7%
Share of foundation
human rights funding
$159.2 Million out of
$2.3 Billion for all rights
2,205 Grants
Top Foundation Funders
- Open Society Foundations $23.6 M
- Ford Foundation $22.8 M
- Hivos $11.2 M
- The Oak Foundation $7.7 M
- Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation $6.5 M
- Human Dignity Foundation $6.3 M
- Comic Relief UK $6.0 M
- National Endowment for Democracy $5.7 M
- Nationale Postcode Loterij $4.5 M
- The David and Lucile Packard Foundation $4.5 M
- American Jewish World Service $4.3 M
- Open Doors International $4.2 M
- The Atlantic Philanthropies $4.1 M
- The Skoll Foundation $3.8 M
- UN Women's Fund for Gender Equality $3.7 M
- The International Development Research Centre $3.5 M
- The Global Fund for Women $3.2 M
- The Christensen Fund $2.4 M
- Tides Foundation $1.9 M
- Fund For Global Human Rights $1.9 M
- Freedom House $1.7 M
- Humanity United $1.6 M
- The Sigrid Rausing Trust $1.5 M
- Foundation for a Just Society $1.5 M
- The Susan Thompson Buffett Foundation $1.4 M
- M = Millions
Bilateral and Multilateral Funding
19%
Share of OECD
human rights funding
$714.5 Million out of
$3.7 Billion for all rights
2,832 Disbursements
Top Funders
- Australia $130.6 M
- United States $85.0 M
- Norway $64.7 M
- Sweden $64.4 M
- Canada $61.8 M
- European Union Institutions $50.5 M
- United Kingdom $49.3 M
- Germany $40.2 M
- Denmark $34.5 M
- Finland $29.4 M
- Switzerland $16.5 M
- United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) $11.4 M
- Netherlands $10.3 M
- Spain $9.3 M
- Korea $9.3 M
- Belgium $9.2 M
- Asian Development Bank Special Funds $7.4 M
- United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) $6.5 M
- United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) $6.0 M
- Luxembourg $3.1 M
- Ireland $2.6 M
- Italy $2.3 M
- New Zealand $1.9 M
- International Development Association $1.8 M
- Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS) $1.7 M
- M = Millions
Foundation Funding by Issue
Equality Rights and Freedom from Discrimination
$24,002,124 (15%)
405 Grants (18%)Health and Well-being Rights
$19,085,295 (12%)
165 Grants (7%)Freedom from Violence
$18,947,643 (12%)
315 Grants (14%)Environmental and Resource Rights
$16,997,571 (11%)
379 Grants (17%)Sexual and Reproductive Rights
$14,344,192 (9%)
72 Grants (3%)Economic and Labor Rights
$11,203,190 (7%)
157 Grants (7%)Access to Justice/Equality Before the Law
$11,004,976 (7%)
66 Grants (3%)Civic and Political Participation
$9,724,812 (6%)
152 Grants (7%)Human Rights, General
$9,350,713 (6%)
145 Grants (7%)Expression and Information Rights
$6,881,154 (4%)
99 Grants (4%)Transitional Justice and Peacebuilding
$3,085,586 (2%)
51 Grants (2%)Migration and Displacement
$908,852 (1%)
33 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
$48,849,785 (31%)
862 Grants (39%)Children & Youth
$34,404,784 (22%)
523 Grants (24%)Indigenous Peoples
$15,169,234 (10%)
286 Grants (13%)Migrants & Refugees
$10,804,869 (7%)
237 Grants (11%)LGBTQI
$6,490,443 (4%)
108 Grants (5%)People with Disabilities
$2,475,417 (2%)
133 Grants (6%)Sex Workers
$2,310,922 (1%)
35 Grants (2%)Human Rights Defenders
$1,308,748 (1%)
48 Grants (2%)
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
$42,549,400 (27%)
486 Grants (22%)Capacity-building and Technical Assistance
$30,750,671 (19%)
306 Grants (14%)Research and Documentation
$25,558,614 (16%)
310 Grants (14%)Media and Technology
$18,007,579 (11%)
247 Grants (11%)Coalition-building and Collaboration
$9,083,922 (6%)
278 Grants (13%)Grassroots Organizing
$4,577,812 (3%)
100 Grants (5%)Arts and Culture
$4,395,116 (3%)
86 Grants (4%)Litigation and Legal Aid
$3,294,554 (2%)
53 Grants (2%)Scholarships and Travel
$317,522 (0%)
26 Grants (1%)Security and Resilience
$249,668 (0%)
8 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.
Sample Grants
-
Tewa
Sahayatri Samaj Nepal
For a legal counselling service that supports victimized women to file, document, and follow up on cases and to advocate and organize awareness programs on women's rights issues. -
Comic Relief UK
Dhaka Ahsania Mission (United Kingdom)
To provide a safe space for Dhaka's disadvantaged street and working children to rest, wash, eat, play, study, learn new skills, and receive healthcare.
Related Resources
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- Investing in a New Era of Global Human Rights Leadership
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166 Grants (8%)