Hans Thoolen on Human Rights Defenders and their awards

On 14 November 2025 Kate Kroeger and Kellea Miller wrote for the Alliance blog how philanthropy can show up in solidarity with movements defending democracy

There is a nearly six-fold increase in the chance of protecting societies from democratic backsliding when strong civil resistance campaigns are involved.

This striking finding from the University of Texas at Dallas and Johns Hopkins University—that social movements and resistance campaigns can increase the likelihood of protecting democracy to 51.7 percent from 7.5 percent—should compel funders to action, especially in this moment of rising authoritarianism around the world.

The philanthropic sector faces both an unprecedented opportunity and a moral imperative: to invest in the proven strategies that can safeguard democracy and our future, including the future of our planet. Yet, progressive movements leading civil resistance to authoritarianism, particularly grassroots organisations, remain chronically underfunded and the organisers, activists, and movements at the forefronts of this work during an era of overlapping crises are working with minimal resources while confronting burnout, reprisals, and trauma.

In order to be part of the solution, we must first clarify who and what we’re investing in. New research from Human Rights Funders Network projects that human rights-focused ODA will decline by up to $1.9 billion or 31 percent annually by 2026. By investing in grassroots organisations—including unregistered efforts—that focus on structurally excluded populations, philanthropy can stave off the worst outcomes of the funding crisis. The frontline movements and communities bearing the brunt of and addressing authoritarianism and climate change are not merely beneficiaries or recipients of aid. They are the leaders and strategists philanthropy can support and learn from. We cannot forget that it’s Indigenous communities who protect the majority of our planet’s biodiversity and lead the resistance to fossil fuel expansion thereby being one of the largest forces to combat climate chaos. Grassroots communities also grow the majority of the world’s food grown with agroecological methods. It’s relationship-building by movements that is key to shifting pillar loyalty to defend democracy. These are rooted, place-based, local innovations and solutions that have deep breadth and experience and can drive the systemic change our world desperately needs. 

To address the breadth of crises we’re facing, philanthropy must act as an ecosystem and fund ecosystems. Now is the time to fund movements within communities, in networks and ecosystems with one another. It’s not about one issue or one community, but about ensuring that democratic resistance is funded at every level. In order to do so, philanthropy must demonstrate collective action instead of operating in siloed strategies. There are powerful examples of philanthropy coming together to address crises in recent memory, including during the peak of the Covid pandemic and in response to the invasion of Ukraine, that can be replicated. For example, in response to the pandemic, philanthropy was not only able to invest more than $20 billion dollars in communities around the world, but also effectively act as a convener for information sharing and to foster collaboration across governmental and private sector stakeholders. Funding social movement ecosystems is also a risk mitigation strategy, ensuring that risk is spread across groups both for funders and movements.

Realistic risk assessment and mitigation strategies allow philanthropy to act with courage. Philanthropic institutions must clearly identify the real risks facing them and prepare to address them in order to step up in this moment. While there are risks facing private foundations, including but not limited to being questioned by governmental entities about their grantmaking, many of these risks are short term and administrative and can be mitigated through, among other strategies, working in tandem with other funders. For movements, however, the risks are existential. Movements for climate and environmental justice are among the most targeted in the world, because they take on corporate interests, agribusiness, extractive industries, and organised crime. In 2024 alone, more than 320 human rights defenders were killed. Fully 85 percent of targeted killings of activists in Latin America are those of environmental and climate justice defenders. It is true that funders need to move cautiously to preserve their ability to fund these very movements and activists on the frontlines, but they must not confuse caution with abandoning those risking their lives to protect our planet and fight for human rights for all.

How philanthropy supports those defending democracy at the ground level is as important as the dollar amounts. If funders were waiting for an emergency moment to throw away their playbook and fund with trust and abundance, we have arrived at that moment. Long, arduous, and bureaucratic systems and processes for grantmaking are not designed to meet the moment of poly crisis we’re in. Funders can use this moment to redesign their processes to meet not only the needs of movements but the complexity and pace of current crises. It’s essential that donors normalise long-term, unrestricted funding, resource movement infrastructure, and support collective care for activists on the frontlines. Legal defense, digital security, crisis communications, media trainings, and spaces for defenders to build intersectional and shared strategies require resources in order for movements to survive and succeed. Defenders are operating under extremely risky conditions with bare bones support, while fighting burnout and reprisals. Investing in collective care, such as wellbeing spaces, health insurance, retirement, and transition funds, is as important for the survival of movements as infrastructure support.

Over the past few months, there have been numerous convenings and conversations on what philanthropy should do in the current political and funding landscape. The answer is clear. Philanthropy should invest in strategies that succeed in protecting democracy and our planet and time and time again, we’ve seen that those are led by grassroots and frontline activists and movements. These movements will continue to exist whether funders step up or not. The question, in the words of activist and former Co-Executive Director of Highlander Center Ash-Lee Woodard Henderson, is whether they’ll be resourced to win.

Kate Kroeger is the executive director of Urgent Action Fund for Feminist Activism. Kellea Miller is the executive director of Human Rights Funders Network. Samir Doshi is director of Just Transitions at CS Fund.

https://www.alliancemagazine.org/blog/how-philanthropy-can-show-up-in-solidarity-with-movements-defending-democracy/