John Merck Fund donations made to Human Rights Watch

This is an online portal with information on donations that were announced publicly (or have been shared with permission) that were of interest to Vipul Naik. The git repository with the code for this portal, as well as all the underlying data, is available on GitHub. All payment amounts are in current United States dollars (USD). The repository of donations is being seeded with an initial collation by Issa Rice as well as continued contributions from him (see his commits and the contract work page listing all financially compensated contributions to the site) but all responsibility for errors and inaccuracies belongs to Vipul Naik. Current data is preliminary and has not been completely vetted and normalized; if sharing a link to this site or any page on this site, please include the caveat that the data is preliminary (if you want to share without including caveats, please check with Vipul Naik). We expect to have completed the first round of development by the end of July 2024. See the about page for more details. Also of interest: pageview data on analytics.vipulnaik.com, tutorial in README, request for feedback to EA Forum.

Table of contents

Basic donor information

ItemValue
Country United States
Websitehttps://www.jmfund.org/
Donations URLhttps://www.jmfund.org/program-grants/
Page on philosophy informing donationshttps://www.jmfund.org/about-us/
Grant application process pagehttps://www.jmfund.org/for-grantseekers/
Data entry method on Donations List WebsiteSQL insertion commands generated by script https://github.com/riceissa/john-merck-fund

Full donor page for donor John Merck Fund

Basic donee information

We do not have any donee information for the donee Human Rights Watch in our system.

Full donee page for donee Human Rights Watch

Donor–donee relationship

Item Value

Donor–donee donation statistics

Cause areaCountMedianMeanMinimum10th percentile 20th percentile 30th percentile 40th percentile 50th percentile 60th percentile 70th percentile 80th percentile 90th percentile Maximum
Overall 111 10,000 29,359 2,000 3,000 5,000 5,000 6,000 10,000 25,000 35,000 50,000 65,000 150,000
International Human Rights 106 10,000 28,055 2,000 3,000 5,000 5,000 5,500 10,000 25,000 25,000 35,000 65,000 150,000
Disarmament 5 50,000 57,000 35,000 35,000 35,000 50,000 50,000 50,000 50,000 75,000 75,000 75,000 75,000

Donation amounts by cause area and year

If you hover over a cell for a given cause area and year, you will get a tooltip with the number of donees and the number of donations.

Note: Cause area classification used here may not match that used by donor for all cases.

Cause area Number of donations Total 2009 2008 2007 2006 2005 2004 2003 2002 2001 2000 1999 1998 1997 1996 1995 1994 1993 1992 1991 1989 1988 1987
International Human Rights (filter this donor) 106 2,973,800.00 50,000.00 75,000.00 125,000.00 175,000.00 178,500.00 167,500.00 170,000.00 203,300.00 166,925.00 192,000.00 138,000.00 163,075.00 97,500.00 138,500.00 145,000.00 165,000.00 160,000.00 163,000.00 62,000.00 35,000.00 193,500.00 10,000.00
Disarmament (filter this donor) 5 285,000.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 75,000.00 75,000.00 50,000.00 50,000.00 35,000.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00
Total 111 3,258,800.00 50,000.00 75,000.00 125,000.00 175,000.00 178,500.00 167,500.00 170,000.00 203,300.00 241,925.00 267,000.00 188,000.00 213,075.00 132,500.00 138,500.00 145,000.00 165,000.00 160,000.00 163,000.00 62,000.00 35,000.00 193,500.00 10,000.00

Graph of spending by cause area and year (incremental, not cumulative)

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Graph of spending by cause area and year (cumulative)

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Full list of documents in reverse chronological order (0 documents)

There are no documents associated with this combination of donor and donee.

Full list of donations in reverse chronological order (111 donations)

Graph of all donations (with known year of donation), showing the timeframe of donations

