Top Foundation Funders

1. National Endowment for Democracy $24.5 M
2. Ford Foundation $21.3 M
3. W.K. Kellogg Foundation $13.9 M
4. Oak Foundation $13.1 M
5. John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation $12.9 M
6. Comic Relief $8.7 M
7. International Development Research Centre $7.4 M
8. Foundation for a Just Society $6.6 M
9. The William and Flora Hewlett Foundation $5.2 M
10. The Sigrid Rausing Trust $5.0 M
11. American Jewish World Service - Donor Advised Funds $4.9 M
12. The M.A.C. AIDS Fund $3.7 M
13. Foundation to Promote Open Society $3.6 M
14. NoVo Foundation $3.3 M
15. Carnegie Corporation of New York $2.8 M
16. The California Endowment $2.6 M
17. Z. Smith Reynolds Foundation $2.1 M
18. The UN Trust Fund to End Violence Against Women $2.1 M
19. Charles Stewart Mott Foundation $2.0 M
20. American Jewish World Service $1.9 M
21. Laura and John Arnold Foundation $1.8 M
22. Arcus Foundation $1.8 M
23. Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation $1.6 M
24. Hivos $1.5 M
25. The James Irvine Foundation $1.4 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

  $29,228,851 (16%)
  271 Grants (16%)

• Economic and Labor Rights

  $20,587,931 (11%)
  100 Grants (6%)

• Civic and Political Participation

  $19,280,149 (10%)
  195 Grants (11%)

• Equality Rights and Freedom from Discrimination

  $18,555,407 (10%)
  133 Grants (8%)

• Environmental and Resource Rights

  $18,160,855 (10%)
  248 Grants (14%)

• Health and Well-being Rights

  $16,799,490 (9%)
  146 Grants (8%)

• Education, religion, and culture

  $14,781,195 (8%)
  107 Grants (6%)

• Access to Justice/Equality Before the Law

  $12,867,420 (7%)
  105 Grants (6%)

• Expression and Information Rights

  $11,963,376 (6%)
  158 Grants (9%)

• Human Rights, General

  $9,106,721 (5%)
  102 Grants (6%)

• Migration and Displacement

  $5,094,048 (3%)
  47 Grants (3%)

• Sexual and Reproductive Rights

  $4,745,396 (3%)
  44 Grants (3%)

• Transitional Justice and Peacebuilding

  $3,568,507 (2%)
  65 Grants (4%)

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

  $43,265,375 (23%)
  479 Grants (28%)

• Children & Youth

  $29,055,068 (16%)
  292 Grants (17%)

• Migrants & Refugees

  $15,947,493 (9%)
  124 Grants (7%)

• Indigenous Peoples

  $7,906,846 (4%)
  108 Grants (6%)

• LGBTQI

  $7,892,808 (4%)
  128 Grants (7%)

• Human Rights Defenders

  $2,403,748 (1%)
  95 Grants (6%)

• People with Disabilities

  $2,248,206 (1%)
  56 Grants (3%)

• Sex Workers

  $1,326,193 (1%)
  27 Grants (2%)

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.