Disability Rights Fund
/OVERVIEW: The Disability Rights Fund works in select developing nations to promote the rights of people with disabilities. Current grantmaking emphasizes organizations working in Indonesia, Malawi, Nepal, Nigeria, Rwanda, Uganda and countries located in the Pacific Islands.
IPTAKE: DRF focuses on providing support to groups that are led and organized by disabled persons, prioritizing advocacy, activism and representation. This funder accepts letters of inquiry from organizations operating in countries of interest. This is an accessible and supportive funder that likes to help its grantees achieve their goals.
PROFILE: The Disability Rights Fund (DRF) was initially established as a project of the Tides Center. In 2012, DRF established itself as an independent nonprofit with the aim of helping “persons with disabilities participate fully in society and enjoy equal rights and opportunities.” DRF largely focuses its grantmaking on advancing the U.N.’s Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD), which acknowledges that differently-abled persons share the same rights as others. The largest funder of disability organizations worldwide, DRF prioritizes disabled populations of developing nations, where an estimated 80 percent of the world’s one billion disabled people live. Funding is currently focused on but not strictly limited to organizations operating in Bangladesh, Ghana, Haiti, Indonesia, Malawi, Myanmar, Nigeria, Rwanda, Uganda and countries located in the Pacific Islands.
Grants for Human Rights
One goal of DRF is to shift the way disability is approached by the nonprofit world. Whereas many projects and organizations support disabled populations through direct services, DRF aims to empower the disabled with their own decision-making, advocacy and representation. The fund supports disability rights movements from local to national levels and provides technical assistance and advocacy to groups that represent the rights and interests of disabled peoples. Grantmaking prioritizes organizations and projects that are led by members of disabled communities. In Ghana, DRF has partnered with New Horizon Foundation of the Blind to promote equal educational and employment opportunities for children and adults with blindness and partial vision. Another grantee, Himpunan Wanita Disabilitas Indonesia, advocates for equal recognition in Indonesia’s legal system and freedom from violence and exploitation for disabled individuals.
Grants for Global Development
Some of the DRF’s grantmaking supports the adoption of legal standards for the treatment, education and participation of disabled people in developing countries. The fund’s advocacy program supports coalitions in named countries of interest to “campaign for ratification of the CRPD” and pursue governmental commitment to the improvement of the lives of disabled people. DRF supports the Human Rights First Rwanda Association, which works to assist disabled women to exercise rights to land ownership, and the Women with Disabilities Development Foundation of Bangladesh, which advocates for accessible urban infrastructure for all people with disabilities. Another grantee, the Peruvian Society for Down Syndrome, has pressed for identification cards and voter registration for people with intellectual and psychosocial disabilities.
Important Grant Details:
DRF awards about $2 million a year in grants through three separate grantmaking programs. Small grants of up to $30,000 help local groups build disability rights movements, while mid-level coalition grants of $30,000 to $50,000 support organizations that advocate for national legislation and policy change. DRFs national coalition grantmaking program makes two-year commitments of $40,000 to $60,000 each year to organizations advocating for the advancement of the U.N.’s CRPD at national levels in countries of interest. Grantmaking prioritizes, but is not strictly limited to, organizations in Bangladesh, Ghana, Haiti, Indonesia, Malawi, Myanmar, Nigeria, Rwanda, Uganda and the Pacific Island nations. For additional information about past grantmaking, see the fund’s Stories of Change page or annual reports section.
The fund accepts letters of inquiry for three separate grant programs. Guidelines and due dates for letters of inquiry vary by country of interest and change each year. Prospective grantees should consult the fund’s grantmaking page for up-to-date information. General inquiries may be submitted via the fund’s contact page.
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