17%
Share of foundation
human rights funding
$557.5 Million out of
$3.2 Billion for all rights
5,501 Grants
Top Foundation Funders
- Ford Foundation $96.4 M
- Tides Foundation $43.4 M
- Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation $38.4 M
- W.K. Kellogg Foundation $35.3 M
- NoVo Foundation $33.4 M
- Open Society Institute $19.9 M
- Foundation for a Just Society $12.0 M
- Arcus Foundation $11.9 M
- Wellspring Philanthropic Fund $10.8 M
- Evelyn and Walter Haas, Jr. Fund $10.3 M
- The William and Flora Hewlett Foundation $9.2 M
- The JPB Foundation $9.0 M
- Adelson Family Foundation $8.0 M
- Oak Foundation $6.3 M
- The Susan Thompson Buffett Foundation $6.2 M
- Silicon Valley Community Foundation $6.0 M
- John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation $6.0 M
- Surdna Foundation $5.5 M
- Marguerite Casey Foundation $5.2 M
- The San Francisco Foundation $4.8 M
- The New York Women's Foundation $4.7 M
- Hivos $4.5 M
- The Global Fund for Women $4.0 M
- Foundation to Promote Open Society $3.9 M
- The Sigrid Rausing Trust $3.8 M
- M = Millions
Bilateral and Multilateral Funding
9%
Share of OECD
human rights funding
$339.1 Million out of
$3.9 Billion for all rights
1,876 Disbursements
Top Funders
- European Union Institutions $45.6 M
- Sweden $34.5 M
- Denmark $29.7 M
- Germany $29.0 M
- Spain $27.8 M
- Netherlands $24.4 M
- Norway $24.1 M
- Japan $23.7 M
- Australia $14.2 M
- Finland $9.9 M
- Ireland $7.6 M
- United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) $7.3 M
- Italy $6.5 M
- United States $6.0 M
- United Kingdom $5.6 M
- United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) $5.4 M
- Switzerland $5.3 M
- Belgium $5.1 M
- Luxembourg $4.4 M
- Inter-American Development Bank $4.1 M
- France $3.9 M
- United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) $3.5 M
- Canada $2.7 M
- United Nations Peacebuilding Fund (UNPBF) $2.4 M
- Austria $1.8 M
- M = Millions
Foundation Funding by Region
Asia & Pacific
$28,661,294 (5%)
424 Grants (8%)
Caribbean
$4,929,539 (1%)
76 Grants (1%)
Eastern Europe, Central Asia, & Russia
$7,348,743 (1%)
218 Grants (4%)
Global Programs
$50,595,337 (9%)
240 Grants (4%)
Latin America & Mexico
$23,522,241 (4%)
408 Grants (7%)
Middle East & North Africa
$16,280,648 (3%)
166 Grants (3%)
North America
$373,171,251 (67%)
3,297 Grants (60%)
Sub-Saharan Africa
$36,353,379 (7%)
406 Grants (7%)
Western Europe
$25,003,469 (4%)
283 Grants (5%)
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
$142,531,642 (26%)
1,535 Grants (28%)Children & Youth
$62,428,102 (11%)
780 Grants (14%)LGBTQI
$53,302,670 (10%)
1,126 Grants (20%)Migrants & Refugees
$45,899,181 (8%)
316 Grants (6%)People with Disabilities
$25,561,762 (5%)
281 Grants (5%)Indigenous Peoples
$15,092,089 (3%)
124 Grants (2%)Human Rights Defenders
$3,314,472 (1%)
103 Grants (2%)Sex Workers
$673,900 (0%)
21 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
$223,112,263 (40%)
2,289 Grants (42%)Capacity-building and Technical Assistance
$99,433,190 (18%)
657 Grants (12%)Research and Documentation
$45,661,306 (8%)
210 Grants (4%)Coalition-building and Collaboration
$45,052,750 (8%)
439 Grants (8%)Grassroots Organizing
$27,970,759 (5%)
373 Grants (7%)Media and Technology
$21,963,377 (4%)
195 Grants (4%)Arts and Culture
$14,127,379 (3%)
179 Grants (3%)Litigation and Legal Aid
$12,141,442 (2%)
94 Grants (2%)Scholarships and Travel
$461,606 (0%)
25 Grants (0%)Security and Resilience
$185,180 (0%)
3 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