Graph of donations and their timeframes
Amount (current USD)Amount rank (out of 111)Donation dateCause areaURLInfluencerNotes
25,000.00352009-12International Human Rightshttps://www.jmfund.org/program-grants/-- To press the Obama Administration to put an end to counterterrorism-related abuses, ensuring that the military detention center at Guantnamo Bay is closed responsibly, shutting down military commissions, ending renditions to other countries that practice torture, and seeking accountability for torture and other violations.
25,000.00352009-06International Human Rightshttps://www.jmfund.org/program-grants/-- To assist threatened human rights advocates around the world.
50,000.00192008-12International Human Rightshttps://www.jmfund.org/program-grants/-- To press the Obama Administration to put an end to counterterrorism-related abuses, specifically indefinite detention of Guantnamo detainees, rendition of individuals to countries that torture, and accountability for those responsible for abuses committed in the “war on terror.”.
25,000.00352008-02International Human Rightshttps://www.jmfund.org/program-grants/-- To assist threatened human rights advocates around the world.
100,000.0092007-09International Human Rightshttps://www.jmfund.org/program-grants/-- To expose and curb human rights violations in Latin America and the United States.
25,000.00352007-04International Human Rightshttps://www.jmfund.org/program-grants/-- To assist threatened human rights activists around the world.
150,000.0012006-12International Human Rightshttps://www.jmfund.org/program-grants/-- To document and prevent human rights abuses in Latin America and the US.
25,000.00352006-02International Human Rightshttps://www.jmfund.org/program-grants/-- To provide emergency assistance to human rights activists around the world.
8,000.00642005-12International Human Rightshttps://www.jmfund.org/program-grants/-- To provide emergency travel, living, accompaniment and other expenses for five Uzbek human rights advocates who have suffered torture or threats by the government.
150,000.0012005-12International Human Rightshttps://www.jmfund.org/program-grants/-- To defend human rights through in-depth research and advocacy with local, national and international government policymakers, nongovernmental organizations and the media.
6,500.00662005-09International Human Rightshttps://www.jmfund.org/program-grants/-- To provide emergency support for threatened human rights advocates in Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan.
3,000.00992005-08International Human Rightshttps://www.jmfund.org/program-grants/-- To enable endangered Liberian human rights activist Bush Williams to seek refuge in South Africa.
3,000.00992005-07International Human Rightshttps://www.jmfund.org/program-grants/-- To enable Chinese political dissident and democracy activist Wang Wanxing, who was falsely labeled mentally ill and incarcerated for thirteen years, to seek refuge with his family in Germany.
3,000.00992005-07International Human Rightshttps://www.jmfund.org/program-grants/-- To enable endangered journalist and human rights advocate Omid Memarian to flee Iran and seek temporary refuge in Istanbul, Turkey.
5,000.00712005-06International Human Rightshttps://www.jmfund.org/program-grants/-- To enable threatened Colombian human rights defender and journalist Hollman Morris and his family to temporarily seek refuge in the US.
150,000.0012004-12International Human Rightshttps://www.jmfund.org/program-grants/-- To defend human rights through in-depth research and advocacy with local, national and international government policymakers, nongovernmental organizations and the media.
4,500.00942004-08International Human Rightshttps://www.jmfund.org/program-grants/-- To assist threatened Uzbek human rights defender and journalist Ruslan Sharipov with living expenses in Russia while he seeks asylum in the United States.
10,000.00562004-07International Human Rightshttps://www.jmfund.org/program-grants/-- To evacuate Florien Ukizemwabo and Aloys Habimana, two human rights advocates from Rwanda, to protect them from arrest and attack by the government.
3,000.00992004-03International Human Rightshttps://www.jmfund.org/program-grants/-- To enable an injured Russian human rights advocate to receive medical treatment.
150,000.0012003-12International Human Rightshttps://www.jmfund.org/program-grants/-- To promote human rights around the world by researching and advocating on behalf of victims of human rights violations.
5,000.00712003-09International Human Rightshttps://www.jmfund.org/program-grants/-- To allow Habib Rahiab, an endangered human rights advocate in Afghanistan, to flee the country and seek temporary refuge elsewhere.
10,000.00562003-06International Human Rightshttps://www.jmfund.org/program-grants/-- To enable human rights defenders to flee the Indonesian military major offensive in Aceh for other parts of Indonesia or other countries.
