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.

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

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.

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.

Foundation Center and the Human Rights Funders Network (HRFN) have partnered on this first-ever examination of global human rights grantmaking, in collaboration with Ariadne - European Funders for Social Change and Human Rights and Prospera – the International Network of Women’s Funds. Our goal is to build understanding of the current landscape of foundation support for human rights and begin to track changes in its scale and priorities going forward. For those considering human rights-related grantmaking for the first time, this website offers an accessible introduction to the field.