Human rights funders must recognize our own institutions and selves as accountable to the movements, organizations, and individual rights-holders we aim to support. In practice, foundations are more commonly accountable to trustees and donors rather than grantees. This problem will persist until funding institutions commit to being responsive to field needs in our grantmaking priorities and practices, and establish clear accountability mechanisms that include avenues for complaint and redress in cases when we betray trust.

Human rights funders should be open and transparent about our goals and approaches, including our context analysis, priorities, how decisions are made within our institutions, and (where possible) the sources of our funding. Funders should continuously assess and respond to changes in the human rights landscape, including emerging issues or those that may be under the radar. Recognizing that power differentials can be an obstacle to demanding transparency and answerability, we should be proactive in sharing information with and incorporating feedback from the constituencies we serve. Being mindful that accountability includes being good stewards of information, we must balance transparency with the safety of our grantees, and only share details publicly that will not place them or their communities at risk.

Write us at principlesproject@hrfn.org to recommend additional resources.