Top Foundation Funders

1. National Endowment for Democracy $36.5 M
2. Foundation to Promote Open Society $19.3 M
3. Ford Foundation $13.8 M
4. Nationale Postcode Loterij $11.1 M
5. NEO Philanthropy $7.2 M
6. W. K. Kellogg Foundation $6.8 M
7. American Jewish World Service - Donor Advised Funds $6.7 M
8. The Susan Thompson Buffett Foundation $5.3 M
9. Vanguard Charitable Endowment Program $5.2 M
10. Carnegie Corporation of New York $4.7 M
11. Comic Relief $4.4 M
12. Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation $4.3 M
13. Tides Foundation $3.8 M
14. Wallace H. Coulter Foundation $3.3 M
15. The James Irvine Foundation $3.3 M
16. Silicon Valley Community Foundation $3.0 M
17. Oak Foundation $2.9 M
18. New Israel Foundation $2.5 M
19. EEA and Norway Grants $2.2 M
20. Unbound Philanthropy $2.1 M
21. Humanity United $1.7 M
22. Evelyn and Walter Haas, Jr. Fund $1.7 M
23. The Comcast Foundation $1.5 M
24. California Community Foundation $1.5 M
25. Unitarian Universalist Veatch Program at Shelter Rock $1.5 M
26. M = Millions

Foundation Funding by Region

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 Population

• Women & Girls

  $33,133,626 (19%)
  365 Grants (21%)

• Migrants & Refugees

  $21,629,101 (12%)
  187 Grants (11%)

• Children & Youth

  $17,902,534 (10%)
  273 Grants (16%)

• LGBTQI

  $6,379,802 (4%)
  75 Grants (4%)

• People with Disabilities

  $5,003,029 (3%)
  105 Grants (6%)

• Indigenous Peoples

  $3,549,162 (2%)
  41 Grants (2%)

• Human Rights Defenders

  $1,045,673 (1%)
  28 Grants (2%)

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

  $63,470,142 (36%)
  762 Grants (44%)

• Capacity-building and Technical Assistance

  $32,107,126 (18%)
  321 Grants (18%)

• Public Engagement and Awareness-raising

  $29,362,817 (17%)
  380 Grants (22%)

• Coalition-building and Collaboration

  $14,454,212 (8%)
  192 Grants (11%)

• Media and Technology

  $11,712,647 (7%)
  96 Grants (5%)

• Grassroots Organizing

  $11,533,102 (6%)
  143 Grants (8%)

• Research and Documentation

  $5,628,839 (3%)
  75 Grants (4%)

• Litigation and Legal Aid

  $1,857,890 (1%)
  15 Grants (1%)

• Arts and Culture

  $1,809,685 (1%)
  42 Grants (2%)

• Security and Resilience

  $137,500 (0%)
  1 Grants (0%)

• Scholarships and Travel

  $98,206 (0%)
  12 Grants (1%)

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.

Sample Grants

• Funder Ford Foundation
  Recipient Black Civic Engagement Fund (United States)
  Description To build the capacity of state and local anchor organizations to promote, facilitate, and advance long-term civic engagement.
• Funder Oak Foundation
  Recipient Creating Resources for Empowerment and Action (CREA) (India)
  Description To provide leadership development for women elected as political representatives in Panchayati Raj Institutions of parliament.

Related Resources

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