Founded by Sally Lilienthal, a known philanthropist and activist, in 1981, the Ploughshares Fund is a non-profit organization that pools contributions made by individuals, groups including families, and foundations in pursuit of its goal. As a public grant-making foundation, it supports initiatives in the prevention of the manufacture, spread and se of biological, chemical and nuclear weapons, among other weapons of war, as well as in the prevention of conflicts that can lead to the application of weapons of mass destruction.

With more than $100 million awarded as grants since its establishment, the foundation is the largest philanthropic organization of its kind (i.e., with an exclusive focus on grant-making for peace and security) in the United States. Ploughshares Fund enables its individual and organization donors to pool their resources, mainly monetary in nature, with this specific purpose in mind.

As such, the foundation focuses on several areas including nuclear weapons, nuclear materials, missiles and space, and conflict prevention.