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The Fund for Global Human Rights

@fundhumanrights.bsky.social

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We identify and invest in the world’s most innovative and effective human rights activists. Join our community of supporters and help transform lives worldwide: https://globalhumanrights.org/

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The Fund for Global Human Rights @fundhumanrights.bsky.social · Dec 2

We're the Fund for Global Human Rights. 👋

We're new to Bluesky and—in case you're new to us—here are some fast facts:

✊🌱 Since 2002, we've invested more than $165m in over 1,100 human rights activists, organizations, and movements in more than 80 countries.

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The Fund for Global Human Rights @fundhumanrights.bsky.social · 14d

We are concluding a 4-day convening in Manila with the LEF’s Southeast Asia cohort, focused on land and environmental justice. The convening centred cross-border learning and community power. Learn more about the cohort: tinyurl.com/3nhjyujy
Reflections from the convening to follow soon.

The Fund for Global Human Rights @fundhumanrights.bsky.social · 28d

What happens when ancestral knowledge meets cutting-edge tech and legal know-how? In Tamil Nadu, fisherfolk and activists are working together to defend coastal sand dunes—ecosystems that saved lives during the 2004 tsunami.

Watch the video below and read the full story: bit.ly/4pgy9vd

The Fund for Global Human Rights @fundhumanrights.bsky.social · Sep 3

“What’s the use of money with no water?”

Developers are bulldozing sand dunes that have protected community water supplies for centuries in Tamil Nadu, India. But activists and fisherfolk are working together to defend the dunes. And it’s working. Watch our new video and share to expose the story.

Defending The Dunes

Defending The Dunes follows a coastal community in Tamil Nadu, India, who depend on coastal sand dunes for protection from storms and saltwater intrusion, and as a key part of the unique local ecosyst...

globalhumanrights.org

The Fund for Global Human Rights @fundhumanrights.bsky.social · Aug 18

Picture: Grantee partners at the LEF-CYP Climate Justice Fund launch meeting in Uganda.

The Fund for Global Human Rights @fundhumanrights.bsky.social · Aug 18

The Legal Empowerment Fund is offering $10–30k grants for Caribbean grassroots organisations working on land and environmental justice through legal empowerment.

Deadline to apply is 19th September. Full details: bit.ly/4fDXkDE

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The Fund for Global Human Rights @fundhumanrights.bsky.social · Aug 7

The Legal Empowerment Fund (LEF) is excited to launch the LEF Communications Grant—a new pilot initiative supporting ten grassroots groups that use communications to advance legal empowerment and broaden their impact.

Read more: legalempowermentfund.org/updates/lef-...

The Fund for Global Human Rights @fundhumanrights.bsky.social · Jul 15

Funding cuts to HIV/AIDS prevention and care, and increases in anti-LGBTQ+ legislation makes the work of activists even more critical.

The Fund is committed to supporting LGBTQ+ movements who are breaking down barriers to safe and inclusive healthcare, and defending LGBTQ+ rights.

The Fund for Global Human Rights @fundhumanrights.bsky.social · Jul 15

“People at higher risk of HIV, such as gay men and people who inject drugs, are facing record levels of criminalisation worldwide, according to UNAIDS.”

www.theguardian.com/global-devel...

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The Fund for Global Human Rights @fundhumanrights.bsky.social · Jul 14

ORRA has released a new documentary showing their long fight for justice after fossil fuel development displaced communities in Uganda. A direct look at legal empowerment in action.
Watch and share: youtu.be/hZouBswsuVc?...

A decade of struggle seeking justice in Uganda’s Courts by the oil refinery project affected persons

YouTube video by OIL REFINERY RESIDENTS ASSOCIATION (ORRA)

youtu.be

The Fund for Global Human Rights @fundhumanrights.bsky.social · Jul 10

Messaging groups are becoming critical spaces of justice. A new LEF piece explores how grassroots organizers are using digital tools to support one another, resist, and build collective power.
Read more: legalempowermentfund.org/commentary/w...

When Virtual Spaces Become Bridges | Legal Empowerment Fund

Can virtual spaces help build power for justice? Paul Waiswa shares his experience co-creating on Zoom with a group of LEF grantee partners.

legalempowermentfund.org

The Fund for Global Human Rights @fundhumanrights.bsky.social · Jul 1

Picture shows Waringa Wahome (center, wearing grey), who works with the Mathare Social Justice Centre in Nairobi, Kenya. She coordinates the work of volunteers with the Centre’s Legal Empowerment Network to help people in the Mathare informal settlement pursue their rights.

