6%
Share of foundation
human rights funding
$192.9 Million out of
$3.2 Billion for all rights
2,085 Grants
Top Foundation Funders
- Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation $60.0 M
- Ford Foundation $18.8 M
- C&A Foundation $12.0 M
- Open Society Institute $11.8 M
- NoVo Foundation $8.9 M
- Foundation to Promote Open Society $8.4 M
- Foundation for a Just Society $8.0 M
- American Jewish World Service $6.8 M
- Tides Foundation $6.0 M
- Oak Foundation $5.0 M
- The Global Fund for Women $3.7 M
- The Susan Thompson Buffett Foundation $3.3 M
- Humanity United $3.1 M
- Women’s Fund Asia $3.0 M
- The William and Flora Hewlett Foundation $3.0 M
- Mama Cash $2.7 M
- The Freedom Fund (UK) $2.5 M
- Anonymous Funder 13 $2.5 M
- The David and Lucile Packard Foundation $2.3 M
- The Skoll Foundation $2.0 M
- Fund for Global Human Rights $1.8 M
- Arcus Foundation $1.8 M
- Both ENDS Foundation $1.6 M
- Comic Relief $1.5 M
- The Sigrid Rausing Trust $1.4 M
- M = Millions
Bilateral and Multilateral Funding
18%
Share of OECD
human rights funding
$695.4 Million out of
$3.9 Billion for all rights
2,399 Disbursements
Top Funders
- United States $121.3 M
- Australia $112.4 M
- Canada $65.7 M
- United Kingdom $55.0 M
- Sweden $53.4 M
- European Union Institutions $51.9 M
- Germany $47.6 M
- Denmark $38.7 M
- Finland $27.5 M
- Norway $26.5 M
- Japan $23.5 M
- Switzerland $14.4 M
- Netherlands $12.7 M
- United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) $6.9 M
- Asian Development Bank $5.3 M
- Belgium $4.9 M
- Spain $4.4 M
- United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) $3.5 M
- Italy $3.4 M
- France $3.4 M
- United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) $3.0 M
- Ireland $2.4 M
- Luxembourg $1.9 M
- Korea $1.7 M
- New Zealand $995.5 K
- M = Millions
Foundation Funding by Issue
Health and Well-being Rights
$41,516,615 (22%)
107 Grants (5%)Equality Rights and Freedom from Discrimination
$28,661,294 (15%)
424 Grants (20%)Freedom from Violence
$26,632,073 (14%)
252 Grants (12%)Economic and Labor Rights
$21,769,146 (11%)
115 Grants (6%)Environmental and Resource Rights
$19,158,077 (10%)
387 Grants (19%)Sexual and Reproductive Rights
$16,492,322 (9%)
79 Grants (4%)Human Rights, General
$13,275,059 (7%)
111 Grants (5%)Access to Justice/Equality Before the Law
$5,425,340 (3%)
82 Grants (4%)Transitional Justice and Peacebuilding
$5,042,549 (3%)
115 Grants (6%)Expression and Information Rights
$3,713,674 (2%)
259 Grants (12%)Migration and Displacement
$3,093,213 (2%)
27 Grants (1%)Civic and Political Participation
$2,940,530 (2%)
26 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
$76,092,348 (39%)
879 Grants (42%)Children & Youth
$28,110,326 (15%)
416 Grants (20%)Migrants & Refugees
$11,701,139 (6%)
97 Grants (5%)Indigenous Peoples
$7,518,212 (4%)
183 Grants (9%)People with Disabilities
$5,330,596 (3%)
108 Grants (5%)LGBTQI
$4,301,607 (2%)
129 Grants (6%)Sex Workers
$1,349,017 (1%)
29 Grants (1%)Human Rights Defenders
$1,224,035 (1%)
91 Grants (4%)
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
$91,409,167 (47%)
1,061 Grants (51%)Capacity-building and Technical Assistance
$40,448,868 (21%)
553 Grants (27%)Research and Documentation
$36,309,222 (19%)
227 Grants (11%)Coalition-building and Collaboration
$9,986,376 (5%)
161 Grants (8%)Media and Technology
$8,326,085 (4%)
136 Grants (7%)Grassroots Organizing
$7,413,262 (4%)
205 Grants (10%)Arts and Culture
$2,280,932 (1%)
50 Grants (2%)Litigation and Legal Aid
$1,967,024 (1%)
57 Grants (3%)Security and Resilience
$446,057 (0%)
15 Grants (1%)Scholarships and Travel
$199,679 (0%)
82 Grants (4%)
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
- 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
101 Grants (5%)