Values & Policies

Omidyar Network board and staff operate with five key values:

Boldness

We aspire to address some of the most complex and critical economic and social problems of our time by challenging orthodoxy, making catalytic bets, embracing risk and ambiguity, and being creative in the way we work, to create positive, systemic change in the world.

Connection

We recognize that genuine change requires many actors and collaborative action. As such, we work in a networked way, supporting and engaging one another and building strong, diverse communities of practice internally and externally.  

Curiosity

We recognize that our world and context are dynamic and constantly evolving. We approach our work with flexibility and experimentation; seeking new perspectives, learning from our successes and failures, and nimbly adapting our work to meet the changing needs of society.

Integrity

We strive to do what is right even when it is hard. We know that we may not always get it right, but we work to earn the trust of others by holding ourselves accountable to high standards that reflect our values and help us achieve our vision.  

Respect

We treat all people as though they are inherently good and capable. We warm-heartedly acknowledge and appreciate the diverse experiences and perspectives of our partners, investees, and employees, and value the perspectives of those who disagree with us. 

Omidyar Network board and staff adhere to the following policies:

Transparency: Omidyar Network is committed to supporting a collaborative, open, and effective funding community. In addition to our investee profiles and our financial statements, we believe we can contribute to this by publishing our grant information in line with the IATI Standard, a global common open data standard developed by the International Aid Transparency Initiative (IATI). It links together financial and non-financial information about development assistance projects (or “activities”) and investments using international classifications to enable aggregation, comparison, and development of analytical and visualization tools.

We detail our approach to publishing and governing data in the IATI format in our IATI Policy.  Please consult this document when using our data.

Whistleblower Policy (Summary): Omidyar Network is committed to enhancing the integrity of the people, processes, and other resources deployed through our firm. We believe that our communications, internal controls, and processes must constantly adapt to the changing environments in which we operate.

We operate an ethics hotline to enable our employees to easily and confidentially report any issues or instances of misconduct, violation, abuse, or misdeed. Any information provided is sent to us by the ethics hotline on a totally confidential and anonymous basis. The employee is protected and has the ability to follow up to ensure their report is addressed.

Information about this hotline is distributed to all Omidyar Network employees and board members on a regular basis.

Conflict of Interest Policy (Summary): The purpose of Omidyar Network's Conflict of Interest Policy is to promote honest and ethical behavior at Omidyar Network through full disclosure of actual and potential conflicts of interest and the establishment of procedures to resolve such conflicts fairly and transparently. The Conflict of Interest Policy applies to trustees, managers, officers, employees, and, to the extent determined by the Business Ethics Officer, consultants and agents (each, a “Covered Individual”) of Omidyar Network.

Read the full policy here.

Executive Compensation Policy: Omidyar Network does not use tax-preferred foundation dollars to pay for any operating expenses, including the salaries of any of our employees. We use market-based comparisons to set salaries for Omidyar Network employees.

Memberships: Omidyar Network is a philanthropic investment firm that makes investments in both for-profit and nonprofit organizations.  Our business relationships are managed by our investment professionals, and we do not accept unsolicited business plans, funding proposals, or personal funding requests.  Omidyar Network does not offer memberships, and any invitation to apply to become a paid ‘member’ of Omidyar Network is fraudulent.