Billionaire Donates $100 Million to Human Rights Watch

Billionaire philanthropist and financier George Soros had announced a grant of $100 million over 10 years to Human Rights Watch, a New York based Not for Profit organisation.

The grant from Soros’ Open Society Foundation – the largest he has made to a Not for Profit organisation – will be used to expand and deepen Human Rights Watch’s global presence to more effectively protect and promote human rights around the world.

George Soros (above) says human rights underpin the world's great aspirations.  Flickr image by World Economic Forum via Creative Commons

The grant comes with a challenge from Soros to Human Rights Watch – the organisation is expected to raise an additional $10 million in new donations each year to match the funding.

Human Rights Watch hopes the grant, and the additional matching funds they aim to raise, will enable Human Rights Watch to become a global organisation.

Soros, founder and chairman of the Open Society Foundations, says Human Rights Watch is one of the most effective organisations he supports. He says that human rights underpin the world's greatest aspirations: they’re at the heart of open societies.

Soros says he is particularly interested in encouraging philanthropists outside of the traditional supporters of human rights in Europe and North America.

The grant is intended to support the internationalisation of Human Rights Watch, and the organisation says it plans to especially build its capacity to influence emerging powers in the global South.

Soros says the organisation can have an even greater impact by being truly international in scope, and has set the target of having half the organisation’s income and the majority of it’s board coming from outside the United States within 5 years.

Human Rights Watch has a staff of nearly 300, and works to address human rights conditions in nearly 90 countries. 

Visit the Human Rights Watch website here.