5,000.00712003-06International Human Rightshttps://www.jmfund.org/program-grants/-- To enable Maitre Honore Musoko, the director of Congolese human rights organization Justice Plus, to resettle temporarily in Kampala during the crisis in Ituri.
150,000.0012002-12International Human Rightshttps://www.jmfund.org/program-grants/-- To promote human rights throughout the world by documenting, publicizing and redressing human rights violations.
3,500.00982002-11International Human Rightshttps://www.jmfund.org/program-grants/-- To provide emergency living support to Indonesian human rights advocate Albert Rumbekwan, who is fleeing serious threats by seeking refuge in Australia.
5,000.00712002-10International Human Rightshttps://www.jmfund.org/program-grants/-- To provide emergency living support for Chechen human rights monitor Satsita Muradova, who is fleeing danger in Russia and seeking political asylum in the United States.
4,300.00952002-10International Human Rightshttps://www.jmfund.org/program-grants/-- To provide emergency living expenses for threatened Saudi human rights advocate seeking political asylum in the US.
5,000.00712002-09International Human Rightshttps://www.jmfund.org/program-grants/-- To provide emergency travel support and legal advice to a human rights advocate from Saudi Arabia who is under threat and considering applying for political asylum in the US.
12,000.00542002-06International Human Rightshttps://www.jmfund.org/program-grants/-- To provide emergency support for Indonesian human rights advocate Thamrin Ely, to escape death threats and seek refuge in the United States.
5,000.00712002-06International Human Rightshttps://www.jmfund.org/program-grants/-- To provide emergency support to two Congolese human rights advocates Golden Misabiko, who seeks resettlement due to threats to his life, and Hangi bin Talent, who was forced to flee to Uganda to save his life.
6,000.00672002-05International Human Rightshttps://www.jmfund.org/program-grants/-- To provide emergency support for Colombian human rights advocate Monica Gaitan, who was forced to flee with her family to the United States for safety.
12,500.00532002-04International Human Rightshttps://www.jmfund.org/program-grants/-- To provide emergency legal defense for a Syrian human rights activist who is facing harassment libel charges in France.
125,000.0072001-12International Human Rightshttps://www.jmfund.org/program-grants/-- To document, publicize and redress human rights violations in Latin America.
2,000.001082001-11International Human Rightshttps://www.jmfund.org/program-grants/-- To enable Indonesian human rights advocate John Rumbiak to stay in the United States to ensure his safety before returning.
5,000.00712001-11International Human Rightshttps://www.jmfund.org/program-grants/-- To provide assistance with living expenses and medical care for Ismail Adylov, a human rights activist from Uzbekistan suffering from the effects of torture experienced during two years in prison.
5,000.00712001-10International Human Rightshttps://www.jmfund.org/program-grants/-- To enable three Congolese human rights advocates to seek refuge from danger to their lives.
2,000.001082001-08International Human Rightshttps://www.jmfund.org/program-grants/-- To provide emergency assistance to threatened Acehnese human rights advocates to seek temporary refuge in the United States.
75,000.00102001-07Disarmamenthttps://www.jmfund.org/program-grants/-- To promote a comprehensive ban on the use, production, stockpiling and trade in antipersonnel landmines.
5,000.00712001-06International Human Rightshttps://www.jmfund.org/program-grants/-- To provide emergency assistance to Acehnese human rights advocate Aguswandi, who is seeking temporary refuge from death threats in London.
5,000.00712001-06International Human Rightshttps://www.jmfund.org/program-grants/-- To provide continued support to Acehnese human rights activist Nazaruddin Abdul Gani, to enable him to stay in New York to avoid extreme danger if he returned to Indonesia.
3,625.00972001-03International Human Rightshttps://www.jmfund.org/program-grants/-- To provide emergency support to Acehnese human rights advocate Otto Syamsuddin, to allow him to flee danger in Indonesia and seek temporary refuge in United States.
5,000.00712001-03International Human Rightshttps://www.jmfund.org/program-grants/-- To provide emergency support to Chadian human rights lawyer Jacqueline Moudeina, who was injured by a grenade aimed at her by members of the Chadian policy whom she was prosecuting for torture. The grant will cover travel to France and medical expenses.
4,300.00952001-03International Human Rightshttps://www.jmfund.org/program-grants/-- To provide emergency assistance to Congolese human rights activist Golden Misabiko Baholelwa, who is being detained and tortured by the government’s National Intelligence Agency. This grant will enable Mr. Baholelwa’s wife to travel to Kinshasa to advocate for his release, provide support their children while she is gone and food for Mr. Baholelwa.
