A Critical Moment
for Human Rights Funders
In this 2025 briefing, Human Rights Funders Network (HRFN) provides a timely analysis of the projected decline in funding for global human rights movements, driven by cuts to foreign aid and growing instability in philanthropic support. The report synthesizes data from various sources to assess the impact of these converging pressures on human rights initiatives and identifies ways for funders to respond. The analysis suggests that the cuts will have a profound effect on the infrastructure of civic space and human rights, highlighting the critical need for proactive strategies to support these movements in the face of a challenging political and economic climate.
The Global ODA Landscape
Global Official Development Assistance (ODA) is projected to decline significantly by 2026 due to major cuts from key donor countries, threatening millions of lives. We find:
- ODA is projected to plummet by $62 billion annually by 2026: An estimated decline to $161 billion is projected by 2026, representing a 28% reduction from a record high of $223 billion in 2023.
- 12 countries have announced ODA reductions amidst waning support for human rights: These announced cuts reflect a growing trend of reduced ODA, increased military spending, and declining political support for human rights. These data assume no additional countries reduce aid allocations and that projected cuts do not further increase.
- Three countries are driving 84% of the projected ODA decrease: Just three nations—the United States ($36 billion), Germany ($10 billion), and the United Kingdom ($7 billion)—are responsible for the vast majority of this projected annual ODA decrease.
- Funding cuts threaten millions of lives: Human rights and humanitarian organizations predict these reductions will put millions of lives at risk, potentially leading to up to 3 million additional HIV-related deaths by 2030 and nearly 2 million children killed by preventable illness due to reductions in global immunizations.
The Impact on Human Rights Funding
Projected ODA reductions will critically impact human rights-specific funding and broader philanthropic support, exacerbating challenges for human rights movements. We find:
- Human rights-focused ODA is projected to decline by up to $1.9 billion annually by 2026: Human Rights Funders Network (HRFN) conservatively estimates that this vital source of support will decrease by between $1.4 billion (22%) and $1.9 billion (31%) by 2026 as compared to 2023.
- ODA reductions are having an immediate impact on philanthropic support: Foundations currently provide nearly $5 billion a year for human rights action worldwide. These ODA cuts are already having a significant effect on philanthropic support, through both direct funding losses and the rapid depletion of resources across the broader ecosystem, increasing overall demands.
- Political conditions are increasingly undermining foundations’ grantmaking: Beyond funding, political environments are further impeding foundations’ ability to support movements, with increasingly restrictive measures hindering their cross-border grantmaking.
- Human rights movements face immediate and severe impact: While the effects are already taking hold, the full scale of funding cuts will be felt in the next 6 to 12 months. Human rights movements for LGBTQI rights and gender equality will be especially hard-hit. Strategies to shore up funding for these and other social movements are critical protection against democratic backsliding.
Looking Forward
Overall ODA cuts will inevitably and indelibly impact the infrastructure of civic space, humanitarian aid, and human rights. The specific human rights funding shortfall of $1.4 billion to $1.9 billion is a severe setback, but it is not insurmountable. This challenge has the potential to galvanize movements targeted by the shifting political economy and resisting democratic backsliding around the world to innovate and adapt. How foundations contribute to or rally against the depletion of the funding ecosystem—and bolster these movements—will depend on the actions they take now.
Read our brief for an in-depth analysis of the cuts to overall and human-rights-related ODA, trends shaping the future of funding, and what is needed in the near term to shore up human rights movements.
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