Top Foundation Funders

1. Nationale Postcode Loterij $230.2 M
2. Ford Foundation $176.1 M
3. The Susan Thompson Buffett Foundation $121.6 M
4. Oak Foundation $94.2 M
5. National Endowment for Democracy $91.9 M
6. Comic Relief $82.9 M
7. Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation $76.5 M
8. Tides Foundation $70.9 M
9. Foundation to Promote Open Society $70.8 M
10. NoVo Foundation $64.3 M
11. W. K. Kellogg Foundation $58.4 M
12. Big Lottery Fund $58.3 M
13. The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation $46.2 M
14. Howard G. Buffett Foundation $45.6 M
15. Vanguard Charitable Endowment Program $43.1 M
16. The Sigrid Rausing Trust $31.7 M
17. John S. and James L. Knight Foundation $31.7 M
18. The William and Flora Hewlett Foundation $30.9 M
19. Foundation For The Carolinas $29.6 M
20. The John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation $27.5 M
21. American Jewish World Service - Donor Advised Funds $27.1 M
22. Silicon Valley Community Foundation $23.1 M
23. The California Endowment $21.1 M
24. EEA and Norway Grants $20.5 M
25. NEO Philanthropy $20.4 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 Issue

• Health and Well-being Rights

  $314,648,200 (13%)
  2,187 Grants (10%)

• Freedom from Violence

  $282,257,145 (12%)
  2,805 Grants (12%)

• Equality Rights and Freedom from Discrimination

  $264,087,103 (11%)
  3,188 Grants (14%)

• Social and Cultural Rights

  $234,867,127 (10%)
  2,427 Grants (11%)

• Human Rights, General

  $233,310,086 (10%)
  1,744 Grants (8%)

• Environmental and Resource Rights

  $196,872,701 (8%)
  2,656 Grants (12%)

• Sexual and Reproductive Rights

  $179,843,942 (7%)
  1,046 Grants (5%)

• Civic and Political Participation

  $177,644,784 (7%)
  1,747 Grants (8%)

• Economic and Labor Rights

  $140,403,459 (6%)
  1,267 Grants (6%)

• Migration and Displacement

  $126,325,976 (5%)
  1,037 Grants (5%)

• Access to Justice/Equality Before the Law

  $114,041,205 (5%)
  1,070 Grants (5%)

• Expression and Information Rights

  $103,177,624 (4%)
  1,063 Grants (5%)

• Transitional Justice and Peacebuilding

  $51,562,269 (2%)
  656 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 Intersecting Populations

In order to show the intersections of multiple population groups, these graphics indicate other population groups supported within funding towards the group highlighted on this page.

Foundation Funding by Strategy

• Advocacy, Systems Reform and Implementation

  $893,751,600 (37%)
  10,205 Grants (45%)

• Capacity-building and Technical Assistance

  $333,297,340 (14%)
  3,572 Grants (16%)

• Coalition-building and Collaboration

  $205,809,321 (9%)
  2,747 Grants (12%)

• Public Engagement and Awareness-raising

  $195,943,875 (8%)
  2,849 Grants (12%)

• Research and Documentation

  $188,433,208 (8%)
  1,639 Grants (7%)

• Media and Technology

  $168,199,582 (7%)
  2,108 Grants (9%)

• Grassroots Organizing

  $102,284,492 (4%)
  1,413 Grants (6%)

• Litigation and Legal Aid

  $96,454,421 (4%)
  637 Grants (3%)

• Arts and Culture

  $79,759,331 (3%)
  1,356 Grants (6%)

• Scholarships and Travel

  $5,066,797 (0%)
  438 Grants (2%)

• Security and Resilience

  $3,878,717 (0%)
  52 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.