Helping You Understand Human Rights Grantmaking

The Advancing Human Rights initiative is a research project to document the landscape of foundation funding for human rights and track changes in its scale and priorities. It uses grants data to map the human rights issues addressed, funding strategies used, and populations and regions served. For those considering human rights-related grantmaking for the first time, this website offers an introduction to the field.

Learn More in our FAQ

Explore funding filtered by region, issue, population, or support strategy below

Where Do Human Rights Grants Go?

Click a bubble to learn more about that region

North America
$1.5 Billion

$210.8 M
Social and Cultural Rights 0.52679449716729% of Region Total

$155.7 M
Equality Rights and Freedom from Discrimination 0.52679449716729% of Region Total

$153.2 M
Health and Well-being Rights 0.52679449716729% of Region Total

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Eastern Europe, Central Asia, & Russia
$62.1 Million

$13.6 M
Freedom from Violence 0.022363247221631% of Region Total

$12.7 M
Civic and Political Participation 0.022363247221631% of Region Total

$10.2 M
Expression and Information Rights 0.022363247221631% of Region Total

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Latin America & Mexico
$176.7 Million

$38.3 M
Equality Rights and Freedom from Discrimination 0.063666880951326% of Region Total

$24.7 M
Environmental and Resource Rights 0.063666880951326% of Region Total

$21.7 M
Sexual and Reproductive Rights 0.063666880951326% of Region Total

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Middle East & North Africa
$58.1 Million

$11.7 M
Freedom from Violence 0.020926803802189% of Region Total

$8.6 M
Civic and Political Participation 0.020926803802189% of Region Total

$7.3 M
Equality Rights and Freedom from Discrimination 0.020926803802189% of Region Total

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Global Programs
$344.2 Million

$64.1 M
Environmental and Resource Rights 0.12403985624316% of Region Total

$52.3 M
Freedom from Violence 0.12403985624316% of Region Total

$47.6 M
Equality Rights and Freedom from Discrimination 0.12403985624316% of Region Total

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X

Asia & Pacific
$153.9 Million

$34.0 M
Equality Rights and Freedom from Discrimination 0.055470372352607% of Region Total

$22.3 M
Freedom from Violence 0.055470372352607% of Region Total

$21.1 M
Environmental and Resource Rights 0.055470372352607% of Region Total

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Sub-Saharan Africa
$269.2 Million

$53.1 M
Health and Well-being Rights 0.097025770651104% of Region Total

$52.6 M
Freedom from Violence 0.097025770651104% of Region Total

$33.8 M
Equality Rights and Freedom from Discrimination 0.097025770651104% of Region Total

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Western Europe
$269.9 Million

$97.3 M
Health and Well-being Rights 0.097275871974296% of Region Total

$52.2 M
Freedom from Violence 0.097275871974296% of Region Total

$29.2 M
Equality Rights and Freedom from Discrimination 0.097275871974296% of Region Total

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Caribbean
$33.0 Million

$11.4 M
Sexual and Reproductive Rights 0.01188286561913% of Region Total

$3.0 M
Equality Rights and Freedom from Discrimination 0.01188286561913% of Region Total

$2.8 M
Civic and Political Participation 0.01188286561913% of Region Total

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Human rights grantmaking empowers individuals, communities, and institutions to promote the protection and enjoyment of rights, including those enshrined in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and subsequent human rights treaties.

What Do Human Rights Grants Support?

Click an icon to learn more about that issue

Select an Issue

Access to Justice/Equality Before the Law

Amount: $193.8 Million
Grants: 1,305

Civic and Political Participation

Amount: $205.9 Million
Grants: 2,023

Economic and Labor Rights

Amount: $212.8 Million
Grants: 1,366

Environmental and Resource Rights

Amount: $252.2 Million
Grants: 2,556

Equality Rights and Freedom from Discrimination

Amount: $326.9 Million
Grants: 3,143

Expression and Information Rights

Amount: $165.2 Million
Grants: 1,453

Freedom from Violence

Amount: $265.3 Million
Grants: 2,790

Health and Well-being Rights

Amount: $344.5 Million
Grants: 2,349

Human Rights, General

Amount: $167.3 Million
Grants: 1,470

Migration and Displacement

Amount: $113.8 Million
Grants: 1,108

Sexual and Reproductive Rights

Amount: $216.1 Million
Grants: 1,062

Social and Cultural Rights

Amount: $272.9 Million
Grants: 1,787

Transitional Justice and Peacebuilding

Amount: $38.1 Million
Grants: 604

To advance human rights, we must start at the roots of social issues and inequality and work to change unjust structures and systems.

Who is the Focus of Human Rights Grants?

Click an icon to learn more about that population

Children & Youth

23% of Grant Dollars
20% of Grants

Human Rights Defenders

1% of Grant Dollars
3% of Grants

Indigenous Peoples

4% of Grant Dollars
6% of Grants

LGBTQI

4% of Grant Dollars
10% of Grants

Migrants & Refugees

10% of Grant Dollars
11% of Grants

People with Disabilities

3% of Grant Dollars
6% of Grants

Sex Workers

<1% of Grant Dollars
1% of Grants

Women & Girls

23% of Grant Dollars
27% of Grants

Human rights are intrinsic and belong to everyone. There are no exceptions based on religion, caste, gender, class, sexuality, geographic location or any other factor. They are interconnected, indivisible and intersectional.

What Strategies Do Human Rights Grants Support?

Click an icon to learn more about that strategy

Advocacy, Systems Reform and Implementation

43% of Grant Dollars
50% of Grants

Arts and Culture

3% of Grant Dollars
6% of Grants

Capacity-building and Technical Assistance

13% of Grant Dollars
19% of Grants

Coalition-building and Collaboration

10% of Grant Dollars
16% of Grants

Grassroots Organizing

8% of Grant Dollars
9% of Grants

Litigation and Legal Aid

3% of Grant Dollars
4% of Grants

Media and Technology

9% of Grant Dollars
10% of Grants

Public Engagement and Awareness-raising

20% of Grant Dollars
31% of Grants

Research and Documentation

7% of Grant Dollars
7% of Grants

Scholarships and Travel

<1% of Grant Dollars
2% of Grants

Security and Resilience

<1% of Grant Dollars
<1% of Grants

It is hopeful and inspiring to not only see people rising up and demanding their own rights, but going beyond their immediate needs to look systematically at how what they are fighting for is tied to what others are fighting for elsewhere.

Credits

The Advancing Human Rights initiative tracks the evolving state of global human rights funding. It is a collaboration between Foundation Center and Human Rights Funders Network, in partnership with Ariadne and Prospera. Our aim is to strengthen funders’ decision-making, promote collaborations, and improve the effectiveness of human rights philanthropy.