The world is facing many serious issues today, like the rise of authoritarian governments, setbacks in human rights, more conflicts and natural disasters, and cuts to funding for civil society work. These problems affect people with disabilities more than others. In a world where ableism is widespread, people with disabilities continue to fight for their rights. To support their efforts for dignity, independence, and self-representation, more resources are needed.
However, the disability justice movement is severely underfunded. The Human Rights Funders Network reports that only 2% of human rights funding goes to people with disabilities, even though one in seven persons in the world has a disability. Most of this funding doesn’t directly reach them, as it often gets distributed through several channels/cascades down before it finally reaches those in need. To react to these challenges, the Robert Bosch Foundation has deepened its work on reducing inequalities in the fields of disability rights and disability justice. We seek to support the work of persons with disabilities and to strengthen the global disability movement. We aim to partner with organizations led by persons with disabilities (OPDs) either directly or through intermediaries led by persons with disabilities who engage in participatory grantmaking.
Within this work, we support four organizations: The Disability Rights Advocacy Fund, the Center for Inclusive Policy, ADD International and Initiative Selbstbestimmt Leben e.V.
Ford Foundation/J. Kratochvil