Disability Rights Fund
Opening Spaces for Advocacy
Opening Spaces for Advocacy
Our advocacy and partnerships aim to address under-explored issues and bridge gaps by fostering collaboration across human rights movements. This intersectional approach strengthens solidarity and is essential for the disability movement to grow and fully realize its potential.
Advocacy
We support grantee partners by creating opportunities, offering platforms, and serving as a convener for underrepresented groups of persons with disabilities in the Global South. This includes facilitating participation of organizations of persons with disabilities (OPDs) in regional and global human rights forums so they can influence and shape an inclusive human rights agenda.
We also advocate for increased and more equitable funding for disability-led organizations by engaging with donors. Through meaningful dialogue, we challenge the philanthropic sector to confront its ableism and live up to its commitments on diversity, equity, and inclusion by resourcing the full diversity of disability rights movements.
State of Philanthropy
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Merely 4% of all human rights funding resources disability rights
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A charity model of giving persists
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The equity rhetoric of philanthropy does not match the glaring funding gaps
More & Better Funding
DRF will engage with funders to activate new, more, better funding for disability movements. Our aim is to provide essential resources to DRF, disability movements, and other stakeholders, enabling them to dismantle ableism and foster cultures of accessibility and inclusion.
Strategic Partnerships
Strategic Partnerships is a funding stream that promotes movement building, addresses intersectional and emergent issues that are relevant for the disability movement in DRF target countries and beyond. Strategic partnerships capitalize opportunities for mutual learning between DRF and partners and advocacy to drive change together on new and evolving issues pertinent to disability movements.
Funding eligibility: Upon invitation.
Current Strategic Partners
African Disability Forum (ADF) & Center for Inclusive Policy (CIP) as implementing partner
The proposed project aims to empower OPDs through CRPD-inclusive budget analysis and amplifies their voices in G20 processes. It will develop the capacity of OPDs in three countries to undertake disability-inclusive budget analyses and generate advocacy reports, while expanding the Center for Inclusive Policy's network of budget analysis experts. The project will also ensure effective representation of OPDs, particularly ADF members in G20 processes by creating opportunities for meaningful participation in discussions and consultations, and building their capacity to understand the structure, functions, and influence the decision-making of the G20.
Climate Youth Negotiator Academy (YNA)
The goal of the project is to support participation of youth with disabilities in climate change youth program. The proposed project strengthens diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) across YNA's organization and programmes through four interrelated objectives with particular focus on disability and neurodiversity. First, YNA will develop a comprehensive assessment strategy and methodology to evaluate DEI across its programmes and organizational practices. Second, the project will review and revise organizational policies and procedures to embed DEI principles in recruitment, budgeting, staffing, and operations, ensuring inclusive practices particularly related to disability inclusion and accessibility. Third, YNA will review programme delivery processes to identify and address barriers to participation, access, and inclusion for persons with disabilities and neurodivergent individuals, and evaluate alignment with DEI and other relevant frameworks. Fourth, the project will review and update training content and curricula to embed DEI principles, enhance participation and inclusion of persons with disabilities and neurodivergent individuals, and align with YNA frameworks, policies, and procedures, with recommendations also applied to DEI onboarding and orientation materials for new participants.
Women Enabled International (WEI)
This is general support to ensure that grassroots and national OPDs have access to support around gender-responsive supported decision-making; sexual and reproductive health and rights; and increase their competences in advocating for the implementation of inclusive and responsive policies.
G20 Disability Thematic Working Group
To support participation of OPDs in Climate G20 25 in South Africa. Specifically, the project strengthens the participation and representation of persons with disabilities and their organizations in G20 processes through three interlinked objectives. First, NCPD will mobilize OPDs and gather inputs on gaps in G20 thematic areas by recruiting group leads and facilitators, developing advocacy and M&E plans, conducting workshops for selected sherpas and stakeholders, and producing policy briefs for C20 and G20 engagements. Second, the project will enhance OPD participation across C20 working groups through pre-engagement workshops that prepare stakeholders, nominate representatives, and promote key messages to amplify disability voices among local and international stakeholders. Third, NCPD will produce and disseminate position papers and recommendations for G20 policy packs by hosting the D20 Parallel Conference in South Africa, which will convene over 100 OPD representatives from G20 countries to present feedback, facilitate discussions, and officially hand over the disability constituency's contributions to G20 leaders. By the end of the project, NCPD will foster greater cooperation between OPDs from G20 countries and secure increased commitment to disability inclusion from G20 leaders.
Children Rights Innovation Fund (CRIF)
This partnership supports a pooled fund led by CRIF and We Trust Fund to advance youth rights through participatory grantmaking. Donors will engage with youth to learn, plan, and fund initiatives driven by youth movements. The goal is to transform donor and NGO systems for meaningful youth engagement, fostering equitable collaborations. Additionally, the fund aims to influence philanthropy by prioritizing youth-led, self-defined initiatives.
Global Refugee Network
The project addresses the critical underrepresentation of refugees with disabilities in decision-making processes through four interlinked objectives. GNRD will develop and adopt a participatory Strategic Plan (2025–2030) with clear priorities, milestones, and indicators for growth, sustainability, and advocacy. The organization will establish governance, membership, and sustainability mechanisms, including a constitution, safeguarding policies, and financial management systems. GNRD will strengthen its members' organizational, advocacy, and leadership capacity through training, mentoring, and peer exchange, with focus on marginalized groups. Finally, the project will enhance GNRD's visibility and influence through strategic advocacy and knowledge generation, positioning refugees with disabilities as rights-holders and leaders within humanitarian sectors, government policy circles, and global disability platforms.
Disability Climate Change Caucus (Thought European Disability Forum)
To support the work of the Caucus in representing people with disabilities in COP. The proposed project to EDF will support the activities of the Disability Climate Action Caucus, through three interrelated objectives. The first is to advocate for disability inclusion in climate policies by conducting a desk-based research on climate policy areas and identify 3 to 5 priority policy areas for the Disability Caucus at COP30 and beyond. The second objective supports the meaningful participation of persons with disabilities at COP30 by organising an online, accessible training for OPDs on climate advocacy focused on the priority policy areas identified under the first objective while working closely with IDA and Brazillian OPDs. Third, the Caucus will work with IDA to develop a roadmap through online workshops, supporting monthly coordination meetings, and building relationships with climate actors through a stakeholder database.
Advocacy Events
Spotlight: GDS 2025
The Global Disability Summit (GDS) is a unique global mechanism that aims to advance the rights and inclusion of persons with disabilities, particularly from the Global South, by bringing together governments, organizations of persons with disabilities (OPDs), civil society, and the private sector. Since 2018, we have been resourcing OPDs in the Global South to secure commitments from their national governments through GDS mechanism and monitor the implementation.
Our participation in GDS 2025 in Berlin was rooted in a clear purpose: amplify grassroots voices, strengthen global advocacy networks, and secure meaningful national commitments to disability inclusion. DRF co-hosted key pre-summit events and supported a powerful delegation of 18 disability rights activists from across Africa and Asia. DRF also made commitments to resource disability rights movements, build collaborative advocacy, and support the monitoring, tracking of governments’ commitments to ensure accountability.
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