53%
Share of foundation
human rights funding
$1.5 Billion out of
$2.8 Billion for all rights
9,401 Grants
Top Foundation Funders
- Ford Foundation $136.8 M
- W.K. Kellogg Foundation $117.2 M
- The Susan Thompson Buffett Foundation $109.0 M
- Silicon Valley Community Foundation $74.8 M
- NoVo Foundation $70.4 M
- Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation $58.5 M
- John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation $55.3 M
- Foundation to Promote Open Society $51.3 M
- The California Endowment $45.0 M
- Foundation For The Carolinas $43.4 M
- The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation $33.7 M
- NEO Philanthropy $31.5 M
- Laura and John Arnold Foundation $25.5 M
- The JPB Foundation $22.8 M
- The Freedom Forum $22.5 M
- Carnegie Corporation of New York $21.8 M
- The James Irvine Foundation $19.4 M
- The William and Flora Hewlett Foundation $18.8 M
- Oak Foundation $16.8 M
- Big Lottery Fund $16.1 M
- Robina Foundation $14.0 M
- John S. and James L. Knight Foundation $13.4 M
- Proteus Fund $13.3 M
- Marguerite Casey Foundation $11.5 M
- The Annie E. Casey Foundation $11.3 M
- M = Millions
Foundation Funding by Issue
Equality Rights and Freedom from Discrimination
$155,666,081 (11%)
1,679 Grants (18%)Health and Well-being Rights
$153,230,412 (10%)
860 Grants (9%)Access to Justice/Equality Before the Law
$144,764,207 (10%)
814 Grants (9%)Sexual and Reproductive Rights
$133,577,825 (9%)
480 Grants (5%)Economic and Labor Rights
$126,598,468 (9%)
613 Grants (7%)Civic and Political Participation
$111,756,187 (8%)
943 Grants (10%)Environmental and Resource Rights
$105,106,723 (7%)
641 Grants (7%)Expression and Information Rights
$99,115,687 (7%)
450 Grants (5%)Human Rights, General
$93,523,122 (6%)
805 Grants (9%)Migration and Displacement
$74,793,390 (5%)
662 Grants (7%)Freedom from Violence
$47,555,981 (3%)
581 Grants (6%)Transitional Justice and Peacebuilding
$5,217,915 (0%)
68 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
Children & Youth
$265,101,440 (18%)
1,591 Grants (17%)Women & Girls
$234,451,407 (16%)
1,540 Grants (16%)Migrants & Refugees
$197,302,123 (13%)
1,469 Grants (16%)LGBTQI
$53,061,840 (4%)
1,096 Grants (12%)Indigenous Peoples
$38,466,001 (3%)
318 Grants (3%)People with Disabilities
$7,764,148 (1%)
195 Grants (2%)Human Rights Defenders
$831,806 (0%)
29 Grants (0%)Sex Workers
$536,784 (0%)
18 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
$544,290,444 (37%)
3,406 Grants (36%)Public Engagement and Awareness-raising
$182,414,079 (12%)
1,712 Grants (18%)Media and Technology
$138,776,814 (9%)
824 Grants (9%)Capacity-building and Technical Assistance
$131,580,143 (9%)
891 Grants (9%)Coalition-building and Collaboration
$118,232,563 (8%)
1,173 Grants (12%)Grassroots Organizing
$94,323,455 (6%)
798 Grants (8%)Research and Documentation
$65,902,413 (5%)
348 Grants (4%)Arts and Culture
$59,714,564 (4%)
417 Grants (4%)Litigation and Legal Aid
$34,190,907 (2%)
279 Grants (3%)Scholarships and Travel
$1,956,947 (0%)
78 Grants (1%)Security and Resilience
$617,930 (0%)
8 Grants (0%)
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.
805 Grants (9%)