63%
Share of foundation
human rights funding
$2.0 Billion out of
$3.2 Billion for all rights
13,314 Grants
Top Foundation Funders
- Ford Foundation $241.9 M
- W.K. Kellogg Foundation $146.5 M
- The Susan Thompson Buffett Foundation $90.7 M
- NoVo Foundation $86.5 M
- Tides Foundation $80.9 M
- Silicon Valley Community Foundation $75.0 M
- The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation $59.0 M
- Foundation For The Carolinas $57.9 M
- John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation $47.1 M
- The California Endowment $44.6 M
- Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation $43.4 M
- The JPB Foundation $39.4 M
- Open Society Institute $36.8 M
- The James Irvine Foundation $33.5 M
- The Freedom Forum $31.2 M
- Evelyn and Walter Haas, Jr. Fund $30.5 M
- Fund for Policy Reform $25.0 M
- The William and Flora Hewlett Foundation $24.7 M
- The Libra Foundation $24.3 M
- NEO Philanthropy $23.3 M
- Howard G. Buffett Foundation $21.8 M
- Carnegie Corporation of New York $21.1 M
- Marguerite Casey Foundation $17.2 M
- The David and Lucile Packard Foundation $15.9 M
- The Kresge Foundation $15.9 M
- M = Millions
Key Findings: 2017 Funding
Foundation Funding by Issue
Equality Rights and Freedom from Discrimination
$373,171,251 (18%)
3,297 Grants (25%)Access to Justice/Equality Before the Law
$222,409,110 (11%)
1,108 Grants (8%)Human Rights, General
$200,131,562 (10%)
2,036 Grants (15%)Environmental and Resource Rights
$177,067,965 (9%)
927 Grants (7%)Migration and Displacement
$176,225,675 (9%)
1,449 Grants (11%)Health and Well-being Rights
$169,999,520 (8%)
1,065 Grants (8%)Sexual and Reproductive Rights
$136,734,471 (7%)
455 Grants (3%)Civic and Political Participation
$85,863,649 (4%)
707 Grants (5%)Economic and Labor Rights
$82,960,862 (4%)
356 Grants (3%)Expression and Information Rights
$75,355,651 (4%)
350 Grants (3%)Freedom from Violence
$68,816,846 (3%)
416 Grants (3%)Transitional Justice and Peacebuilding
$25,158,173 (1%)
135 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
$355,870,088 (17%)
2,195 Grants (16%)Women & Girls
$313,369,115 (15%)
1,867 Grants (14%)Migrants & Refugees
$288,872,606 (14%)
2,099 Grants (16%)Indigenous Peoples
$65,559,762 (3%)
478 Grants (4%)LGBTQI
$47,825,085 (2%)
934 Grants (7%)People with Disabilities
$17,800,196 (1%)
203 Grants (2%)Sex Workers
$528,546 (0%)
14 Grants (0%)Human Rights Defenders
$135,400 (0%)
37 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
$832,124,155 (41%)
4,604 Grants (35%)Capacity-building and Technical Assistance
$326,674,795 (16%)
1,225 Grants (9%)Media and Technology
$137,212,090 (7%)
587 Grants (4%)Coalition-building and Collaboration
$122,105,279 (6%)
756 Grants (6%)Research and Documentation
$77,313,709 (4%)
327 Grants (2%)Grassroots Organizing
$60,637,158 (3%)
636 Grants (5%)Arts and Culture
$59,717,104 (3%)
324 Grants (2%)Litigation and Legal Aid
$52,999,925 (3%)
316 Grants (2%)Scholarships and Travel
$5,883,092 (0%)
84 Grants (1%)Security and Resilience
$737,940 (0%)
14 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.
1,013 Grants (8%)