5,000.00712001-01International Human Rightshttps://www.jmfund.org/program-grants/-- To provide emergency living expenses for Acehnese human rights activist Cut Zahara, sister of a murdered human rights lawyer, to seek temporary refuge in the United States.
5,000.00712000-12International Human Rightshttps://www.jmfund.org/program-grants/-- To provide emergency support for Indonesian human rights advocate Nazaruddin Abdul Gani to seek temporary refuge in the United States.
75,000.00102000-12Disarmamenthttps://www.jmfund.org/program-grants/-- To promote a comprehensive international ban on the use, production, stockpiling and trade in antipersonnel landmines.
5,000.00712000-12International Human Rightshttps://www.jmfund.org/program-grants/-- To assist a Chechen doctor and human rights monitor’s family in escaping danger and seeking refuge in the United States.
125,000.0072000-11International Human Rightshttps://www.jmfund.org/program-grants/-- To document, publicize and redress human rights violations in Latin America.
15,000.00512000-11International Human Rightshttps://www.jmfund.org/program-grants/-- To support a lawsuit against Chilean general Augusto Pinochet for the 1973 assasination of General Carlos Prats Gonzalez.
2,000.001082000-09International Human Rightshttps://www.jmfund.org/program-grants/-- To provide emergency funding to threatened Cambodian human rights activist Chan Soveth, to enable him seek temporary refuge in Thailand.
5,000.00712000-05International Human Rightshttps://www.jmfund.org/program-grants/-- To provide Chechen surgeon and human rights advocate Hasan Baiyev living expenses in the United States while he awaits a ruling on an asylum application.
35,000.00252000-01International Human Rightshttps://www.jmfund.org/program-grants/-- To support a three-month emergency effort to investigate, monitor, document and report on human rights violations in Russia’s breakaway republic of Chechnya.
3,000.00991999-10International Human Rightshttps://www.jmfund.org/program-grants/-- To enable Indonesian pro-democracy activist Aguswandi to seek refuge in the United States after receiving death threats.
2,500.001061999-10International Human Rightshttps://www.jmfund.org/program-grants/-- To enable Indonesia human rights advocate Octovianus Mote to seek temporary refuge in the US from threats of arrest in that country.
2,000.001081999-10International Human Rightshttps://www.jmfund.org/program-grants/-- To enable Congolese human rights defender Simon Bokongo to seek asylum from repression in that country.
25,000.00351999-09International Human Rightshttps://www.jmfund.org/program-grants/-- To encourage corporate responsibility with regard to human rights.
35,000.00251999-09International Human Rightshttps://www.jmfund.org/program-grants/-- To promote human rights in Russia and Eastern Europe.
65,000.00121999-09International Human Rightshttps://www.jmfund.org/program-grants/-- To provide general program support for international human rights efforts.
50,000.00191999-07Disarmamenthttps://www.jmfund.org/program-grants/-- To promote and implement a ban on the production and use of antipersonnel landmines.
5,500.00691999-01International Human Rightshttps://www.jmfund.org/program-grants/-- To provide emergency assistance to a Chinese labor rights activist and an East Timorese human rights activist with refuge in the United States.
7,500.00651998-12International Human Rightshttps://www.jmfund.org/program-grants/-- To enable Indonesia human rights advocate Octovianus Mote to seek temporary refuge in the US from threats of arrest in that country.
5,000.00711998-12International Human Rightshttps://www.jmfund.org/program-grants/-- To enable Colombian human rights lawyer Claudia Elvira Gonzalez to escape death threats and harassment.
5,575.00681998-11International Human Rightshttps://www.jmfund.org/program-grants/-- To provide travel and lodging expenses for five youth leaders in the human rights movement in Congo who must flee persecution, to safety in Kenya.
35,000.00251998-09International Human Rightshttps://www.jmfund.org/program-grants/-- To support Human Rights Watch’s Moscow office, which monitors and documents human rights violations in the former Soviet Union.
65,000.00121998-09International Human Rightshttps://www.jmfund.org/program-grants/-- To monitor, document and publicize human rights violations around the world.
25,000.00351998-09International Human Rightshttps://www.jmfund.org/program-grants/-- To monitor actions by the private sector that contribute to human rights violations.
5,000.00711998-07International Human Rightshttps://www.jmfund.org/program-grants/-- To allow threatened Rwandan human rights activist Jean-Baptiste Barambirwa to bring his family to safety in Canada.
50,000.00191998-07Disarmamenthttps://www.jmfund.org/program-grants/-- To work toward a ban on the production and use of landmines.
5,000.00711998-05International Human Rightshttps://www.jmfund.org/program-grants/-- To assist Tunisian lawyer Radhia Nasroui, who has been threatened and harassed, to continue her work representing people who are being prosecuted for their nonviolent views or activities.
