Human Rights Grants Awarded at June 2011 Board Meeting

Earlier this week at its June 2011 Board of Directors meeting, The Overbrook Foundation's Human Rights Program awarded $1,120,000 in grants to 22 organizations in the categories of Domestic Human Rights and International Human Rights.

In its Domestic Human Rights program, the Foundation awarded grants to organizations working on issues of marriage equality/LGBT rights, Reproductive Rights, the US Human Rights Movement, and Media. In its International Human Rights, the Foundation awarded grants to three organizations that to a large extent focus their work to support human rights defenders as well as reproductive rights.

In its Domestic Human Rights program, for its work representing a unique collaboration among LGBT and other progressive funders to achieve marriage equality for same-sex couples in the United States, the Foundation awarded a $100,000 grant to Freedom to Marry and a $75,000 for Lambda Legal Defense and Education Fund.

In support of other grantmaking activities in the domestic human rights movement, the Foundation awarded a $40,000 grant to Facing History and Ourselves for its Fundamental Freedoms program, and a two-year $70,000 grant to the Hastings Center for a program titled “Undocumented Patients After Health Reform: Human Rights, Access to Health Care & the Ethics of the Safety Net”. Other grants in this category include a $50,000 to the Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights Education Fund for the CEDAW Public Education Project, a $50,000 to the New York Civil Liberties Union Foundation, a $55,000 to Urban Justice Center for The Human Rights Project and Sex Workers Project and a two-year $300,000 grant to The U.S. Human Rights Fund.

The Foundation’s reproductive rights grants were awarded to three organizations; a $50,000 grant to Advocates for Youth, a $30,000 grant to the Civil Liberties and Public Policy Program for its work in training new generations of reproductive rights advocates, and a two-year $200,000 grant to the Center for Reproductive Rights for its U.S. Legal Program and Latin America Regional Office.

In its media portfolio, the Foundation awarded three grants; a $35,000 to Mother Jones for its reporting on domestic human rights issues in the United States, a $25,000 to National Public Radio for its coverage of environment and human rights issues, and a $65,000 to WNYC for its program On the Media.

Three other grants were awarded in the domestic human rights program area; a two-year $60,000 grant to Green For All (a joint project with the Foundation’s Environment program), and a $45,000 grant to The Innocence Project for its public policy program.

In support of International Human Rights, the Foundation awarded grants in two areas: human rights defenders and reproductive rights. Grants awarded from the human rights defenders category include a $25,000 grant to the Environmental Defenders Law Center, a $30,000 grant to Peace Brigades International for its Latin America Program, a $40,000 grant to Urgent Action Fund of Latin America for Women’s Human Rights, and a $50,000 grant to WITNESS for its work promoting video advocacy in the Americas. In support of international reproductive rights, the Foundation awarded two grants; a $50,000 grant to the Human Rights Center and the University of Chile Law School for its fellowship program, and a $40,000 grant to International Planned Parenthood Federation Western Hemisphere.

If you’re interested in learning more about these organizations, click on the links above to learn more. For a complete list of organizations support by The Overbrook Foundation, you can visit our website.