Legal Empowerment Fund Announces $1.3 Million in Grants

The Legal Empowerment Fund (LEF), a program of the Fund for Global Human Rights, announced today that it has selected 39 grassroots activists and organizations in 29 countries to receive $1.3 million in flexible, two-year grants. The full list is available below. (Four grantees have been omitted from the list due to the sensitive nature of their work.)

These groups comprise the second-ever cohort of LEF grantees. The first cohort, announced in July 2022, includes 49 additional grassroots groups using legal empowerment strategies in their communities.

Both cohorts were selected through a participatory review process from more than 4,800 activists and organizations that responded to our first open call for proposals. We received applications from 153 countries, requesting over $233 million in funding. This staggering need underscores the lack of funding available to frontline groups worldwide—and the life-changing work that could be resourced with greater investment.

Women’s Rights House
Armenia 

Women’s Rights House was established in 2017 with the goal of preventing gender-based violence, protecting women’s rights, and promoting women’s economic inclusion in Armenia. They provide free legal counsel to women and girls who have faced domestic or sexual violence. They also offer regular trainings to educate women about their economic, political, and social rights. 

womensrightshouse.org

CEGSS
Guatemala 

Centro de Estudios para la Equidad y Gobernanza en Los Sistemas de Salud (the Center of Studies for Equity and Governance in Health Systems, or CEGSS) aims to improve Guatemala’s health systems governance through collective analysis and participatory action research. Their unique model empowers formerly excluded communities to be researchers and agents of change. 

cegss.org.gt

LAHURNIP
Nepal 

The Lawyers’ Association for Human Rights of Nepalese Indigenous People (LAHURNIP) defends the rights of Indigenous peoples in Nepal. Established in 1995 by a group of Indigenous lawyers, LAHURNIP uses strategic litigation to hold the Nepalese state and corporate actors responsible for violating the human rights of Indigenous communities. 

lahurnip.org/

PRISCCA
Zambia 

Prisons Care and Counselling Association—or PRISCCA—was formed in Zambia’s Kamfinsa State Prison by a group of prisoners. The organization takes a human rights–centered approach to criminal justice reform and post-incarceration reintegration. Its membership includes current inmates, former inmates, corrections officers, and paralegals. 

prisccazambia.org

List of LEF Grantees

Listed alphabetically by country
Four organizations are not listed due to the sensitive nature of their work.