17%
Share of foundation
human rights funding
$642.2 Million out of
$3.7 Billion for all rights
6,038 Grants
Top Foundation Funders
- Ford Foundation $71.8 M
- W.K. Kellogg Foundation $69.6 M
- NoVo Foundation $36.1 M
- Foundation to Promote Open Society $29.3 M
- Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation $28.6 M
- Wellspring Philanthropic Fund $28.2 M
- Foundation for a Just Society $16.8 M
- JPB Foundation $14.3 M
- Tides Foundation $12.1 M
- Silicon Valley Community Foundation $11.1 M
- Evelyn and Walter Haas, Jr. Fund $10.3 M
- Arcus Foundation $9.8 M
- Andrew W. Mellon Foundation $8.4 M
- San Francisco Foundation $8.2 M
- Robert Wood Johnson Foundation $8.0 M
- Oak Foundation $7.5 M
- Gill Foundation $7.4 M
- Chicago Community Trust $7.0 M
- Marguerite Casey Foundation $6.8 M
- Susan Thompson Buffett Foundation $6.6 M
- Rockefeller Philanthropy Advisors $6.6 M
- William and Flora Hewlett Foundation $6.1 M
- Bush Foundation $6.1 M
- Kresge Foundation $5.9 M
- Comic Relief $5.0 M
- M = Millions
Bilateral and Multilateral Funding
11%
Share of OECD
human rights funding
$528.0 Million out of
$5.0 Billion for all rights
2,528 Disbursements
Top Funders
- European Union Institutions $82.0 M
- Japan $51.7 M
- International Development Association $45.1 M
- Sweden $42.1 M
- Germany $38.6 M
- Netherlands $36.9 M
- Spain $31.8 M
- Norway $28.3 M
- Italy $23.1 M
- Australia $22.5 M
- Denmark $18.3 M
- United Kingdom $12.2 M
- Canada $11.9 M
- United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) $10.2 M
- Switzerland $9.8 M
- Belgium $9.7 M
- Ireland $8.5 M
- United States $7.9 M
- United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) $6.1 M
- United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) $5.8 M
- Finland $5.7 M
- African Development Fund (African Development Fund) $3.7 M
- Luxembourg $3.3 M
- France $2.4 M
- Austria $2.0 M
- M = Millions
Foundation Funding by Region
Asia & Pacific
$19,301,839 (3%)
423 Grants (7%)
Caribbean
$9,688,791 (2%)
64 Grants (1%)
Eastern Europe, Central Asia, & Russia
$7,005,316 (1%)
314 Grants (5%)
Global Programs
$44,192,300 (7%)
257 Grants (4%)
Latin America & Mexico
$36,247,442 (6%)
447 Grants (7%)
Middle East & North Africa
$24,655,160 (4%)
197 Grants (3%)
North America
$444,824,649 (69%)
3,475 Grants (58%)
Sub-Saharan Africa
$46,888,439 (7%)
538 Grants (9%)
Western Europe
$35,125,513 (5%)
367 Grants (6%)
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
$143,920,082 (22%)
1,609 Grants (27%)Children & Youth
$94,476,523 (15%)
806 Grants (13%)LGBTQI
$57,871,331 (9%)
1,027 Grants (17%)Migrants & Refugees
$37,613,500 (6%)
298 Grants (5%)Indigenous Peoples
$34,328,457 (5%)
154 Grants (3%)People with Disabilities
$23,089,834 (4%)
457 Grants (8%)Human Rights Defenders
$2,465,759 (0%)
83 Grants (1%)Sex Workers
$639,625 (0%)
15 Grants (0%)
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
$231,700,723 (36%)
2,095 Grants (35%)Capacity-building and Technical Assistance
$110,643,863 (17%)
739 Grants (12%)Coalition-building and Collaboration
$83,045,713 (13%)
570 Grants (9%)Media and Technology
$40,646,096 (6%)
256 Grants (4%)Research and Documentation
$28,138,206 (4%)
265 Grants (4%)Grassroots Organizing
$25,483,846 (4%)
353 Grants (6%)Arts and Culture
$23,377,992 (4%)
210 Grants (3%)Litigation and Legal Aid
$10,927,961 (2%)
75 Grants (1%)Scholarships and Travel
$910,910 (0%)
30 Grants (0%)Security and Resilience
$201,668 (0%)
12 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.
Related Resources
- From Resolutions to Conventions: Achieving Recognition of SOGI Rights in the Americas
- Including Grantee Communities in the Grantmaking Process
- Multi-Year Support from a Funder: A Minority Group Achieves Groundbreaking Change through Ireland’s Civil Partnership Law for Same-Sex Couples
- Rapid Response Grantmaking: A Successful Strategy to Protect Women's Human Rights
- Strengthening Women’s Voices and Supporting Women’s Movements
- Taking Advantage of Seasoned Activists to Expand and Strengthen Human Rights Movements
- The Value of Flexible Funding in International Human Rights Grantmaking