8%
Share of foundation
human rights funding
$141.1 Million out of
$1.8 Billion for all rights
2,105 Grants
Top Foundation Funders
- Open Society Foundations $30.9 M
- National Endowment for Democracy $22.4 M
- Ford Foundation $15.8 M
- Hivos $5.4 M
- Comic Relief UK $5.3 M
- The Oak Foundation $4.2 M
- The David and Lucile Packard Foundation $3.8 M
- American Jewish World Service $3.7 M
- Mensen met een Missie $3.3 M
- UN Women's Fund for Gender Equality $3.3 M
- Norwegian Human Rights Fund $3.0 M
- The Sigrid Rausing Trust $2.7 M
- The John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation $2.5 M
- The Global Fund for Women $2.3 M
- Nationale Postcode Loterij $2.1 M
- Humanity United $1.4 M
- Fund For Global Human Rights $1.4 M
- Mama Cash $1.3 M
- Global Fund for Children $1.3 M
- Human Dignity Foundation $1.3 M
- Tides Foundation $1.2 M
- Levi Strauss Foundation $1.1 M
- The McConnell Foundation $1.1 M
- Nirnaya Women's Fund $1.0 M
- The Rees-Jones Foundation $1.0 M
- M = Millions
Bilateral and Multilateral Funding
20%
Share of OECD
human rights funding
$697.9 Million out of
$3.4 Billion for all rights
2,710 Disbursements
Top Funders
- United Kingdom $119.4 M
- United States $95.2 M
- Australia $75.7 M
- European Union Institutions $55.2 M
- Sweden $54.7 M
- Norway $46.8 M
- Canada $45.6 M
- Asian Development Bank Special Funds $38.8 M
- Denmark $33.4 M
- Germany $31.8 M
- Belgium $15.2 M
- Switzerland $14.4 M
- Japan $11.7 M
- Netherlands $11.5 M
- Spain $9.5 M
- Finland $8.0 M
- United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) $6.8 M
- International Development Association $4.9 M
- New Zealand $4.4 M
- United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) $4.3 M
- Ireland $3.1 M
- Luxembourg $2.6 M
- Korea $1.7 M
- Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS) $1.2 M
- Italy $544.5 K
- M = Millions
Foundation Funding by Issue
Human Rights, General
$31,312,859 (22%)
407 Grants (19%)Equality Rights and Freedom from Discrimination
$22,757,251 (16%)
349 Grants (17%)Economic and Labor Rights
$13,940,141 (10%)
208 Grants (10%)Freedom from Violence
$13,754,429 (10%)
224 Grants (11%)Environmental and Resource Rights
$12,522,756 (9%)
320 Grants (15%)Sexual and Reproductive Rights
$9,556,793 (7%)
51 Grants (2%)Expression and Information Rights
$8,330,336 (6%)
115 Grants (5%)Access to Justice/Equality Before the Law
$5,698,652 (4%)
75 Grants (4%)Health and Well-being Rights
$5,103,305 (4%)
90 Grants (4%)Migration and Displacement
$3,195,031 (2%)
34 Grants (2%)Civic and Political Participation
$3,008,119 (2%)
40 Grants (2%)Transitional Justice and Peacebuilding
$1,075,644 (1%)
20 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
Economically Disadvantaged
$53,735,732 (38%)
482 Grants (23%)Women & Girls
$45,266,749 (32%)
778 Grants (37%)Children & Youth
$28,648,402 (20%)
443 Grants (21%)Ethnic or Racial Minorities
$18,623,684 (13%)
274 Grants (13%)Crime or Abuse Victims
$15,131,656 (11%)
305 Grants (14%)Migrants & Refugees
$10,142,290 (7%)
174 Grants (8%)Indigenous Peoples
$9,721,637 (7%)
192 Grants (9%)People with Disabilities
$3,759,015 (3%)
143 Grants (7%)LGBTQI
$3,604,119 (3%)
95 Grants (5%)People with AIDS
$2,378,464 (2%)
59 Grants (3%)Offenders & Ex-Offenders
$1,750,205 (1%)
22 Grants (1%)Human Rights Defenders
$1,679,168 (1%)
53 Grants (3%)Sex Workers
$1,072,689 (1%)
38 Grants (2%)Substance Abusers
$1,000,098 (1%)
20 Grants (1%)
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.
Sample Grants
-
Humanity United
Rainforest Action Network (United States)
To strengthen the documentation and awareness of palm oil slavery in Indonesia and, together with Indonesian and Malaysian civil society, build capacity and interest in addressing anti-slavery issues. -
Neelan Tiruchelvam Trust
University of Colombo (Sri Lanka)
To organize a debate competition among youth on promoting human rights, reconciliation, and pluralism.
Related Resources
- Documenting Human Rights Violations: Increasing Recognition of Civil and Political Rights in Burma
- Investing in a New Era of Global Human Rights Leadership
- Strengthening Women’s Voices and Supporting Women’s Movements
- Taking Advantage of Seasoned Activists to Expand and Strengthen Human Rights Movements
- The Value of Flexible Funding in International Human Rights Grantmaking
172 Grants (8%)