Human Rights Funders Network

GFMD IMPACT analysis of related projects and initiatives - Human Rights Funders Network. (Last updated by Tom Law - March 1, 2021)

Human Rights Funders Network - HomeHuman Rights Funders Network

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Human Rights Funders Network

• Website: https://www.hrfn.org/

• Newsletter: https://www.hrfn.org/newsletter-sign-up/

Project design

Goals & aims

"Through grantmaking and advocacy, our members aim to make positive and lasting impacts on human rights issues around the globe. Our ultimate goal, as a network and resource to funders, is to ensure that philanthropy is effectively resourcing human rights work and movements.

What do we mean by “effective resourcing”? More and better funding.

To reach this goal, HRFN works with funders individually and collectively, seeking to change grantmaking practice, approaches to human rights funding, and the philanthropic field more broadly."

Governance structure

The Human Rights Funders Network is a membership organisation for human rights donors.

Partners

Funders that support human fights.

Ford Foundation, Foundation for a Just Society (FJS), The Jacob and Hilda Blaustein Foundation, Novo Foundation, Oak Foundation, Open Society Foundations, Sigrid Rausing Trust, Wellspring Philanthropic Fund, as well as over 80 other organisations that pay voluntary membership dues.

Geographic focus

"The people who make up our increasingly global community are based in over 70 countries and represent almost 450 grantmaking institutions. Newcomers to our network include representatives from a women’s fund in Chile, a public foundation in India, and a private foundation in South Africa."

Languages

English, Spanish

Thematic focus

The Human Rights Funders Network focuses on how to defend civil society and civic space.

Main activities

Build Trust and Facilitate Learning

Human Rights Funders Network supports funders to deepen their human rights knowledge and strengthen their grantmaking practice. We create virtual and in-person opportunities for funders around the world to connect, learn from each other and forge collaborations.

Our online webinars bring funders together across time zones to share information and strategize about urgent human rights issues. In-person events, such as conferences and workshops, enable frank discussion of grantmaking practices and in-depth examination of emerging issues and trends. For funders concerned about specific issues or regions, our member-led working groups provide space for problem-solving and collective advocacy. Human Rights Funders Network also curates a regular e-newsletter to keep members connected and informed.

Amplify and Influence

Leveraging our unique vantage point, Human Rights Funders Network promotes the integration of human rights principles across philanthropic sectors. We foster partnerships with funder groups around the world to build the field of human rights philanthropy, and collaborate with a variety of peer donor networks in our endeavors. Through these relationships, our members can take on new leadership, bring attention to overlooked human rights issues, and spark new collaborations. Our Community Voices blog offers a space for members to highlight key learnings and advocate for different approaches to human rights challenges.

Research and Inform

A core part of our work is helping funders access information integral to human rights grantmaking. Our interactive Advancing Human Rights research and tools offer the only source of detailed information and analyses on the human rights funding field, helping funders map and showcase their work and become more strategic in their grantmaking. Human Rights Funders Network also curates resources from our members and other experts in the field on grantmaking practices and a wide range of human rights issues.

Organize and Mobilize

Human Rights Funders Network leverages links between human rights and other funding fields and works with its members to promote a favorable policy environment for human rights grantmaking. In collaboration with peer funder networks, we enable donors to provide practical support to civil society actors contesting the global trend of closing civic space. Human Rights Funders Network supports the Funders Initiative for Civil Society (FICS) in partnership with Ariadne, the Cross-Border Philanthropy Working Group, and Global Dialogue.

• Many of the HRFN's activities are in partnership with Ariadne.

• HRFN runs working groups for both Asia and Pacific Funders and Latin American Funders to share strategies and discuss challenges and opportunities.

Please contact us at [e-mail] if

• we have not included information about this organisation/initiative that you think is relevant

• you work for this organisation and would like to talk to us about how we can collaborate