Top Foundation Funders

1. Oak Foundation $32.3 M
2. National Endowment for Democracy $30.3 M
3. Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation $17.7 M
4. NoVo Foundation $15.8 M
5. Ford Foundation $15.4 M
6. Foundation for a Just Society $14.7 M
7. W.K. Kellogg Foundation $14.6 M
8. Proteus Fund $10.6 M
9. Comic Relief $9.3 M
10. NEO Philanthropy $8.0 M
11. Foundation to Promote Open Society $7.6 M
12. The James Irvine Foundation $6.8 M
13. Arcus Foundation $5.6 M
14. American Jewish World Service $5.0 M
15. International Development Research Centre $3.7 M
16. The Sigrid Rausing Trust $3.7 M
17. ViiV Healthcare $3.4 M
18. Paul Hamlyn Foundation $3.3 M
19. The California Endowment $3.3 M
20. Mama Cash $3.2 M
21. American Jewish World Service - Donor Advised Funds $3.2 M
22. The JPB Foundation $2.9 M
23. Hivos $2.7 M
24. The Overbrook Foundation $2.6 M
25. Big Lottery Fund $2.6 M
26. M = Millions

Foundation Funding by Region

Region totals include both foundation grants directly to recipients based in the region specified and foundation grants to recipients located in other regions to do work benefiting the region specified. Grants may mention more than one region of benefit and therefore be counted in more than one category.

Foundation Funding by Issue

• Freedom from Violence

  $43,801,271 (16%)
  495 Grants (14%)

• Equality Rights and Freedom from Discrimination

  $37,817,535 (13%)
  443 Grants (12%)

• Civic and Political Participation

  $33,258,746 (12%)
  365 Grants (10%)

• Education, religion, and culture

  $31,751,796 (11%)
  321 Grants (9%)

• Economic and Labor Rights

  $29,960,712 (11%)
  230 Grants (6%)

• Health and Well-being Rights

  $22,772,102 (8%)
  366 Grants (10%)

• Environmental and Resource Rights

  $21,592,559 (8%)
  503 Grants (14%)

• Expression and Information Rights

  $16,593,137 (6%)
  221 Grants (6%)

• Migration and Displacement

  $13,241,091 (5%)
  161 Grants (4%)

• Human Rights, General

  $9,107,245 (3%)
  127 Grants (4%)

• Access to Justice/Equality Before the Law

  $8,893,831 (3%)
  114 Grants (3%)

• Sexual and Reproductive Rights

  $7,831,593 (3%)
  160 Grants (4%)

• Transitional Justice and Peacebuilding

  $4,905,443 (2%)
  104 Grants (3%)

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

  $77,450,602 (28%)
  1,162 Grants (32%)

• Children & Youth

  $73,620,527 (26%)
  825 Grants (23%)

• Migrants & Refugees

  $32,409,291 (12%)
  383 Grants (11%)

• LGBTQI

  $24,335,445 (9%)
  455 Grants (13%)

• Indigenous Peoples

  $8,931,894 (3%)
  291 Grants (8%)

• People with Disabilities

  $5,853,325 (2%)
  169 Grants (5%)

• Human Rights Defenders

  $4,304,123 (2%)
  123 Grants (3%)

• Sex Workers

  $1,317,677 (0%)
  43 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.