Originally published on the SDG Funders blog on April 27. 729 funders. 20,600 grants. 12,888 organizations. Human rights is a broad field, as demonstrated by the vast data in Foundation Center and the International Human Rights Funders Group (IHRFG)’s Advancing Human Rights research. So it’s no surprise that human rights funders played an active role … Continue reading
Latest Entries
Collective Power of Inclusion
Originally published on the Disability Rights Fund blog on April 10, 2017, Catherine Hyde Townsend of Wellspring Advisors reflects on the challenges and opportunities for supporting women and girls with disabilities. In September of last year, thousands of women gathered in Bahia, Brazil for AWID’s women’s rights forum to celebrate the collective power of women … Continue reading
Closing of Environmental Civil Society Space: Strategies for Support on the Frontlines
Peter Kostishack of Global Greengrants Fund reflects on the anniversary of Berta Cáceres’ murder and shares effective strategies for supporting environmental rights defenders on the frontlines. The 2016 murder of Honduran river-protection activist, Berta Caceres, received international media attention, but her story is only the tip of the iceberg. Other appalling cases include the murders … Continue reading
Fighting West Africa’s Ebola Outbreak: What Lessons Can Human Rights Funders Learn from the Response?
John M Kabia, Program Officer for West Africa at the Fund for Global Human Rights, shares lessons for human rights funders following the experiences of local civil society and human rights organizations during the 2014 Ebola outbreak in West Africa. It’s been over a year since the WHO officially declared the end of the Ebola … Continue reading
How “Advancing Human Rights” Can – and Can’t – Support Academic Research
Merrill Sovner of the Center on Philanthropy and Civil Society at the Graduate Center, City University of New York, discusses the divide between philanthropy practice and scholarship in light of IHRFG and Foundation Center’s latest Advancing Human Rights research. The International Human Rights Funders Group and Foundation Center recently published Advancing Human Rights: Update on … Continue reading
What Surprises Me about Human Rights Grantmaking
Melinda Fine of TCC Group, reflects on IHRFG and Foundation Center’s latest key findings report, Advancing Human Rights: Update on Global Foundation Grantmaking, and its implications for the field of human rights philanthropy. When your job centers on helping funders assess needs, devise strategies, and manage and evaluate their grantmaking, you wish that every field … Continue reading
The World is Upside-Down. What are Human Rights Funders Doing to Turn it Over?
Carla López C. of Fondo Centroamericano de Mujeres (FCAM) reflects on the growing visibility and vital role of Global South and East funders in advancing human rights – and the importance of collaboration. What can Global South and East funders teach peer funders based in the Global North about sustaining intersectional social justice movements? Continue reading
Why Every Funder Should Consider Participatory Grantmaking
Originally published on Foundation Center’s GrantCraft, Katy Love of the Wikimedia Foundation and Kelly Buhles of RSF Social Finance discuss the strengths, challenges, and opportunities of the participatory grantmkaing process. Ever heard of participatory grantmaking? It is a philanthropic approach that engages constituencies in the grantmaking process. A group of participatory grantmakers are currently joining … Continue reading
On the Scene at IHRFG in 2016
Even though most of us are glad that 2016 is over, we’re thankful for all of the positive energy, great ideas, and enthusiastic collaboration of our members. Last year, IHRFG members wrote 30 blog posts, organized 28 conference sessions, gave 12 lightning talks, and participated in 21 webinars. Here’s a quick run-down of what IHRFG … Continue reading
Donor Ethics and the Revolution in the Making: Understanding the Role of Wellbeing in Human Rights Funding
This In Focus article was contributed by Meerim Ilyas, Senior Program Officer at Urgent Action Fund for Women’s Human Rights, and Tatiana Cordero Velásquez, Executive Director at Urgent Action Fund – Latin America. The revolution is in the making. Thousands of people march everyday in almost every country in the world to keep pressuring their governments, … Continue reading
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