Top Foundation Funders

1. National Endowment for Democracy $28.6 M
2. Foundation to Promote Open Society $12.2 M
3. Oak Foundation $8.4 M
4. The Sigrid Rausing Trust $4.4 M
5. Charles Stewart Mott Foundation $2.8 M
6. Stop AIDS Now $1.7 M
7. Trag Fondacija $1.5 M
8. William Davidson Foundation $1.0 M
9. Global Fund for Women $891.5 K
10. The UN Trust Fund to End Violence Against Women $860.7 K
11. Wikimedia Foundation $769.4 K
12. NEO Philanthropy $575.0 K
13. Elton John AIDS Foundation (London) $550.4 K
14. Mama Cash $527.3 K
15. Rockefeller Brothers Fund $460.0 K
16. The Leona M. and Harry B. Helmsley Charitable Trust $441.8 K
17. NoVo Foundation $360.0 K
18. Abilis Foundation $339.5 K
19. King Baudouin Foundation $316.7 K
20. Ukrainian Women's Fund $272.4 K
21. Astraea Lesbian Foundation for Justice $266.9 K
22. Groundswell Fund $255.0 K
23. Tamalpais Trust $250.0 K
24. Levi Strauss Foundation $250.0 K
25. ViiV Healthcare $236.2 K
26. M = Millions

Foundation Funding by Issue

• Freedom from Violence

  $13,621,573 (22%)
  238 Grants (18%)

• Civic and Political Participation

  $12,654,467 (20%)
  215 Grants (17%)

• Expression and Information Rights

  $10,225,740 (16%)
  273 Grants (21%)

• Health and Well-being Rights

  $5,210,213 (8%)
  66 Grants (5%)

• Equality Rights and Freedom from Discrimination

  $4,760,266 (8%)
  135 Grants (10%)

• Access to Justice/Equality Before the Law

  $3,605,204 (6%)
  60 Grants (5%)

• Economic and Labor Rights

  $3,122,289 (5%)
  59 Grants (5%)

• Human Rights, General

  $2,939,347 (5%)
  37 Grants (3%)

• Education, religion, and culture

  $2,173,429 (4%)
  82 Grants (6%)

• Transitional Justice and Peacebuilding

  $1,158,782 (2%)
  40 Grants (3%)

• Sexual and Reproductive Rights

  $991,687 (2%)
  57 Grants (4%)

• Migration and Displacement

  $806,126 (1%)
  13 Grants (1%)

• Environmental and Resource Rights

  $782,077 (1%)
  25 Grants (2%)

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

• Children & Youth

  $10,964,565 (18%)
  218 Grants (17%)

• Women & Girls

  $10,883,681 (18%)
  425 Grants (33%)

• LGBTQI

  $1,927,645 (3%)
  82 Grants (6%)

• Migrants & Refugees

  $1,826,600 (3%)
  92 Grants (7%)

• People with Disabilities

  $661,407 (1%)
  90 Grants (7%)

• Indigenous Peoples

  $347,364 (1%)
  4 Grants (0%)

• Sex Workers

  $329,750 (1%)
  8 Grants (1%)

• Human Rights Defenders

  $265,769 (0%)
  29 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

  $52,177,224 (84%)
  912 Grants (70%)

• Coalition-building and Collaboration

  $13,335,550 (21%)
  301 Grants (23%)

• Research and Documentation

  $12,983,480 (21%)
  214 Grants (16%)

• Media and Technology

  $12,108,276 (20%)
  260 Grants (20%)

• Capacity-building and Technical Assistance

  $11,504,744 (19%)
  222 Grants (17%)

• Litigation and Legal Aid

  $4,394,631 (7%)
  56 Grants (4%)

• Grassroots Organizing

  $3,908,009 (6%)
  108 Grants (8%)

• Arts and Culture

  $3,252,598 (5%)
  121 Grants (9%)

• Scholarships and Travel

  $417,690 (1%)
  100 Grants (8%)

• Security and Resilience

  $267,000 (0%)
  4 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.