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Advancing Human Rights

The State of Global Foundation Grantmaking

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  • Years
    • 2011 - 2015
    • 2018
    • 2017
    • 2016
    • 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
    • Education, Religion, and Culture
    • 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
    • Transitional Justice and Peacebuilding
  • Populations
    • Children & Youth
    • Human Rights Defenders
    • Indigenous Peoples
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  • Strategies
    • Advocacy, Systems Reform and Implementation
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    • Scholarships and Travel
    • Security and Resilience
  • Bi/Multilateral
Issue

Civic and Political Participation, 2011 - 2015

Supporting the right to peaceful assembly and association, voting rights, and full participation in the political process. This category includes grants to promote democracy, citizen political involvement, protection from closing civic space, free and fair elections, gaining access to public officials, and obtaining necessary information to make informed decisions at the polls and in daily public affairs.

Select Year
  • Trends, 2011 - 2015
  • 2018
  • 2017
  • 2016
  • 2015
  • 2014
  • 2013
  • 2012
  • 2011

Foundation Funding for Civic and Political Participation

These are partial figures based on a subset of foundations that shared grants data all five years: Read more about our methodology.
Explore:
Select a Section
  • Top Foundation Funders
  • Bilateral and Multilateral Funding
  • Regional Focus
  • Population Focus
  • Strategy Focus
  • Related Resources

8%
Share of foundation
human rights funding

$794.2 Million out of
$9.4 Billion for all rights
6,810 Grants
from 2011 - 2015

Top Foundation Funders

  1. National Endowment for Democracy $225.9 M
  2. Ford Foundation $159.8 M
  3. W. K. Kellogg Foundation $29.1 M
  4. Vanguard Charitable Endowment Program $24.0 M
  5. Carnegie Corporation of New York $19.7 M
  6. The James Irvine Foundation $19.3 M
  7. Public Interest Projects $18.7 M
  8. Nationale Postcode Loterij $16.9 M
  9. The Atlantic Philanthropies $14.5 M
  10. Marguerite Casey Foundation $14.0 M
  11. Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation $13.7 M
  12. Tides Foundation $13.0 M
  13. Wallace H. Coulter Foundation $12.7 M
  14. Hivos $10.7 M
  15. Anonymous $10.3 M
  16. NoVo Foundation $9.4 M
  17. Evelyn and Walter Haas, Jr. Fund $9.0 M
  18. Unitarian Universalist Veatch Program at Shelter Rock $8.9 M
  19. The John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation $7.1 M
  20. American Jewish World Service $6.9 M
  21. Charles Stewart Mott Foundation $6.7 M
  22. The Oak Foundation $6.7 M
  23. Humanity United $6.6 M
  24. The Bank of America Charitable Foundation $6.6 M
  25. John S. and James L. Knight Foundation $6.4 M
  26. M = Millions
    B = Billions

Bilateral and Multilateral Funding

15%
Share of OECD
human rights funding

$4.5 Billion out of
$30.8 Billion for all rights
14,900 Disbursements

Top Funders

  1. United States $1.4 B
  2. Sweden $605.6 M
  3. Germany $406.2 M
  4. European Union Institutions $380.0 M
  5. Norway $330.7 M
  6. Denmark $315.8 M
  7. United Kingdom $278.2 M
  8. Canada $135.1 M
  9. Australia $105.5 M
  10. Finland $88.0 M
  11. Spain $74.4 M
  12. Ireland $55.1 M
  13. Switzerland $44.4 M
  14. Asian Development Bank $40.8 M
  15. Belgium $37.7 M
  16. Netherlands $33.7 M
  17. United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) $33.1 M
  18. United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) $32.5 M
  19. Japan $28.3 M
  20. International Development Association $8.0 M
  21. Italy $7.6 M
  22. International Labour Organisation $7.4 M
  23. United Nations Peacebuilding Fund (UNPBF) $6.0 M
  24. Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS) $5.2 M
  25. France $4.9 M
  26. M = Millions
    B = Billions

Trends Blog Series

Relevant Posts

  • Why International Human Rights Funders Still Have a Role to Play in Brazil
  • Human Rights and the Sustainable Development Goals: Are the SDGs living up to their promise to leave no one behind?
View the entire blog series

Trends Snapshot

Trends Analysis Snapshot

Subset of Foundation Funding by Region

Top three categories shown in default view.
Add or remove regions using the legend below.

Subset of Foundation Funding by Population

Top three categories shown in default view.
Add or remove populations using the legend below.

Subset of Foundation Funding by Strategy

Top three categories shown in default view.
Add or remove strategies using the legend below.

Related Resources

  • Documenting Human Rights Violations: Increasing Recognition of Civil and Political Rights in Burma
  • Transitional Human Rights Work in Syria: A Pilot Initiative Embedding Human Rights Norms in Nascent Governance Structures

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