5%
Share of foundation
human rights funding
$169.1 Million out of
$3.7 Billion for all rights
2,007 Grants
Top Foundation Funders
- Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation $27.9 M
- Oak Foundation $16.0 M
- Foundation to Promote Open Society $14.0 M
- Freedom Fund (UK) $10.8 M
- NoVo Foundation $9.3 M
- Ford Foundation $9.2 M
- European Endowment for Democracy $8.4 M
- Foundation for a Just Society $6.4 M
- American Jewish World Service $6.1 M
- Laudes Foundation $5.9 M
- Kendeda Fund $5.6 M
- Humanity United $3.6 M
- WomenÕs Fund Asia $3.1 M
- Comic Relief $2.8 M
- Hivos $2.4 M
- Global Greengrants Fund $2.2 M
- Wal-Mart Foundation $2.0 M
- Susan Thompson Buffett Foundation $2.0 M
- David and Lucile Packard Foundation $1.8 M
- Both ENDS Foundation $1.7 M
- Mama Cash $1.6 M
- Open Society Institute $1.5 M
- UN Trust Fund to End Violence Against Women $1.5 M
- Climate Justice Resilience Fund $1.4 M
- Sigrid Rausing Trust $1.3 M
- M = Millions
Bilateral and Multilateral Funding
17%
Share of OECD
human rights funding
$838.7 Million out of
$5.0 Billion for all rights
2,993 Disbursements
Top Funders
- Australia $134.4 M
- United States $116.1 M
- Sweden $110.7 M
- European Union Institutions $87.9 M
- Germany $63.0 M
- Asian Development Bank $53.8 M
- United Kingdom $45.4 M
- Canada $33.0 M
- Finland $31.8 M
- Norway $27.7 M
- Switzerland $25.8 M
- Denmark $23.4 M
- Netherlands $21.2 M
- United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) $14.2 M
- International Development Association $11.9 M
- Belgium $6.8 M
- Italy $4.9 M
- Spain $4.8 M
- United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) $3.6 M
- Korea $3.3 M
- Ireland $2.6 M
- France $2.5 M
- International Labour Organisation $2.5 M
- United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) $1.7 M
- New Zealand $1.6 M
- M = Millions
Foundation Funding by Issue
Freedom from Violence
$30,582,544 (18%)
283 Grants (14%)Environmental and Resource Rights
$25,323,684 (15%)
490 Grants (24%)Health and Well-being Rights
$23,104,705 (14%)
105 Grants (5%)Human Rights, General
$20,074,789 (12%)
112 Grants (6%)Equality Rights and Freedom from Discrimination
$19,301,839 (11%)
423 Grants (21%)Sexual and Reproductive Rights
$11,999,360 (7%)
62 Grants (3%)Economic and Labor Rights
$10,891,929 (6%)
125 Grants (6%)Access to Justice/Equality Before the Law
$8,743,584 (5%)
50 Grants (2%)Transitional Justice and Peacebuilding
$6,209,949 (4%)
87 Grants (4%)Migration and Displacement
$3,216,003 (2%)
37 Grants (2%)Civic and Political Participation
$2,450,006 (1%)
31 Grants (2%)Expression and Information Rights
$1,844,519 (1%)
130 Grants (6%)
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
$57,704,142 (34%)
820 Grants (41%)Children & Youth
$27,441,691 (16%)
477 Grants (24%)Indigenous Peoples
$13,923,514 (8%)
281 Grants (14%)Migrants & Refugees
$10,086,374 (6%)
106 Grants (5%)People with Disabilities
$5,266,541 (3%)
135 Grants (7%)Human Rights Defenders
$5,006,799 (3%)
32 Grants (2%)LGBTQI
$3,655,104 (2%)
109 Grants (5%)Sex Workers
$1,295,538 (1%)
25 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.
Foundation Funding by Strategy
Advocacy, Systems Reform and Implementation
$72,250,742 (43%)
989 Grants (49%)Capacity-building and Technical Assistance
$35,081,863 (21%)
580 Grants (29%)Research and Documentation
$27,829,067 (16%)
173 Grants (9%)Coalition-building and Collaboration
$22,907,758 (14%)
272 Grants (14%)Grassroots Organizing
$10,026,002 (6%)
300 Grants (15%)Media and Technology
$7,197,876 (4%)
225 Grants (11%)Litigation and Legal Aid
$4,055,638 (2%)
69 Grants (3%)Security and Resilience
$3,946,286 (2%)
9 Grants (0%)Arts and Culture
$2,094,999 (1%)
40 Grants (2%)Scholarships and Travel
$373,376 (0%)
64 Grants (3%)
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
72 Grants (4%)