In the midst of COVID-19, and at a time of upheaval and mass protests in countries across the globe, the world is shifting significantly for all of us, at both the micro and macro levels. Human rights are exactly the right tools to guide us through these uncertain times, and the need for a secure, powerful, and well-resourced community of advocates has never been more clear and urgent. At Access Now, through our work at the Digital Security Helpline, in the global #KeepitOn and #WhyID coalitions, and RightsCon, we can see the movement for human rights in the digital age needs to keep growing and expanding. That’s why we’re working to ensure that everywhere across the globe, the digital rights community can organize a groundswell of response when our rights are threatened, and can marshall the expertise and trust to represent those who are most at risk — yet often go unheard.
With this mission in mind, we are taking a moment to reflect and report on the support Access Now Grants provided in 2019 in pursuit of our strengthened vision and mandate. Our true north in these turbulent times is the understanding that only by elevating the experiences, demands, and agendas of the communities that are directly experiencing harm can we achieve a full realization of digital rights. That means that our priority is to fund activists and organizations working with and from the perspective of the communities that are most severely impacted by a wide range of intersecting issues — from content moderation, doxxing, and surveillance to online hate speech, harassment, and censorship. Much of the support we provided in 2019 is being used to carry activists and organizations through the current uncertainty.
Last year, Access Now provided $721,185 in direct financial support across 32 grants to 26 separate groups and organizations. Beyond these 32 core support and project grants, we provided 17 additional partners with urgent and discrete micro-grants.
The vast majority of Access Now’s grantees are grassroots organizations. Over half of the organizations supported in 2019 have budgets of less than $200,000. Below are additional statistics that provide an overview of the extent of our support.
| Total grants | 32 |
| Total grantee organizations | 26 |
| Total number of countries | 22 |
| Total amount granted | $721,185.00 |
| Average grant amount | $22,537.03 |
| # of grantees who were new to the grants program in 2019 | 8 |
| Average grantee organizational budget | $330,119 |
| % of grants going to organizations with $200k or less in their organizational budget | 53% |
We have the great privilege of learning from and being inspired by the work of the grantees we support. The individual and cumulative contributions they are making to human rights are enormous and critically needed. The chart below provides some small insight into each of the grants we made last year.
As we approach the midpoint of 2020, we are poised to significantly increase our grantmaking relative to 2019. We are humbled and invigorated by the new work we have already been able to support this year. The global digital rights community is rising to meet the needs of this moment, and we stand with you in your efforts to create a better future for everyone.