Region

Sub-Saharan Africa, 2015

Angola, Benin, Botswana, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Cameroon, Cape Verde, Central African Republic, Chad, Comoros, Congo, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Côte d'Ivoire, Djibouti, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Gabon, Republic of Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Kenya, Lesotho, Liberia, Madagascar, Malawi, Mali, Mauritania, Mauritius, Mozambique, Namibia, Niger, Nigeria, Rwanda, Sao Tome and Principe, Senegal, Seychelles, Sierra Leone, Somalia, South Africa, South Sudan, Sudan, Swaziland, Tanzania, Togo, Uganda, Zambia, Zimbabwe

12%
Share of foundation
human rights funding

$287.9 Million out of
$2.4 Billion for all rights
3,325 Grants

Top Foundation Funders

  1. Comic Relief $39.1 M
  2. Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation $32.0 M
  3. Foundation to Promote Open Society $25.5 M
  4. American Jewish World Service - Donor Advised Funds $15.2 M
  5. Ford Foundation $14.3 M
  6. National Endowment for Democracy $13.4 M
  7. Human Dignity Foundation $13.2 M
  8. W. K. Kellogg Foundation $10.1 M
  9. Segal Family Foundation $9.9 M
  10. Oak Foundation $9.8 M
  11. Cordaid $9.3 M
  12. Humanity United $8.4 M
  13. NoVo Foundation $8.2 M
  14. ViiV Healthcare $5.8 M
  15. The Sigrid Rausing Trust $5.4 M
  16. Tides Foundation $5.3 M
  17. Alliance for Open Society International $4.7 M
  18. Open Doors International $4.7 M
  19. Fund For Global Human Rights $4.6 M
  20. The UN Trust Fund to End Violence Against Women $4.3 M
  21. Nationale Postcode Loterij $4.1 M
  22. American Jewish World Service $4.0 M
  23. International Development Research Centre $3.8 M
  24. The John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation $3.6 M
  25. Charles Stewart Mott Foundation $2.9 M
  26. M = Millions

Bilateral and Multilateral Funding

31%
Share of OECD
human rights funding

$1.1 Billion out of
$3.7 Billion for all rights
4,647 Disbursements

Top Funders

  1. European Union Institutions $152.3 M
  2. Sweden $148.7 M
  3. United Kingdom $107.6 M
  4. Canada $95.7 M
  5. Norway $90.6 M
  6. United States $83.5 M
  7. Global Fund $83.1 M
  8. Denmark $51.3 M
  9. Germany $49.7 M
  10. Finland $38.0 M
  11. Switzerland $30.6 M
  12. Belgium $28.3 M
  13. Netherlands $26.2 M
  14. United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) $25.0 M
  15. Ireland $22.8 M
  16. United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) $19.9 M
  17. United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) $15.4 M
  18. Spain $12.7 M
  19. Japan $10.7 M
  20. Italy $8.2 M
  21. France $6.6 M
  22. Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS) $5.5 M
  23. United Nations Peacebuilding Fund (UNPBF) $3.6 M
  24. International Labour Organisation $1.4 M
  25. Austria $1.4 M
  26. M = Millions

Key Findings:
2015 Funding

Key Findings

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 Population

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

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.

Sample Grants

  • The Nexus Fund
    United Nations Institute for Training & Research (UNITAR) and the West Africa Network (Nigeria)
    For Peacebuilding (WANEP) in Ghana to advance advocacy efforts, capacity-building, and early warning mechanisms to address mass atrocities.
  • Fund For Global Human Rights
    Parole et Action pour le Reveil des Consciences et l'Evolution des Mentalites (Burundi)
    Founded to change attitudes and behaviors that hinder the creation of a peaceful society and sustainable development in Burundi, to audit its organizational finances.