Top Foundation Funders

1. Ford Foundation $35.1 M
2. Open Society Foundations $26.4 M
3. NoVo Foundation $22.8 M
4. Freedom House $19.9 M
5. The Oak Foundation $19.3 M
6. Nationale Postcode Loterij $15.4 M
7. The Sigrid Rausing Trust $11.1 M
8. Vanguard Charitable Endowment Program $10.0 M
9. Anonymous $7.2 M
10. Both Ends $6.3 M
11. Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation $6.2 M
12. Humanity United $6.0 M
13. The John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation $6.0 M
14. NIKE Foundation $4.6 M
15. ExxonMobil Foundation $4.6 M
16. Cordaid $4.4 M
17. The Open Technology Fund $4.2 M
18. Tides Foundation $4.1 M
19. Hivos $3.3 M
20. American Jewish World Service $3.0 M
21. Silicon Valley Community Foundation $2.8 M
22. The William and Flora Hewlett Foundation $2.5 M
23. National Endowment for Democracy $2.3 M
24. The Susan Thompson Buffett Foundation $2.2 M
25. Arcus Foundation $2.2 M
26. M = Millions

Foundation Funding by Issue

• Human Rights, General

  $75,062,345 (29%)
  322 Grants (24%)

• Equality Rights and Freedom from Discrimination

  $55,372,582 (21%)
  264 Grants (20%)

• Freedom from Violence

  $25,444,572 (10%)
  173 Grants (13%)

• Expression and Information Rights

  $23,222,929 (9%)
  115 Grants (9%)

• Environmental and Resource Rights

  $17,298,538 (7%)
  93 Grants (7%)

• Sexual and Reproductive Rights

  $13,775,408 (5%)
  68 Grants (5%)

• Health and Well-being Rights

  $11,350,689 (4%)
  83 Grants (6%)

• Access to Justice/Equality Before the Law

  $11,212,368 (4%)
  54 Grants (4%)

• Migration and Displacement

  $7,352,789 (3%)
  23 Grants (2%)

• Transitional Justice and Peacebuilding

  $5,969,000 (2%)
  20 Grants (2%)

• Economic and Labor Rights

  $5,580,740 (2%)
  62 Grants (5%)

• Social and Cultural Rights

  $4,186,116 (2%)
  38 Grants (3%)

• Civic and Political Participation

  $1,890,913 (1%)
  7 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

• Economically Disadvantaged

  $98,252,791 (38%)
  389 Grants (29%)

• Women & Girls

  $66,574,776 (26%)
  330 Grants (25%)

• Children & Youth

  $47,808,001 (19%)
  161 Grants (12%)

• Crime or Abuse Victims

  $36,110,933 (14%)
  239 Grants (18%)

• Ethnic or Racial Minorities

  $21,976,392 (9%)
  133 Grants (10%)

• Migrants & Refugees

  $20,304,058 (8%)
  138 Grants (10%)

• LGBTQI

  $9,888,180 (4%)
  73 Grants (6%)

• Indigenous Peoples

  $7,734,882 (3%)
  68 Grants (5%)

• Offenders & Ex-Offenders

  $7,214,190 (3%)
  37 Grants (3%)

• People with AIDS

  $5,533,733 (2%)
  57 Grants (4%)

• People with Disabilities

  $3,556,861 (1%)
  25 Grants (2%)

• Substance Abusers

  $2,201,885 (1%)
  23 Grants (2%)

• Human Rights Defenders

  $1,695,775 (1%)
  12 Grants (1%)

• Sex Workers

  $569,260 (0%)
  11 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 The Sigrid Rausing Trust
  Recipient Global Witness (United Kingdom)
  Description For general support of its work to expose the hidden links between demand for natural resources, corruption, armed conflict, and environmental destruction.
• Funder Ford Foundation
  Recipient Centro de Estudios Legales y Sociales (Argentina)
  Description To incorporate a Latin American perspective in the global human rights agenda.

Related Resources

• Investing in a New Era of Global Human Rights Leadership