Top Foundation Funders

1. National Endowment for Democracy $15.0 M
2. Foundation to Promote Open Society $6.1 M
3. The Sigrid Rausing Trust $4.8 M
4. Ford Foundation $4.4 M
5. International Development Research Centre $2.9 M
6. The UN Trust Fund to End Violence Against Women $2.6 M
7. New Israel Foundation $2.6 M
8. Carnegie Corporation of New York $2.5 M
9. Hivos $1.8 M
10. Euro-Mediterranean Foundation of Support to Human Rights Defenders $1.8 M
11. The Jacob and Hilda Blaustein Foundation $1.3 M
12. Global Fund for Women $1.0 M
13. Vanguard Charitable-Donor Advised Fund $814.5 K
14. Oak Foundation $800.0 K
15. Rockefeller Brothers Fund $659.0 K
16. Freedom House $480.9 K
17. The Leona M. and Harry B. Helmsley Charitable Trust $441.8 K
18. MetLife Foundation $425.0 K
19. King Baudouin Foundation $405.9 K
20. Comic Relief $382.2 K
21. NoVo Foundation $353.0 K
22. Wikimedia Foundation $349.8 K
23. Madre $333.3 K
24. Humanity United $311.0 K
25. Charles Stewart Mott Foundation $290.0 K
26. M = Millions

Foundation Funding by Issue

• Freedom from Violence

  $11,669,792 (20%)
  163 Grants (18%)

• Civic and Political Participation

  $8,572,282 (15%)
  103 Grants (12%)

• Equality Rights and Freedom from Discrimination

  $7,289,874 (13%)
  123 Grants (14%)

• Education, religion, and culture

  $6,733,663 (12%)
  56 Grants (6%)

• Economic and Labor Rights

  $5,923,573 (10%)
  46 Grants (5%)

• Human Rights, General

  $5,724,845 (10%)
  92 Grants (10%)

• Expression and Information Rights

  $3,770,734 (6%)
  108 Grants (12%)

• Migration and Displacement

  $2,498,091 (4%)
  43 Grants (5%)

• Access to Justice/Equality Before the Law

  $2,126,295 (4%)
  35 Grants (4%)

• Transitional Justice and Peacebuilding

  $1,370,649 (2%)
  38 Grants (4%)

• Environmental and Resource Rights

  $1,076,537 (2%)
  28 Grants (3%)

• Health and Well-being Rights

  $670,852 (1%)
  37 Grants (4%)

• Sexual and Reproductive Rights

  $638,320 (1%)
  20 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

  $18,280,811 (31%)
  291 Grants (33%)

• Migrants & Refugees

  $9,217,985 (16%)
  127 Grants (14%)

• Children & Youth

  $8,671,611 (15%)
  133 Grants (15%)

• Human Rights Defenders

  $3,428,574 (6%)
  172 Grants (19%)

• LGBTQI

  $1,129,629 (2%)
  40 Grants (4%)

• People with Disabilities

  $575,573 (1%)
  27 Grants (3%)

• Indigenous Peoples

  $354,287 (1%)
  6 Grants (1%)

• Sex Workers

  $49,400 (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

  $39,294,349 (68%)
  524 Grants (59%)

• Capacity-building and Technical Assistance

  $12,306,558 (21%)
  127 Grants (14%)

• Research and Documentation

  $12,226,312 (21%)
  156 Grants (17%)

• Media and Technology

  $8,405,457 (14%)
  145 Grants (16%)

• Coalition-building and Collaboration

  $8,293,218 (14%)
  159 Grants (18%)

• Litigation and Legal Aid

  $3,970,031 (7%)
  58 Grants (7%)

• Grassroots Organizing

  $3,462,006 (6%)
  55 Grants (6%)

• Arts and Culture

  $1,552,847 (3%)
  59 Grants (7%)

• Scholarships and Travel

  $494,831 (1%)
  37 Grants (4%)

• Security and Resilience

  $105,118 (0%)
  5 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

• 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