Top Foundation Funders

1. National Endowment for Democracy $14.1 M
2. New Israel Foundation $12.5 M
3. Oak Foundation $6.7 M
4. Open Doors International $6.6 M
5. Human Dignity Foundation $4.4 M
6. The Sigrid Rausing Trust $4.0 M
7. International Development Research Centre $2.6 M
8. The UN Trust Fund to End Violence Against Women $2.1 M
9. Ford Foundation $1.7 M
10. Euro-Mediterranean Foundation of Support to Human Rights Defenders $1.5 M
11. Fund for Women's Equality $1.1 M
12. Hivos $1.0 M
13. Tides Foundation $984.0 K
14. Humanity United $968.9 K
15. Comic Relief $917.2 K
16. Freedom House $867.3 K
17. Fund For Global Human Rights $716.2 K
18. The Nathan Cummings Foundation $710.0 K
19. NoVo Foundation $692.2 K
20. Foundation to Promote Open Society $628.7 K
21. The Nduna Foundation $619.0 K
22. The Global Fund for Women $572.9 K
23. Margaret A. Cargill Foundation $562.5 K
24. Carnegie Corporation of New York $550.0 K
25. Rockefeller Brothers Fund $505.0 K
26. M = Millions

Foundation Funding by Issue

• Freedom from Violence

  $15,295,711 (20%)
  169 Grants (17%)

• Social and Cultural Rights

  $13,854,343 (18%)
  109 Grants (11%)

• Civic and Political Participation

  $11,892,375 (16%)
  108 Grants (11%)

• Equality Rights and Freedom from Discrimination

  $8,392,627 (11%)
  181 Grants (18%)

• Human Rights, General

  $4,505,743 (6%)
  97 Grants (10%)

• Economic and Labor Rights

  $4,120,135 (5%)
  39 Grants (4%)

• Health and Well-being Rights

  $3,968,349 (5%)
  44 Grants (4%)

• Transitional Justice and Peacebuilding

  $3,772,765 (5%)
  66 Grants (7%)

• Expression and Information Rights

  $3,350,949 (4%)
  92 Grants (9%)

• Access to Justice/Equality Before the Law

  $1,825,164 (2%)
  35 Grants (3%)

• Migration and Displacement

  $1,737,324 (2%)
  39 Grants (4%)

• Sexual and Reproductive Rights

  $1,556,909 (2%)
  12 Grants (1%)

• Environmental and Resource Rights

  $1,388,899 (2%)
  24 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

• Women & Girls

  $20,326,864 (27%)
  291 Grants (29%)

• Children & Youth

  $15,335,696 (20%)
  174 Grants (17%)

• Migrants & Refugees

  $9,239,975 (12%)
  107 Grants (11%)

• Human Rights Defenders

  $2,909,559 (4%)
  141 Grants (14%)

• People with Disabilities

  $1,858,274 (2%)
  41 Grants (4%)

• LGBTQI

  $695,652 (1%)
  37 Grants (4%)

• Indigenous Peoples

  $370,512 (0%)
  6 Grants (1%)

• Sex Workers

  $22,000 (0%)
  2 Grants (0%)

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

  $39,590,493 (52%)
  447 Grants (44%)

• Public Engagement and Awareness-raising

  $20,438,831 (27%)
  222 Grants (22%)

• Capacity-building and Technical Assistance

  $13,732,522 (18%)
  113 Grants (11%)

• Grassroots Organizing

  $7,147,699 (9%)
  50 Grants (5%)

• Coalition-building and Collaboration

  $5,622,850 (7%)
  104 Grants (10%)

• Research and Documentation

  $4,839,283 (6%)
  80 Grants (8%)

• Media and Technology

  $4,832,615 (6%)
  139 Grants (14%)

• Litigation and Legal Aid

  $2,581,120 (3%)
  39 Grants (4%)

• Arts and Culture

  $1,705,581 (2%)
  56 Grants (6%)

• Scholarships and Travel

  $453,494 (1%)
  25 Grants (2%)

• Security and Resilience

  $208,280 (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.

Sample Grants

• Funder The Pollination Project Foundation
  Recipient Nicole Ayach (Egypt)
  Description To foster a dialogue around social change and man's usage of the Nile river through a puppetry performance for audiences at community centers across Cairo and Alexandria.
• Funder The Margaret A. Cargill Foundation
  Recipient American Near East Refugee Aid (United States)
  Description To implement the Right Start Early Childhood Development Program.

Related Resources

• Funding at the Intersection of Governance and Sustainable Development to Achieve Human Rights
• Transitional Human Rights Work in Syria: A Pilot Initiative Embedding Human Rights Norms in Nascent Governance Structures