New Report Analyzes $1.8 Billion in Global
Human Rights Funding
New York, NY — July 16, 2015. Released
today, the 2015 edition of Advancing
Human Rights: Update on Global Foundation Grantmaking analyzes
$1.8 billion granted by 774 foundations in support of nearly
11,000 organizations worldwide. Among a consistent subset of
human rights funders, giving increased 6 percent between 2011
and 2012, the latest year for which data are available. The
third in an annual series produced jointly by Foundation Center
and the International Human Rights Funders Group (IHRFG), this
report is part of an ongoing effort to advance knowledge and
facilitate strategic decision making in the field of human
rights philanthropy.
"From Brazil to the Netherlands, grantmakers are
using this new knowledge to inform their work," said Mona Chun,
executive director of International Human Rights Funders Group.
"Whether they are trying to better understand funding flows for
ending gender-based violence, identify peer donors supporting
human rights in the Caribbean, or leverage additional resources
to support people with disabilities, this research helps them
find partners, understand the landscape, and be more strategic."
Advancing Human Rights explores
grantmaking by issue, population, and regional focus. Among the
areas of human rights activity it analyzes — such as access to
justice and equality before the law, sexual and reproductive
rights, and environmental and resource rights — the area that
benefited from the largest share of funding in 2012 (24 percent)
was equality rights and freedom from discrimination. By
population, women and girls were a stated focus of 26 percent of
funding, followed by children and youth (21 percent) and
migrants and refugees (11 percent).
"Each year more human rights funders conclude
that their effectiveness depends upon understanding the
interests and priorities of their peers," said Bradford K.
Smith, president of Foundation Center. "Foundations that
understand the full landscape of human rights grantmaking will
have the advantage in helping to bring about a more just world."
The new report captures giving by 774 funders
from 45 countries. Of the top 20 human rights funders, five are
located outside of the United States. The Open Society
Foundations and Ford Foundation ranked as the largest human
rights funders by grant dollars, providing more than $200
million each.
This report is created through the Advancing
Human Rights: Knowledge Tools for Funders initiative, a
multi-year effort to track the evolving state of global human
rights funding and to create a set of dynamic, interactive data
and research tools to help human rights funders and advocates
increase their effectiveness. The first edition of this research
was launched in 2013, providing important baseline data that
enables tracking trends in human rights funding for years to
come.
The 2012 data have been added to the Advancing
Human Rights interactive
website, which was launched last year to enable funders,
activists, researchers, academics, and others interested in
human rights funding to explore giving by issue focus,
population focus, and region. The partners have future plans to
add information about giving by bilateral and multilateral
donors and strategies supported by human rights funding, such as
litigation, documentation, and advocacy.
This multi-year partnership between Foundation
Center and IHRFG is also in collaboration with Ariadne
- European Funders for Social Change and Human Rights and
the International
Network of Women's Funds. The project is part of
Foundation Center's Knowledge
Services designed
to empower donors with the knowledge tools they need to be
strategic while communicating philanthropy's contribution to
making a better world. The initiative is supported by the Ford
Foundation, Oak Foundation, Open Society Foundations, and the
John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation.
Advancing Human Rights: Update on Global
Foundation Grantmaking can
be downloaded for free at the Advancing
Human Rights website
where visitors can also interact with the data.
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About Foundation Center
Established in 1956, Foundation Center is the leading source of
information about philanthropy worldwide. Through data,
analysis, and training, it connects people who want to change
the world to the resources they need to succeed. Foundation
Center maintains the most comprehensive database on U.S. and,
increasingly, global grantmakers and their grants — a robust,
accessible knowledge bank for the sector. It also operates
research, education, and training programs designed to advance
knowledge of philanthropy at every level. Thousands of people
visit Foundation Center's website each day and are served in its
five regional library/learning centers and its network of more
than 450 funding information centers located in public
libraries, community
foundations, and educational institutions nationwide and around the world.
For more information, please visit
www.foundationcenter.org
or call (212) 620-4230.
About the
International Human Rights Funders Group
The International Human Rights Funders Group (IHRFG) is a global
network of donors and grantmakers committed to advancing human
rights around the world through effective philanthropy. IHRFG's
overarching goal is to assist funders in strengthening the
impact and strategic effectiveness of their human rights
grantmaking. To achieve this goal, IHRFG aims to: cultivate
thought leadership on strategic human rights grantmaking and
future directions for the human rights movement; build stronger
and expanded learning, peer education, and community among
funders; develop a funder network more truly global in
participation, perspective and linkages; broaden opportunities
for IHRFG members to engage in key efforts to shape relevant
public policies; widen understanding of human rights in the
philanthropic community; and, ultimately, expand overall funding
for
human rights. For more information, please visit
www.ihrfg.org
or
call (646) 381-7580.