Foundation Center reports $1.2 billion given globally to human rights by foundations

Howard Lake | 21 June 2013 | News

Research by the Foundation Center and the International Human Rights Funders Group (IHRFG) has found that foundations around the world made grants of $1.2 billion to human rights organisations in 2010, the latest year for which figures are available. The research covered over 12,000 grants for more than 6,800 human rights groups around the world.

Advancing Human Rights: The State of Global Foundation Grantmaking identified 703 human rights grantmakers based in 29 countries around the world. The research is based on data analysis and interviews with funders.

The Ford Foundation was the largest funder of human rights organisations in 2010, giving $159.5 million, followed by the Open Society Foundations which gave the largest number of grants (1,248).

The report includes detailed profiles of funding for 13 human rights areas. Each profile also contains breakdowns of funding focused on the eight major regions globally and examples of actual foundation grants.

Its summary findings are available as an infographic.

Michael Hirschhorn, executive director of IHRFG, said: "The landscape of human rights funding is exceedingly complex, but initiatives like this bring into sharp relief just how vibrant and diverse the field is. The lasting value of this research — the thing that will take us beyond ‘painting landscapes’ to propelling greater engagement — comes when grantmakers are moved to contribute data, provide feedback, share findings with peers, and use this information in support of their work."

Bradford K. Smith, president of the Foundation Center, added: "Some may be surprised to learn that many foundations who do not call themselves human rights funders are nevertheless engaged in supporting human rights work. Not only does this finding help us understand the true scope of the human rights funding community, it also opens up new possibilities for foundations that want to leverage their investment through collaboration with others."

The research was assisted by Ariadne (European Human Rights Funders Network) and the International Network of Women’s Funds.

Advancing Human Rights: The State of Global Foundation Grantmaking can be downloaded for free at the websites of the Foundation Center and the International Human Rights Funders’ Group.

About Howard Lake
Howard Lake is consultant editor of UK Fundraising. He founded the site in 1994 and successfully sold it in 2022. As director of Giving X Ltd he is exploring growing giving on a massive scale. He is the founder of Fundraising Camp and co-founder of GoodJobs.