Credits: Michael Owino

The Fund for Global Human Rights @fundhumanrights.bsky.social · Jul 1

Explore grassroots justice in action.
LEF’s video series with Mott Foundation follows amazing community leaders in Nairobi and Mexico City using legal know-how to demand rights and shape systems. Watch now: mott.org/legal-empowerment

The Fund for Global Human Rights @fundhumanrights.bsky.social · Jul 1

Picture shows Waringa Wahome (center, wearing grey) works with the Mathare Social Justice Centre in Nairobi, Kenya. She coordinates the work of volunteers with the Centre’s Legal Empowerment Network to help people in the Mathare informal settlement pursue their rights.

Credits: Michael Owino

The Fund for Global Human Rights @fundhumanrights.bsky.social · Jun 30

At the World Justice Forum, LEF and Namati spotlighted how legal empowerment pushes back against authoritarianism + builds democratic resilience from the ground up. Justice isn’t just a right—it’s power in people’s hands. We’ll keep amplifying this where it matters most.

The Fund for Global Human Rights @fundhumanrights.bsky.social · Jun 26

The Legal Empowerment Fund is joining global partners in Sevilla to push for more investment in grassroots justice. At this FfD4 side-event, we’re making the case: financing justice is key to equity, peace & opportunity.
More: www.sdg16.plus/events/finan...

The Fund for Global Human Rights @fundhumanrights.bsky.social · Jun 18

Read the full article at Open Global Rights: www.openglobalrights.org/shifting-pow...

Shifting power in today’s philanthropy

A discussion regarding how philanthropic efforts can avoid gatekeeping and perpetuating existing power imbalances.

www.openglobalrights.org

The Fund for Global Human Rights @fundhumanrights.bsky.social · Jun 18

4. Rethinking Power, Together

We also had something reaffirmed: that we can’t shift power alone.

We want to build a more honest, equitable, and collaborative approach to funding.

Let’s start a dialogue—how are you building collective power?

The Fund for Global Human Rights @fundhumanrights.bsky.social · Jun 18

3. What We Learned

Power can’t be eliminated from philanthropy—but it can be used with greater care.

Transparency builds trust, and explaining the "why" behind our decisions matters.

Strong, honest relationships are just as powerful as money when it comes to driving real, lasting change.

The Fund for Global Human Rights @fundhumanrights.bsky.social · Jun 18

2. Investigating Power

At the Fund, we experience power as both a funder and a fundraiser. To better understand how power shows up at the Fund, we:

✅ Audited our grantmaking
✅ Listened to partners
✅ Mapped the sector

Our goal: learn to use our power more transparently and responsibly.

The Fund for Global Human Rights @fundhumanrights.bsky.social · Jun 18

1. Power Is Everywhere

Power in philanthropy isn’t just about money. It’s about who gets heard, who makes decisions, and who controls resources.

To support real change, we have to recognize and question these dynamics.

Power isn’t the enemy. Silence is.

The Fund for Global Human Rights @fundhumanrights.bsky.social · Jun 18

How can philanthropy use power more responsibly?

We spent 18 months interrogating how power shows up—in philanthropy, in human rights, and in our own organization—and shared our findings over at Open Global Rights.

Here are four key takeaways from the article:

The Fund for Global Human Rights @fundhumanrights.bsky.social · Jun 9

In Uganda, Youth for Green Communities, supported by The Legal Empowerment Fund (LEF), is tackling rising human-wildlife conflict linked to oil extraction. This is what legal empowerment looks like.

Learn more about LEF: legalempowermentfund.org/publications...

The Fund for Global Human Rights @fundhumanrights.bsky.social · Jun 4

6. To fund real change, we have to change how we fund. That means backing grassroots leaders, sharing power, and staying the course. Did any of these points resonate with you and your work? Let us know in the comments.

Read the full conversation below. [Paywalled]

In conversation: People’s Courage International, Co-Impact, and Fund for Global Human Rights - Alliance magazine

In a field increasingly defined by questions of power, accountability, and scale, guest editor Ashif Shaikh convenes a conversation across the philanthropic spectrum. Joining him are Yasmin Madan, dir...

www.alliancemagazine.org

The Fund for Global Human Rights @fundhumanrights.bsky.social · Jun 4

5. As Yasmin Madan of Co-Impact explains, real change isn’t about going it alone as a hero—it’s about standing together in solidarity. The Fund invests in movements, not metrics, because collaboration is what makes transformation possible and sustainable.

The Fund for Global Human Rights @fundhumanrights.bsky.social · Jun 4

4. “It’s not all about competition or numbers, it’s about sharing what can be felt in people’s lives,” says Gabriela Bucher. Philanthropy must move beyond scarcity thinking—and realize that enabling dignity and hope is often more important than easily measurable outputs.