Top Foundation Funders

1. Open Society Foundations $41.8 M
2. Ford Foundation $24.2 M
3. Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation $18.6 M
4. The Oak Foundation $15.2 M
5. The Sigrid Rausing Trust $9.2 M
6. Nationale Postcode Loterij $9.1 M
7. NoVo Foundation $7.3 M
8. Anonymous $6.3 M
9. Cordaid $6.2 M
10. National Endowment for Democracy $6.2 M
11. Vanguard Charitable Endowment Program $6.2 M
12. The Susan Thompson Buffett Foundation $5.9 M
13. The John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation $5.7 M
14. Humanity United $5.5 M
15. Hivos $4.3 M
16. Tides Foundation $3.7 M
17. The Rockefeller Foundation $3.0 M
18. United Nations Foundation $2.6 M
19. The Marcus Foundation $2.2 M
20. American Jewish World Service - Donor Advised Funds $2.1 M
21. The David and Lucile Packard Foundation $1.7 M
22. Arcus Foundation $1.5 M
23. Conrad N. Hilton Foundation $1.5 M
24. The Bank of America Charitable Foundation $1.4 M
25. The PHM Foundation $1.3 M
26. M = Millions

Foundation Funding by Issue

• Human Rights, General

  $67,278,225 (29%)
  326 Grants (27%)

• Equality Rights and Freedom from Discrimination

  $44,153,800 (19%)
  262 Grants (22%)

• Environmental and Resource Rights

  $24,065,586 (11%)
  77 Grants (6%)

• Freedom from Violence

  $19,973,966 (9%)
  121 Grants (10%)

• Sexual and Reproductive Rights

  $17,006,353 (7%)
  74 Grants (6%)

• Access to Justice/Equality Before the Law

  $13,057,047 (6%)
  67 Grants (6%)

• Transitional Justice and Peacebuilding

  $9,930,061 (4%)
  27 Grants (2%)

• Expression and Information Rights

  $9,617,235 (4%)
  65 Grants (5%)

• Health and Well-being Rights

  $8,459,595 (4%)
  77 Grants (6%)

• Economic and Labor Rights

  $5,547,897 (2%)
  38 Grants (3%)

• Social and Cultural Rights

  $4,973,519 (2%)
  40 Grants (3%)

• Migration and Displacement

  $4,754,175 (2%)
  30 Grants (2%)

• Civic and Political Participation

  $268,567 (0%)
  2 Grants (0%)

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

  $69,175,662 (30%)
  298 Grants (25%)

• Women & Girls

  $45,752,482 (20%)
  291 Grants (24%)

• Crime or Abuse Victims

  $35,000,225 (15%)
  190 Grants (16%)

• Ethnic or Racial Minorities

  $21,729,225 (9%)
  167 Grants (14%)

• Migrants & Refugees

  $21,188,318 (9%)
  128 Grants (11%)

• Children & Youth

  $20,903,419 (9%)
  133 Grants (11%)

• Indigenous Peoples

  $6,839,179 (3%)
  54 Grants (4%)

• People with AIDS

  $6,220,619 (3%)
  56 Grants (5%)

• LGBTQI

  $5,853,958 (3%)
  57 Grants (5%)

• Offenders & Ex-Offenders

  $5,793,741 (3%)
  48 Grants (4%)

• Substance Abusers

  $2,832,762 (1%)
  31 Grants (3%)

• People with Disabilities

  $2,515,766 (1%)
  18 Grants (1%)

• Human Rights Defenders

  $1,904,630 (1%)
  7 Grants (1%)

• Sex Workers

  $819,397 (0%)
  9 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

• Funder Charles Stewart Mott Foundation
  Recipient International Rivers Network (United States)
  Description To uphold international social and environmental standards at international financial institutions; protect river systems that are being targeted for large-scale river infrastructure development; and strengthen the capacity of local organizations to defend their rivers and participate in discussions on climate change and water and energy infrastructure.
• Funder Novo Foundation
  Recipient Futures Without Violence (United States)
  Description To support building a U.S.-based movement to end violence against women and girls globally.

Related Resources

• Investing in a New Era of Global Human Rights Leadership