About Us

Human rights and the fundamental dignity and equality of all human beings are core to the ideals that guide and inspire the Channel Foundation. So, too, feminism and its belief in and advocacy for social, political and economic equality for women.

As part of a larger funding ecosystem, we’ve seen the ways that empowerment of grassroots groups, supporting systemic change, and partnership models of funding are extraordinarily effective pathways to achieving lasting social change.

We are also inspired by the Human Rights Grantmaking Principles which were launched by the Human Rights Funders Network (HRFN), the Gender Funders CoLab, and Ariadne -European Funders for Social Change and Human Rights. The six principles they came up with are intended to help funders align their grantmaking practices with human rights values and include the following:

• Power Sharing and Shifting
• Accountability
• Collective Care
• Community Driven
• Equity
• Adaptability and Learning

In partnership with its members, the International Funders for Indigenous Peoples (IFIP) developed the 5 Rs of Indigenous Philanthropy –Respect, Relationships, Responsibility, Reciprocity, and Redistribution — which also inspire Channel.

In addition to what foundations fund, HRFN emphasizes that “an important consideration in human rights philanthropy is also how they fund. Do they recognize the power dynamics at play? Are they funding the communities most affected by injustice and inequality? Are they transparent and accountable in their decision making? In short, do they adhere to the human rights principles their grantmaking seeks to uphold?”