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Advancing Human Rights

The State of Global Foundation Grantmaking

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  • Overview
    • 2011 - 2015
    • 2015
    • 2014
    • 2013
    • 2012
    • 2011
  • Regions
    • Asia & Pacific
    • Caribbean
    • Eastern Europe, Central Asia, & Russia
    • Global Programs
    • Latin America & Mexico
    • Middle East & North Africa
    • North America
    • Sub-Saharan Africa
    • Western Europe
  • Issues
    • Access to Justice/Equality Before the Law
    • Civic and Political Participation
    • Economic and Labor Rights
    • Environmental and Resource Rights
    • Equality Rights and Freedom from Discrimination
    • Expression and Information Rights
    • Freedom from Violence
    • Health and Well-being Rights
    • Human Rights, General
    • Migration and Displacement
    • Sexual and Reproductive Rights
    • Social and Cultural Rights
    • Transitional Justice and Peacebuilding
  • Populations
    • Children & Youth
    • Human Rights Defenders
    • Indigenous Peoples
    • LGBTQI
    • Migrants & Refugees
    • People with Disabilities
    • Sex Workers
    • Women & Girls
  • Strategies
    • Advocacy, Systems Reform and Implementation
    • Arts and Culture
    • Capacity-building and Technical Assistance
    • Coalition-building and Collaboration
    • Grassroots Organizing
    • Litigation and Legal Aid
    • Media and Technology
    • Public Engagement and Awareness-raising
    • Research and Documentation
    • Scholarships and Travel
    • Security and Resilience
  • Bi/Multilateral

Social and Cultural Rights, 2013

Supporting the right to participate in the cultural life of a community and engage in community duties essential to free and full development. Includes the right to education, freedom of religion, right to pursue one’s cultural traditions, right to a livelihood, and freedom to marry the partner of one’s choosing.

Select Year
  • Trends, 2011 - 2015
  • 2015
  • 2014
  • 2013
  • 2012
  • 2011

7%
Share of foundation
human rights funding

$164.8 Million out of
$2.3 Billion for all rights
1,504 Grants

Top Funders

  1. Ford Foundation $29.9 M
  2. Open Doors International $22.1 M
  3. Open Society Foundations $20.6 M
  4. W. K. Kellogg Foundation $7.2 M
  5. The Christensen Fund $5.8 M
  6. Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation $4.0 M
  7. American Jewish World Service $4.0 M
  8. NEO Philanthropy $3.4 M
  9. Nationale Postcode Loterij $3.3 M
  10. Laura and John Arnold Foundation $3.0 M
  11. NoVo Foundation $2.6 M
  12. EEA and Norway Grants $2.5 M
  13. Evelyn and Walter Haas, Jr. Fund $2.2 M
  14. Esmée Fairbairn Foundation $1.8 M
  15. Tamalpais Trust $1.7 M
  16. Human Dignity Foundation $1.7 M
  17. Proteus Fund $1.7 M
  18. The Kendeda Fund $1.7 M
  19. New Israel Fund $1.7 M
  20. Alfred P. Sloan Foundation $1.6 M
  21. Arthur S. DeMoss Foundation $1.6 M
  22. The Atlantic Philanthropies $1.4 M
  23. Mensen met een Missie $1.4 M
  24. Vanguard Charitable Endowment Program $1.3 M
  25. Gill Foundation $1.3 M
  26. M = Millions

Bilateral and Multilateral Funding

5%
Share of OECD
human rights funding

$190.9 Million out of
$3.7 Billion for all rights
908 Disbursements

Top Funders

  1. Norway $23.0 M
  2. European Union Institutions $22.9 M
  3. Spain $22.2 M
  4. Sweden $22.0 M
  5. Finland $18.4 M
  6. Canada $16.3 M
  7. Denmark $11.9 M
  8. United States $8.1 M
  9. Ireland $7.5 M
  10. United Kingdom $7.5 M
  11. Belgium $6.6 M
  12. Switzerland $5.3 M
  13. Germany $5.3 M
  14. Australia $4.7 M
  15. International Development Association $1.6 M
  16. Korea $1.4 M
  17. Luxembourg $1.3 M
  18. Italy $1.2 M
  19. Austria $1.1 M
  20. Netherlands $1.0 M
  21. Iceland $618.1 K
  22. United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) $256.1 K
  23. Japan $211.2 K
  24. OPEC Fund for International Development $149.7 K
  25. Inter-American Development Bank - Special Fund $121.0 K
  26. M = Millions

Regional Focus

Asia & Pacific

$13,625,226 (8%)
166 Grants (11%)

Caribbean

$1,578,547 (1%)
15 Grants (1%)

Eastern Europe, Central Asia, & Russia

$6,641,550 (4%)
173 Grants (12%)

Global Programs

$18,034,639 (11%)
65 Grants (4%)

Latin America & Mexico

$8,947,934 (5%)
192 Grants (13%)

Middle East & North Africa

$11,643,037 (7%)
83 Grants (6%)

North America

$73,867,156 (45%)
558 Grants (37%)

Sub-Saharan Africa

$18,757,383 (11%)
193 Grants (13%)

Western Europe

$8,941,945 (5%)
93 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

  • Children & Youth

    $74,579,448 (45%)
    716 Grants (48%)

  • Indigenous Peoples

    $22,675,912 (14%)
    250 Grants (17%)

  • Women & Girls

    $17,204,441 (10%)
    242 Grants (16%)

  • Migrants & Refugees

    $11,865,887 (7%)
    134 Grants (9%)

  • LGBTQI

    $9,742,572 (6%)
    107 Grants (7%)

  • People with Disabilities

    $4,472,425 (3%)
    97 Grants (6%)

  • Human Rights Defenders

    $124,221 (0%)
    14 Grants (1%)

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.

Strategy Focus

  • Advocacy, Systems Reform and Implementation

    $42,306,644 (26%)
    336 Grants (22%)

  • Research and Documentation

    $18,737,134 (11%)
    172 Grants (11%)

  • Capacity-building and Technical Assistance

    $16,131,457 (10%)
    163 Grants (11%)

  • Arts and Culture

    $9,459,893 (6%)
    148 Grants (10%)

  • Coalition-building and Collaboration

    $8,282,300 (5%)
    175 Grants (12%)

  • Media and Technology

    $8,090,011 (5%)
    125 Grants (8%)

  • Public Engagement and Awareness-raising

    $7,723,383 (5%)
    127 Grants (8%)

  • Grassroots Organizing

    $3,457,684 (2%)
    46 Grants (3%)

  • Litigation and Legal Aid

    $627,581 (0%)
    15 Grants (1%)

  • Scholarships and Travel

    $614,710 (0%)
    22 Grants (1%)

Figures represent only grants that could be identified as supporting a specific strategy. In addition, grants may employ multiple strategies and would therefore be counted in more than one category.

Sample Grants

  • First Peoples Worldwide supported Bundu Tuhan Biocultural Heritage in Malaysia for work to conserve and strengthen cultural and traditional heritage.
  • The Heinz Endowments supported Duquesne University in the USA for the Canevin Center for Educational Transformation and Social Justice, which works to effect change to acheive equity in education for all children.

Case Studies

  • Campaigning to Prioritize Human Rights: Garnering Government Support for Environmental Rights of the Local Community
  • Multi-Year Support from a Funder: A Minority Group Achieves Groundbreaking Change through Ireland’s Civil Partnership Law for Same-Sex Couples

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