13%
Share of foundation
human rights funding
$345.0 Million out of
$2.7 Billion for all rights
1,894 Grants
Top Foundation Funders
- Nationale Postcode Loterij $91.0 M
- The Atlantic Philanthropies $72.9 M
- Esmée Fairbairn Foundation $26.4 M
- Comic Relief $23.1 M
- EEA and Norway Grants $19.7 M
- Fundación ONCE $12.4 M
- The Oak Foundation $12.3 M
- Trust for London $10.3 M
- The City Bridge Trust $7.1 M
- Open Society Institute Budapest Foundation $5.4 M
- Open Society Foundations $5.0 M
- Wikimedia Foundation $4.7 M
- Joseph Rowntree Charitable Trust $4.7 M
- Bodossaki Foundation $4.5 M
- The Sigrid Rausing Trust $4.2 M
- Foundation Open Society Institute - Switzerland $4.2 M
- Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation $3.5 M
- Unbound Philanthropy $3.2 M
- The Barrow Cadbury Trust $2.7 M
- Nuffield Foundation $2.7 M
- The Legal Education Foundation $1.9 M
- Freedom House $1.7 M
- National Endowment for Democracy $1.4 M
- Stop AIDS Now $1.3 M
- Hivos $1.1 M
- M = Millions
Key Findings:
2014 Funding
Foundation Funding by Issue
Human Rights, General
$108,779,014 (32%)
171 Grants (9%)Health and Well-being Rights
$69,393,139 (20%)
226 Grants (12%)Equality Rights and Freedom from Discrimination
$34,344,006 (10%)
374 Grants (20%)Migration and Displacement
$33,632,532 (10%)
196 Grants (10%)Freedom from Violence
$27,681,646 (8%)
244 Grants (13%)Environmental and Resource Rights
$12,370,762 (4%)
95 Grants (5%)Access to Justice/Equality Before the Law
$10,767,523 (3%)
80 Grants (4%)Civic and Political Participation
$10,425,590 (3%)
73 Grants (4%)Economic and Labor Rights
$9,905,366 (3%)
101 Grants (5%)Expression and Information Rights
$7,241,174 (2%)
66 Grants (3%)Transitional Justice and Peacebuilding
$2,398,705 (1%)
29 Grants (2%)Sexual and Reproductive Rights
$2,064,089 (1%)
18 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
$57,749,857 (17%)
392 Grants (21%)Migrants & Refugees
$53,515,558 (16%)
386 Grants (20%)People with Disabilities
$31,043,036 (9%)
286 Grants (15%)Women & Girls
$25,772,528 (7%)
252 Grants (13%)LGBTQI
$4,637,823 (1%)
51 Grants (3%)Human Rights Defenders
$1,074,451 (0%)
17 Grants (1%)Indigenous Peoples
$876,045 (0%)
10 Grants (1%)Sex Workers
$610,511 (0%)
10 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
$114,289,895 (33%)
532 Grants (28%)Capacity-building and Technical Assistance
$34,333,514 (10%)
185 Grants (10%)Research and Documentation
$20,465,856 (6%)
130 Grants (7%)Public Engagement and Awareness-raising
$16,440,107 (5%)
167 Grants (9%)Media and Technology
$14,771,320 (4%)
125 Grants (7%)Arts and Culture
$11,570,052 (3%)
148 Grants (8%)Coalition-building and Collaboration
$10,051,573 (3%)
154 Grants (8%)Litigation and Legal Aid
$4,953,358 (1%)
43 Grants (2%)Grassroots Organizing
$3,737,065 (1%)
44 Grants (2%)Security and Resilience
$304,620 (0%)
3 Grants (0%)Scholarships and Travel
$71,537 (0%)
16 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
-
Comic Relief UK
Spirit Advocacy (United Kingdom)
To empower older people with mental health problems across the Highlands of Scotland to reduce stigma and discrimination and to influence policy and improve services. -
Oak Foundation
Norwegian Helsinki Committee (Norway)
To gather, systematize, analyze and make accessible materials documenting gross human rights violations in the North Caucasus.
221 Grants (12%)