$2.8 Billion
23,016 Grants
for foundation human rights funding
in 2016
Top Foundation Funders
- Ford Foundation $252.7 M
- Foundation to Promote Open Society $154.1 M
- W.K. Kellogg Foundation $148.5 M
- Big Lottery Fund $142.9 M
- The Susan Thompson Buffett Foundation $141.8 M
- National Endowment for Democracy $126.9 M
- Oak Foundation $123.0 M
- NoVo Foundation $106.8 M
- Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation $92.6 M
- Silicon Valley Community Foundation $79.1 M
- Comic Relief $74.2 M
- John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation $71.9 M
- Vanguard Charitable-Donor Advised Fund $45.9 M
- The California Endowment $45.0 M
- Foundation For The Carolinas $43.6 M
- The William and Flora Hewlett Foundation $39.5 M
- The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation $33.7 M
- NEO Philanthropy $32.0 M
- The Sigrid Rausing Trust $31.6 M
- American Jewish World Service - Donor Advised Funds $27.4 M
- Esmée Fairbairn Foundation $27.1 M
- Carnegie Corporation of New York $25.9 M
- Laura and John Arnold Foundation $25.5 M
- Rockefeller Philanthropy Advisors $25.4 M
- The JPB Foundation $24.8 M
- M = Millions
Bilateral and Multilateral Funding
$3.9 Billion
13,413 Disbursements
for OECD human rights funding
in 2016
Top Funders
- European Union Institutions $654.3 M
- Sweden $532.5 M
- United States $455.4 M
- United Kingdom $258.2 M
- Italy $251.4 M
- Germany $227.8 M
- Norway $195.0 M
- Switzerland $194.4 M
- Canada $179.2 M
- Denmark $154.1 M
- Netherlands $124.9 M
- Spain $114.7 M
- Australia $110.1 M
- Finland $109.4 M
- United Arab Emirates $53.8 M
- Belgium $31.4 M
- United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) $28.5 M
- United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) $26.7 M
- Ireland $26.4 M
- Japan $26.1 M
- United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) $23.7 M
- Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) $22.2 M
- International Labour Organisation $20.5 M
- France $20.1 M
- International Development Association $12.4 M
- M = Millions
Foundation Funding by Region
Asia & Pacific
$153,913,389 (6%)
2,302 Grants (10%)
Caribbean
$32,971,333 (1%)
349 Grants (2%)
Eastern Europe, Central Asia, & Russia
$62,051,200 (2%)
1,300 Grants (6%)
Global Programs
$344,172,823 (12%)
1,247 Grants (5%)
Latin America & Mexico
$176,656,204 (6%)
2,416 Grants (10%)
Middle East & North Africa
$58,065,507 (2%)
892 Grants (4%)
North America
$1,461,694,287 (53%)
9,401 Grants (41%)
Sub-Saharan Africa
$269,216,963 (10%)
3,038 Grants (13%)
Western Europe
$269,910,918 (10%)
2,257 Grants (10%)
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 Issue
Health and Well-being Rights
$344,450,086 (12%)
2,349 Grants (10%)Equality Rights and Freedom from Discrimination
$326,855,312 (12%)
3,143 Grants (14%)Freedom from Violence
$265,294,098 (10%)
2,790 Grants (12%)Environmental and Resource Rights
$252,175,254 (9%)
2,556 Grants (11%)Sexual and Reproductive Rights
$216,081,515 (8%)
1,062 Grants (5%)Economic and Labor Rights
$212,840,356 (8%)
1,366 Grants (6%)Civic and Political Participation
$205,879,240 (7%)
2,023 Grants (9%)Access to Justice/Equality Before the Law
$193,807,112 (7%)
1,305 Grants (6%)Human Rights, General
$167,256,877 (6%)
1,470 Grants (6%)Expression and Information Rights
$165,227,934 (6%)
1,453 Grants (6%)Migration and Displacement
$113,830,636 (4%)
1,108 Grants (5%)Transitional Justice and Peacebuilding
$38,109,679 (1%)
604 Grants (3%)
Issue totals include foundation funding that could be identified as meant to address a specific issue. In order to provide unique totals and avoid double-counting, each foundation grant has been assigned to exactly one issue category within the human rights taxonomy.
Foundation Funding by Population
Women & Girls
$645,538,114 (23%)
6,241 Grants (27%)Children & Youth
$639,705,032 (23%)
4,681 Grants (20%)Migrants & Refugees
$290,433,814 (10%)
2,526 Grants (11%)Indigenous Peoples
$105,419,366 (4%)
1,334 Grants (6%)LGBTQI
$104,475,731 (4%)
2,189 Grants (10%)People with Disabilities
$74,872,222 (3%)
1,299 Grants (6%)Human Rights Defenders
$19,341,898 (1%)
576 Grants (3%)Sex Workers
$7,185,937 (0%)
152 Grants (1%)
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
$1,198,283,867 (43%)
11,435 Grants (50%)Capacity-building and Technical Assistance
$370,982,039 (13%)
4,461 Grants (19%)Coalition-building and Collaboration
$281,527,061 (10%)
3,610 Grants (16%)Media and Technology
$248,399,631 (9%)
2,190 Grants (10%)Grassroots Organizing
$223,919,921 (8%)
2,167 Grants (9%)Research and Documentation
$184,739,346 (7%)
1,721 Grants (7%)Arts and Culture
$93,972,853 (3%)
1,269 Grants (6%)Litigation and Legal Aid
$87,362,905 (3%)
818 Grants (4%)Scholarships and Travel
$6,566,592 (0%)
493 Grants (2%)Security and Resilience
$4,165,467 (0%)
73 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.
1,787 Grants (8%)