Our Mission

Values

Core ideals that guide Channel Foundation include the following:

• Human rights and the fundamental dignity and equality of all human beings
• Feminism
• Racial Justice
• Diversity, Equity and Inclusion

Funding Ecosystem

Channel does its work as part of a larger human rights and feminist funding ecosystem which inspires and guides us. As part of these movements, Channel believes that empowerment of grassroots groups and partnership models of funding are the only truly effective pathways to achieving lasting social change. We believe in and strive to practice the following in our work:  Collaboration, Bridge-building, Risk-taking, Focusing on Supporting Systemic Change.

Several of the donor affinity groups with which we are affiliated have come up with important collective values for all donors to consider.

The Human Rights Funders Network (HRFN) has made clear that, “in addition to what foundations fund, 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?”

In fact, HRFN and other entities including Channel partner the Gender Funders CoLab (formerly known as Philanthropy Advancing Women’s Human Rights or PAWHR), and Ariadne -European Funders for Social Change and Human Rights, launched a set of Human Rights Grantmaking Principles in late 2020 which reflect the contributions of approximately 300 human rights contributors including funders and activists from over 40 countries. The six principles they came up with are intended to help funders align their grantmaking practices with human rights values. The principles can help foundations explore their practices internally, catalyze conversations among funders from different institutions, and support funders to share and learn together with others in the human rights field. The principles are available in English, French, German, Italian, and Spanish and include the following:

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

In addition, Channel has long been inspired by the 5 Rs of Indigenous Philanthropy developed by the International Funders for Indigenous Peoples (IFIP) which include the following: Respect, Relationships, Responsibility, Reciprocity, and Redistribution.