Top Foundation Funders

1. Ford Foundation $252.7 M
2. Foundation to Promote Open Society $154.1 M
3. W.K. Kellogg Foundation $148.5 M
4. Big Lottery Fund $142.9 M
5. The Susan Thompson Buffett Foundation $141.8 M
6. National Endowment for Democracy $126.9 M
7. Oak Foundation $123.0 M
8. NoVo Foundation $106.8 M
9. Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation $92.6 M
10. Silicon Valley Community Foundation $79.1 M
11. Comic Relief $74.2 M
12. John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation $71.9 M
13. Vanguard Charitable-Donor Advised Fund $45.9 M
14. The California Endowment $45.0 M
15. Foundation For The Carolinas $43.6 M
16. The William and Flora Hewlett Foundation $39.5 M
17. The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation $33.7 M
18. NEO Philanthropy $32.0 M
19. The Sigrid Rausing Trust $31.6 M
20. American Jewish World Service - Donor Advised Funds $27.4 M
21. Esmée Fairbairn Foundation $27.1 M
22. Carnegie Corporation of New York $25.9 M
23. Laura and John Arnold Foundation $25.5 M
24. Rockefeller Philanthropy Advisors $25.4 M
25. The JPB Foundation $24.8 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

  $344,450,086 (12%)
  2,349 Grants (10%)

• Equality Rights and Freedom from Discrimination

  $326,855,312 (12%)
  3,143 Grants (14%)

• Social and Cultural Rights

  $272,887,337 (10%)
  1,787 Grants (8%)

• 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 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

  $1,198,283,867 (43%)
  11,435 Grants (50%)

• Public Engagement and Awareness-raising

  $567,560,742 (20%)
  7,235 Grants (31%)

• 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.