Grantmaking & Program Overview
Although social justice organizations are increasingly using human rights to strengthen their advocacy and organizing work, the domestic human rights movement still faces challenges with respect to capacity, coordination and communications. The U.S. Human Rights Fund seeks to address these gaps by supporting the growth and development of organizations actively engaged in human rights framing, documentation, organizing and advocacy.
With this objective in mind, the Fund positions itself as a field building initiative that, rather than focusing on any single U.S. human rights issue, strategy or sector, concentrates instead on the development of the domestic human rights movement as a whole. The Fund does this primarily by supporting cross-issue human rights organizing and advocacy. The Fund disburses grants in four areas:
In addition to making grants to domestic human rights organizations, the U.S. Human Rights Fund also educates other donors about human rights as an additional tool and framework for social justice advocacy. Its program work includes (1) convenings and site visits on human rights organizing and advocacy in the United States, (2) publishing field assessments and reports on ongoing domestic human rights work, and (3) periodic donor briefings.