Equality Rights and Freedom from Discrimination, 2011

Supporting the right to equal treatment, self-determination, and freedom from discrimination, especially as concerns the rights of marginalized individuals and groups.

27%
Share of foundation
human rights funding

$453.4 Million out of
$1.7 Billion for all rights
4,667 Grants

Top Funders

  1. Open Society Foundations $71.3 M
  2. Ford Foundation $47.9 M
  3. Anonymous $24.0 M
  4. Vanguard Charitable Endowment Program $17.3 M
  5. The Atlantic Philanthropies $14.4 M
  6. W. K. Kellogg Foundation $13.0 M
  7. The Oak Foundation $11.2 M
  8. Cordaid $9.8 M
  9. The Sigrid Rausing Trust $9.1 M
  10. National Endowment for Democracy $8.7 M
  11. Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation $7.6 M
  12. Arcus Foundation $7.6 M
  13. Hivos $7.6 M
  14. The Rockefeller Foundation $6.6 M
  15. Tides Foundation $6.4 M
  16. Nationale Postcode Loterij $5.8 M
  17. NoVo Foundation $5.7 M
  18. The California Endowment $5.4 M
  19. Lear Family Foundation $5.4 M
  20. The Bank of America Charitable Foundation $5.3 M
  21. Public Interest Projects $4.6 M
  22. The Global Fund for Women $4.5 M
  23. The Susan Thompson Buffett Foundation $4.4 M
  24. Carnegie Corporation of New York $4.1 M
  25. The Gill Foundation $3.8 M
  26. M = Millions

Bilateral and Multilateral Funding

12%
Share of OECD
human rights funding

$408.0 Million out of
$3.5 Billion for all rights
2,204 Disbursements

Top Funders

  1. Spain $71.9 M
  2. Netherlands $54.8 M
  3. Sweden $50.8 M
  4. Norway $44.0 M
  5. European Union Institutions $36.8 M
  6. Germany $26.9 M
  7. Denmark $23.3 M
  8. Australia $14.3 M
  9. United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) $10.8 M
  10. United Kingdom $9.6 M
  11. Canada $9.3 M
  12. Belgium $9.3 M
  13. Italy $6.8 M
  14. Switzerland $6.6 M
  15. Japan $6.6 M
  16. Austria $6.4 M
  17. United States $5.0 M
  18. Finland $4.7 M
  19. United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) $2.5 M
  20. United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) $1.9 M
  21. France $1.4 M
  22. Luxembourg $1.3 M
  23. Korea $804.0 K
  24. United Nations Peacebuilding Fund (UNPBF) $642.7 K
  25. Inter-American Development Bank - Special Fund $405.2 K
  26. M = Millions

Regional Focus

Asia & Pacific

$26,594,740 (6%)
392 Grants (8%)

Caribbean

$1,593,589 (0%)
37 Grants (1%)

Eastern Europe, Central Asia, & Russia

$23,067,009 (5%)
282 Grants (6%)

Global Programs

$44,153,800 (10%)
262 Grants (6%)

Latin America & Mexico

$32,163,389 (7%)
426 Grants (9%)

Middle East & North Africa

$20,884,869 (5%)
257 Grants (6%)

North America

$233,916,899 (52%)
2,277 Grants (49%)

Sub-Saharan Africa

$52,526,587 (12%)
553 Grants (12%)

Western Europe

$43,828,101 (10%)
292 Grants (6%)

Regional focus includes grants going directly to recipients in the region specified and to recipients located in other regions for activities focused on the region specified.

Population Focus

Population Focus includes funding explicitly targeted to benefit specific groups and only illustrates those accounting for the largest shares of grant dollars or grants. See Methodology for details on how regional focus and population focus were determined and limitations.

Sample Grants

  • Ford Foundation gave to Indigenous Culture Center of Peru to build the capacity of indigenous networks in Peru, to promote the human rights of indigenous peoples, to map indigenous movements in five countries, and to identify indigenous youth pursuing higher education.
  • The Atlantic Philanthropies gave to Genio in Ireland to improve access and quality of services for people with disabilities and to build leadership among civil society.

Case Studies