Top Foundation Funders

1. Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation $48.3 M
2. Foundation to Promote Open Society $44.2 M
3. Open Society Institute $40.5 M
4. Ford Foundation $37.8 M
5. Tides Foundation $14.4 M
6. NoVo Foundation $12.7 M
7. The William and Flora Hewlett Foundation $11.8 M
8. Wellspring Philanthropic Fund $11.7 M
9. Comic Relief $8.6 M
10. Oak Foundation $6.8 M
11. Segal Family Foundation $6.5 M
12. International Development Research Centre $4.4 M
13. African Women's Development Fund $4.4 M
14. The Sigrid Rausing Trust $4.2 M
15. Fund for Global Human Rights $4.1 M
16. American Jewish World Service $4.1 M
17. Foundation for a Just Society $3.9 M
18. The David and Lucile Packard Foundation $3.4 M
19. The Susan Thompson Buffett Foundation $3.3 M
20. Hivos $3.2 M
21. Charles Stewart Mott Foundation $2.5 M
22. Humanity United $2.4 M
23. Arcus Foundation $2.4 M
24. Peace Direct $2.4 M
25. C&A Foundation $2.2 M
26. M = Millions

Foundation Funding by Issue

• Health and Well-being Rights

  $47,005,635 (20%)
  254 Grants (11%)

• Equality Rights and Freedom from Discrimination

  $36,353,379 (15%)
  406 Grants (17%)

• Environmental and Resource Rights

  $27,598,961 (12%)
  482 Grants (21%)

• Freedom from Violence

  $27,583,801 (12%)
  292 Grants (12%)

• Sexual and Reproductive Rights

  $25,921,643 (11%)
  116 Grants (5%)

• Education, Religion, and Culture

  $13,594,647 (6%)
  137 Grants (6%)

• Transitional Justice and Peacebuilding

  $13,209,726 (6%)
  174 Grants (7%)

• Human Rights, General

  $12,136,278 (5%)
  96 Grants (4%)

• Economic and Labor Rights

  $11,245,700 (5%)
  78 Grants (3%)

• Access to Justice/Equality Before the Law

  $10,123,441 (4%)
  75 Grants (3%)

• Civic and Political Participation

  $6,731,968 (3%)
  39 Grants (2%)

• Expression and Information Rights

  $3,823,815 (2%)
  163 Grants (7%)

• Migration and Displacement

  $3,106,476 (1%)
  34 Grants (1%)

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

  $108,671,742 (46%)
  1,189 Grants (51%)

• Children & Youth

  $68,412,005 (29%)
  674 Grants (29%)

• LGBTQI

  $7,936,562 (3%)
  204 Grants (9%)

• Migrants & Refugees

  $7,578,987 (3%)
  77 Grants (3%)

• People with Disabilities

  $7,215,819 (3%)
  121 Grants (5%)

• Indigenous Peoples

  $3,305,851 (1%)
  191 Grants (8%)

• Human Rights Defenders

  $2,619,001 (1%)
  95 Grants (4%)

• Sex Workers

  $1,841,712 (1%)
  60 Grants (3%)

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

  $119,153,991 (50%)
  1,323 Grants (56%)

• Capacity-building and Technical Assistance

  $57,425,654 (24%)
  655 Grants (28%)

• Coalition-building and Collaboration

  $21,082,192 (9%)
  208 Grants (9%)

• Research and Documentation

  $17,471,178 (7%)
  224 Grants (10%)

• Grassroots Organizing

  $13,086,917 (5%)
  207 Grants (9%)

• Media and Technology

  $12,309,488 (5%)
  106 Grants (5%)

• Litigation and Legal Aid

  $10,204,472 (4%)
  85 Grants (4%)

• Arts and Culture

  $1,952,464 (1%)
  51 Grants (2%)

• Security and Resilience

  $1,335,005 (1%)
  11 Grants (0%)

• Scholarships and Travel

  $485,564 (0%)
  53 Grants (2%)

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

• Funding at the Intersection of Governance and Sustainable Development to Achieve Human Rights
• Holding Corporations Accountable: Shell in the Niger Delta
• Investing in a New Era of Global Human Rights Leadership
• Leading and Supporting Robust Public Advocacy Campaigns