Grants That Promote Human Rights

Working in the field of human rights can be a hazardous way of life. Promoting fairness and decency when a government represents the very opposite is a challenge that requires support and funding. There are, however, grants that encourage human rights development across the world. They can be a vital source of money for activists who are usually volunteers.

Categories

As with other funding schemes, human rights grants often fall into one or more categories. Among these are children; education; elections; free speech; health; justice; peace; refugees; religion; women; and work. Most individuals and organisations that apply for such grants seek money to support a particular aspect of human rights work. But what they have in common is a desire to improve people’s lives.

Some larger bodies, though, adopt a more general approach. They request money for general human rights projects that cut across all boundaries.

Grant Eligibility Finder

Tell us what you need funding for and we will match you with the types of UK grant most likely to accept your application.

Try our Grant Eligibility Finder free, here on this site →

Types of Grant

There are various types of grant available for promoting human rights. These types match the circumstances of the applicants and their ability to use and spend the money. Essentially, grants come in the form of lump sums; regular payments; money linked to specific projects and programmes; or start-up funds for human rights enterprises. Anyone who makes an application should discuss with the funding body what type of grant is best.

Your situation may be slightly different. ask a question below ↓ and our editorial team will reply with our advice.

Types of Activity

The proposed activity partly determines the success of a grant application. For instance, training forms an important aspect of human rights work as does public education and legal advocacy. Other activities that qualify for grants include reporting violations of human rights, organising communities, writing reports, and travelling to areas where there’s possible abuse.

Funding Bodies

There are a number of bodies that fund human rights work. The Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights and United Nations Development Programme created the ACT project in 1998. ACT (Assisting Communities Together) gives small grants to people who engage in human rights work at a local level.

The Bromley Trust offers grants to UK charities involved in human rights campaigns. It’s also interested in those who work with victims of human rights violations. The Bromley Trust is keen to help any charity that tackles problems caused by slavery; human trafficking; torture; false imprisonment; and brutal punishments.

The Sigrid Rausing Trust has worked from London since 1995. Its aim is to support human rights around the world. The trust offers small grants up to £15,000. It also has main grants from £15,000 to £850,000.

These are just three of the grant-making bodies keen to fund human rights work. Anyone who wants money for a project should first research the bodies that seem most likely to help. Many grant-making bodies have their basic contact details, funding terms and application deadlines on the Internet.

Contacting the grant-makers also gives a good idea of how to proceed. Applicants must be clear about the areas of human rights their projects cover, the types of activity, the geographic locations of the proposed work, and the types of grant requested. If so, their project proposals will have serious consideration.

The Next Step

Now that you have read through the advice above, you might want to put it into practice. Our Grant Eligibility Finder lets you tell us what you need funding for and we will match you with the types of UK grant most likely to accept your application. Try it now →