12%
Share of foundation
human rights funding
$344.2 Million out of
$2.8 Billion for all rights
1,247 Grants
Top Foundation Funders
- Ford Foundation $63.0 M
- Oak Foundation $50.2 M
- Foundation to Promote Open Society $41.4 M
- The Susan Thompson Buffett Foundation $28.5 M
- NoVo Foundation $21.9 M
- Humanity United $16.3 M
- Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation $12.2 M
- The William and Flora Hewlett Foundation $9.5 M
- Foundation for a Just Society $8.4 M
- The Sigrid Rausing Trust $8.0 M
- National Endowment for Democracy $7.0 M
- American Jewish World Service - Donor Advised Funds $5.8 M
- Omidyar Network Fund $4.6 M
- Wellspring Philanthropic Fund $3.7 M
- John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation $3.6 M
- The Marisla Foundation $3.5 M
- Anonymous 9 $3.4 M
- High Meadows Foundation $3.0 M
- Silicon Valley Community Foundation $2.9 M
- The Rockefeller Foundation $2.8 M
- The David and Lucile Packard Foundation $2.8 M
- Rockefeller Philanthropy Advisors $2.2 M
- The Pershing Square Foundation $2.1 M
- Greater Houston Community Foundation $2.1 M
- The JPB Foundation $2.0 M
- M = Millions
Bilateral and Multilateral Funding
24%
Share of OECD
human rights funding
$943.0 Million out of
$3.9 Billion for all rights
1,406 Disbursements
Top Funders
- Italy $234.6 M
- Sweden $137.1 M
- Switzerland $108.7 M
- United States $87.6 M
- United Kingdom $61.4 M
- Denmark $46.9 M
- Norway $46.0 M
- Netherlands $45.8 M
- Germany $41.0 M
- European Union Institutions $27.1 M
- Finland $20.6 M
- International Labour Organisation $17.4 M
- Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) $13.0 M
- Australia $11.4 M
- Spain $10.9 M
- France $8.8 M
- United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) $4.3 M
- Ireland $4.3 M
- Belgium $4.0 M
- World Health Organization (WHO) $1.6 M
- Canada $1.4 M
- Korea $1.2 M
- United Arab Emirates $1.2 M
- United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) $1.1 M
- Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS) $1.1 M
- M = Millions
Foundation Funding by Issue
Environmental and Resource Rights
$64,051,507 (19%)
144 Grants (12%)Freedom from Violence
$52,293,754 (15%)
192 Grants (15%)Equality Rights and Freedom from Discrimination
$47,569,881 (14%)
154 Grants (12%)Human Rights, General
$42,280,879 (12%)
219 Grants (18%)Sexual and Reproductive Rights
$41,025,317 (12%)
52 Grants (4%)Expression and Information Rights
$27,228,439 (8%)
112 Grants (9%)Civic and Political Participation
$15,955,857 (5%)
67 Grants (5%)Economic and Labor Rights
$13,081,533 (4%)
39 Grants (3%)Access to Justice/Equality Before the Law
$12,176,877 (4%)
46 Grants (4%)Migration and Displacement
$8,059,542 (2%)
60 Grants (5%)Transitional Justice and Peacebuilding
$6,149,757 (2%)
58 Grants (5%)Health and Well-being Rights
$5,909,488 (2%)
59 Grants (5%)
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
$118,756,717 (35%)
259 Grants (21%)Children & Youth
$51,990,273 (15%)
123 Grants (10%)Indigenous Peoples
$32,071,576 (9%)
73 Grants (6%)Migrants & Refugees
$15,911,782 (5%)
108 Grants (9%)LGBTQI
$8,957,337 (3%)
76 Grants (6%)Human Rights Defenders
$2,551,984 (1%)
16 Grants (1%)People with Disabilities
$1,854,552 (1%)
9 Grants (1%)Sex Workers
$560,645 (0%)
7 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
$139,443,218 (41%)
511 Grants (41%)Capacity-building and Technical Assistance
$56,216,344 (16%)
141 Grants (11%)Grassroots Organizing
$53,006,971 (15%)
66 Grants (5%)Coalition-building and Collaboration
$44,532,475 (13%)
211 Grants (17%)Media and Technology
$38,688,113 (11%)
154 Grants (12%)Research and Documentation
$27,229,488 (8%)
98 Grants (8%)Litigation and Legal Aid
$13,830,160 (4%)
49 Grants (4%)Arts and Culture
$4,826,400 (1%)
50 Grants (4%)Security and Resilience
$1,635,115 (0%)
12 Grants (1%)Scholarships and Travel
$1,174,792 (0%)
7 Grants (1%)
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
Bilateral and multilateral funding includes disbursements not directed toward a specific country or region (designated in the OECD data set as “Bilateral, unspecified”). This includes disbursements providing a global benefit or used to cover the donor’s administrative costs.
45 Grants (4%)