benefits—not just rhetoric. They can sustain the long fight required to bend our democracy toward justice. That is the infrastructure AUM+ exists to build.

To make that real, AUM+ is launching a purpose-built enterprise designed to activate capital at the scale our democracy requires. Operating across interconnected platforms working in concert to strengthen democratic participation and embolden economic opportunity, this enterprise will enable:

• Giving: Mission-driven vehicles including Donor-Advised Funds and collaborative giving, helping donors, advisors, and institutions give strategically and with purpose.
• Civic Action: Connecting capital to advocacy efforts at the scale democracy demands.
• Capital Investment: Deploying investment capital to enterprises building democratic resilience and economic opportunity for working people.

This enterprise model allows us to move multiple levers simultaneously, all in service of a single goal.

What We Are Committing to in 2026

Building on our track record of deploying $1.5 billion in grant capital since 2018, AUM+ will focus on scale, partnerships, and innovation. 

• Activation: Donor-Advised Fund (DAF) assets are sitting dormant at record levels — but not ours. AUM+ DAF holders pay out an average of 75% of their assets annually, tripling the national average. In 2026, we’re building on that momentum through the relationships, tools, and campaigns — including our partnership with #HalfMyDAF — that turns philanthropic intent into capital in motion.
• Collaboration:  In 2026, AUM+ will continue to build relationships between donors, funders, and movements that make collective action possible. We’re expanding our collaborative giving infrastructure to meet the moment and scale our impact.
• Innovation: We’re expanding our capital deployment toolkit beyond traditional grantmaking — creating new pathways for donors, funders, and investors to put capital to work.

Become a Part of What Comes Next

AUM+ is not built for passive recipients. It is built for partners—donors, advisors, and institutions who understand that capital should serve movements, not the other way around.

To every partner who has joined our community — grantmakers and grant seekers, practitioners and organizers — your commitment to this work is what makes this moment possible. The breadth and depth of this community, and what it achieves every day to move the needle on democracy, to ensure that working people have what they need to thrive is a source of profound hope and inspiration. We have built a big tent, and we are proud of it. And this moment demands we expand it further.

AUM+ was built with that in mind — to deepen partnerships, unlock new pathways for capital, and provide the infrastructure movements need to win.

Nearly a century ago, working people pooled fragmented dollars into collective power and rewrote the rules of economic participation. The labor movement proved that when workers control capital—when they build their own institutions—they can bend the arc of history. The organizers, campaigns, and communities we serve are doing exactly that work today. Our job is to make sure they have what they need to win.

Whether you are exploring new ways to deploy capital, looking for partners who share your values, or seeking to deepen your impact in democracy and empower working people: we built AUM+ with you in mind. Our donors aren’t just funders, they are partners in this work, part of a growing community that understands real change requires putting resources in motion. We invite you to join us by bringing us your capital, your goals, and your ambition, and letting us help put them to work.

We couldn’t be more excited for what comes next.

Anna Fink
CEO, AUM+