Population

Children & Youth, 2019

Human rights funding for children (under 18) protects and promotes their rights as described in the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child. This funding ensures children have access to adequate healthcare, education, and housing, live free from violence and exploitation, and are involved in decisions that affect them. Human rights funding for youth similarly upholds their rights and recognizes their role as pivotal actors in social change.

16%
Share of foundation
human rights funding

$674.2 Million out of
$4.1 Billion for all rights
5,155 Grants

Top Foundation Funders

  1. Oak Foundation $52.6 M
  2. California Endowment $33.1 M
  3. W.K. Kellogg Foundation $29.8 M
  4. Ford Foundation $27.2 M
  5. Walton Family Foundation $26.7 M
  6. Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation $25.8 M
  7. NoVo Foundation $20.2 M
  8. William and Flora Hewlett Foundation $19.1 M
  9. EEA and Norway Grants $18.0 M
  10. Wellspring Philanthropic Fund $18.0 M
  11. Silicon Valley Community Foundation $18.0 M
  12. Lilly Endowment $16.0 M
  13. Susan Thompson Buffett Foundation $12.7 M
  14. Foundation to Promote Open Society $12.4 M
  15. Comic Relief $10.2 M
  16. Chan Zuckerberg Foundation $10.0 M
  17. Robert Wood Johnson Foundation $9.3 M
  18. Paul Hamlyn Foundation $9.3 M
  19. BHP Foundation $9.3 M
  20. Annie E. Casey Foundation $9.0 M
  21. David and Lucile Packard Foundation $8.6 M
  22. Charles and Lynn Schusterman Family Philanthropies $8.3 M
  23. James Irvine Foundation $8.2 M
  24. Tides Foundation $7.4 M
  25. Carnegie Corporation of New York $6.6 M
  26. M = Millions

Bilateral and Multilateral Funding

26%
Share of OECD
human rights funding

$1.5 Billion out of
$5.8 Billion for all rights
5,364 Disbursements

Top Funders

  1. Canada $405.4 M
  2. Sweden $323.0 M
  3. United Kingdom $109.2 M
  4. United States $108.9 M
  5. European Union Institutions $74.7 M
  6. United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) $73.9 M
  7. Norway $59.7 M
  8. Finland $58.1 M
  9. Spain $45.2 M
  10. Germany $37.6 M
  11. Australia $36.6 M
  12. Netherlands $35.5 M
  13. Italy $23.7 M
  14. Belgium $22.5 M
  15. Switzerland $20.0 M
  16. Austria $8.7 M
  17. Korea $8.6 M
  18. International Labour Organisation $7.9 M
  19. Ireland $6.1 M
  20. France $5.3 M
  21. Japan $4.9 M
  22. United Nations Peacebuilding Fund (UNPBF) $3.4 M
  23. Saudi Arabia $3.2 M
  24. Iceland $1.9 M
  25. United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) $1.9 M
  26. M = Millions

Key Findings:
2019 Funding

Key Findings

Foundation Funding by Region

Asia & Pacific

$27,355,959 (4%)
374 Grants (7%)

Caribbean

$4,233,802 (1%)
45 Grants (1%)

Eastern Europe, Central Asia, & Russia

$31,435,446 (5%)
247 Grants (5%)

Global Programs

$60,829,171 (9%)
168 Grants (3%)

Latin America & Mexico

$16,987,037 (3%)
412 Grants (8%)

Middle East & North Africa

$4,803,880 (1%)
89 Grants (2%)

North America

$447,165,313 (66%)
2,641 Grants (51%)

Sub-Saharan Africa

$43,641,417 (6%)
791 Grants (15%)

Western Europe

$41,735,235 (6%)
338 Grants (7%)

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

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

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.