$2.4 Billion
22,893 Grants
for foundation human rights funding
in 2015
Top Foundation Funders
- Nationale Postcode Loterij $230.2 M
- Ford Foundation $176.1 M
- The Susan Thompson Buffett Foundation $121.6 M
- Oak Foundation $94.2 M
- National Endowment for Democracy $91.9 M
- Comic Relief $82.9 M
- Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation $76.5 M
- Tides Foundation $70.9 M
- Foundation to Promote Open Society $70.8 M
- NoVo Foundation $64.3 M
- W. K. Kellogg Foundation $58.4 M
- Big Lottery Fund $58.3 M
- The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation $46.2 M
- Howard G. Buffett Foundation $45.6 M
- Vanguard Charitable Endowment Program $43.1 M
- The Sigrid Rausing Trust $31.7 M
- John S. and James L. Knight Foundation $31.7 M
- The William and Flora Hewlett Foundation $30.9 M
- Foundation For The Carolinas $29.6 M
- The John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation $27.5 M
- American Jewish World Service - Donor Advised Funds $27.1 M
- Silicon Valley Community Foundation $23.1 M
- The California Endowment $21.1 M
- EEA and Norway Grants $20.5 M
- NEO Philanthropy $20.4 M
- M = Millions
Bilateral and Multilateral Funding
$3.7 Billion
15,293 Disbursements
for OECD human rights funding
in 2015
Top Funders
- Sweden $416.6 M
- European Union Institutions $401.2 M
- United States $372.6 M
- United Kingdom $305.9 M
- Norway $279.2 M
- Italy $258.8 M
- Canada $256.6 M
- Denmark $160.9 M
- Germany $159.8 M
- Australia $128.6 M
- Finland $122.8 M
- Switzerland $119.8 M
- Netherlands $118.4 M
- Global Fund $95.0 M
- Belgium $87.5 M
- Spain $82.5 M
- United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) $66.5 M
- Ireland $32.0 M
- United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) $28.7 M
- United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) $27.9 M
- International Labour Organisation $26.5 M
- Japan $25.2 M
- Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) $23.8 M
- France $20.4 M
- Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS) $10.6 M
- M = Millions
Foundation Funding by Region
Asia & Pacific
$165,662,978 (7%)
2,620 Grants (11%)
Caribbean
$18,576,195 (1%)
248 Grants (1%)
Eastern Europe, Central Asia, & Russia
$75,682,712 (3%)
1,604 Grants (7%)
Global Programs
$411,691,853 (17%)
1,367 Grants (6%)
Latin America & Mexico
$114,989,711 (5%)
2,488 Grants (11%)
Middle East & North Africa
$75,661,293 (3%)
1,015 Grants (4%)
North America
$1,017,260,465 (42%)
8,379 Grants (37%)
Sub-Saharan Africa
$287,893,540 (12%)
3,325 Grants (15%)
Western Europe
$285,987,890 (12%)
2,121 Grants (9%)
Region totals include both foundation grants directly to recipients based in the region specified and foundation grants to recipients located in other regions to do work benefiting the region specified. Grants may mention more than one region of benefit and therefore be counted in more than one category.
Foundation Funding by Issue
Health and Well-being Rights
$314,648,200 (13%)
2,187 Grants (10%)Freedom from Violence
$282,257,145 (12%)
2,805 Grants (12%)Equality Rights and Freedom from Discrimination
$264,087,103 (11%)
3,188 Grants (14%)Human Rights, General
$233,310,086 (10%)
1,744 Grants (8%)Environmental and Resource Rights
$196,872,701 (8%)
2,656 Grants (12%)Sexual and Reproductive Rights
$179,843,942 (7%)
1,046 Grants (5%)Civic and Political Participation
$177,644,784 (7%)
1,747 Grants (8%)Economic and Labor Rights
$140,403,459 (6%)
1,267 Grants (6%)Migration and Displacement
$126,325,976 (5%)
1,037 Grants (5%)Access to Justice/Equality Before the Law
$114,041,205 (5%)
1,070 Grants (5%)Expression and Information Rights
$103,177,624 (4%)
1,063 Grants (5%)Transitional Justice and Peacebuilding
$51,562,269 (2%)
656 Grants (3%)
Issue totals include foundation funding that could be identified as meant to address a specific issue. In order to provide unique totals and avoid double-counting, each foundation grant has been assigned to exactly one issue category within the human rights taxonomy.
Foundation Funding by Population
Women & Girls
$560,570,331 (23%)
6,464 Grants (28%)Children & Youth
$518,861,211 (21%)
5,230 Grants (23%)Migrants & Refugees
$277,449,646 (11%)
2,491 Grants (11%)LGBTQI
$101,782,548 (4%)
1,734 Grants (8%)Indigenous Peoples
$90,286,352 (4%)
1,428 Grants (6%)People with Disabilities
$89,285,160 (4%)
1,183 Grants (5%)Human Rights Defenders
$16,756,345 (1%)
484 Grants (2%)Sex Workers
$5,788,359 (0%)
152 Grants (1%)
Population totals include foundation funding that could be identified as meant to benefit a specific group. Grants may serve multiple populations and would therefore be counted in more than one category.
Foundation Funding by Strategy
Advocacy, Systems Reform and Implementation
$893,751,600 (37%)
10,205 Grants (45%)Capacity-building and Technical Assistance
$333,297,340 (14%)
3,572 Grants (16%)Coalition-building and Collaboration
$205,809,321 (9%)
2,747 Grants (12%)Public Engagement and Awareness-raising
$195,943,875 (8%)
2,849 Grants (12%)Research and Documentation
$188,433,208 (8%)
1,639 Grants (7%)Media and Technology
$168,199,582 (7%)
2,108 Grants (9%)Grassroots Organizing
$102,284,492 (4%)
1,413 Grants (6%)Litigation and Legal Aid
$96,454,421 (4%)
637 Grants (3%)Arts and Culture
$79,759,331 (3%)
1,356 Grants (6%)Scholarships and Travel
$5,066,797 (0%)
438 Grants (2%)Security and Resilience
$3,878,717 (0%)
52 Grants (0%)
Strategy totals include foundation funding that could be identified as supporting a specific strategy. Grants may employ multiple strategies and would therefore be counted in more than one category.
2,427 Grants (11%)