10,000.00561998-05International Human Rightshttps://www.jmfund.org/program-grants/-- To assist Chinese human rights advocate Wang Dan in his exile in the United States.
5,000.00711997-07International Human Rightshttps://www.jmfund.org/program-grants/-- To assist Cambodia human rights activist Kem Sokha in moving to the United States to escape persecution.
35,000.00251997-06Disarmamenthttps://www.jmfund.org/program-grants/-- To provide emergency support for work toward a ban on landmines.
65,000.00121997-06International Human Rightshttps://www.jmfund.org/program-grants/-- To provide general support of human rights program work.
25,000.00351997-06International Human Rightshttps://www.jmfund.org/program-grants/-- To support work on corporations and human rights.
2,500.001061997-03International Human Rightshttps://www.jmfund.org/program-grants/-- To provide emergency assistance to two Iraqi Kurd human rights monitors to escape persecution.
3,000.00991996-12International Human Rightshttps://www.jmfund.org/program-grants/-- To assist two threatened Burundian human rights activists in traveling to Senegal to escape persecution.
5,500.00691996-09International Human Rightshttps://www.jmfund.org/program-grants/-- To provide financial support to Indonesian human rights monitor Sugeng Bahagijo.
25,000.00351996-05International Human Rightshttps://www.jmfund.org/program-grants/-- To work on business and human rights issues, particularly with regard to China.
35,000.00251996-05International Human Rightshttps://www.jmfund.org/program-grants/-- To support the Moscow office of Human Rights Watch/Helsinki.
65,000.00121996-05International Human Rightshttps://www.jmfund.org/program-grants/-- To provide general program support.
5,000.00711996-01International Human Rightshttps://www.jmfund.org/program-grants/-- To provide financial support to two Chinese human rights advocates: attorney Zhang Sizhi and physician Zhang Shuyun.
5,000.00711995-10International Human Rightshttps://www.jmfund.org/program-grants/-- To provide living expenses to Chinese human rights activist Zhang Shuyun.
5,000.00711995-09International Human Rightshttps://www.jmfund.org/program-grants/-- To provide assistance to Iraqi Kurdish human rights Yousef Raheem Rasheed.
10,000.00561995-07International Human Rightshttps://www.jmfund.org/program-grants/-- To provide emergency assistance to Rwandan human rights activist Monique Mujawamariya.
25,000.00351995-05International Human Rightshttps://www.jmfund.org/program-grants/-- To support human rights work in China.
65,000.00121995-05International Human Rightshttps://www.jmfund.org/program-grants/-- To provide general program support.
35,000.00251995-05International Human Rightshttps://www.jmfund.org/program-grants/-- To support Human Rights Watch/Helsinki’s work in the former Soviet Union.
5,000.00711994-11International Human Rightshttps://www.jmfund.org/program-grants/-- To protect threatened Indonesian human rights activist.
25,000.00351994-10International Human Rightshttps://www.jmfund.org/program-grants/-- To publish an annual report on human rights in Argentina and to improve the documentation capabilities of Centro de Estudios Legales y Sociales.
10,000.00561994-08International Human Rightshttps://www.jmfund.org/program-grants/-- To support threatened Rwandan human rights activist Monique Mujawamariya.
35,000.00251994-05International Human Rightshttps://www.jmfund.org/program-grants/-- To support Helsinki Watch’s activities in the former Soviet Union.
65,000.00121994-05International Human Rightshttps://www.jmfund.org/program-grants/-- To provide general program support.
25,000.00351994-05International Human Rightshttps://www.jmfund.org/program-grants/-- To support the Committee to End the Chinese Gulag.
25,000.00351993-12International Human Rightshttps://www.jmfund.org/program-grants/-- To support the Committee to End the Chinese Gulag.
65,000.00121993-12International Human Rightshttps://www.jmfund.org/program-grants/-- To provide general program support.
10,000.00561993-09International Human Rightshttps://www.jmfund.org/program-grants/-- To enable Chinese human rights activist Hou Xiaotian to travel to the United States for training.
10,000.00561993-06International Human Rightshttps://www.jmfund.org/program-grants/-- To support threatened Sri Lankan lawyer Asoka Gunasekera’s internship with the Center for Justice and International Law.
35,000.00251993-06International Human Rightshttps://www.jmfund.org/program-grants/-- To support Helsinki Watch’s program in the former Soviet Union.
15,000.00511993-03International Human Rightshttps://www.jmfund.org/program-grants/-- To support Asia Watch’s activities in Thailand.
25,000.00351992-12International Human Rightshttps://www.jmfund.org/program-grants/-- To support the Committee’s work to release imprisoned Chinese dissidents.
50,000.00191992-12International Human Rightshttps://www.jmfund.org/program-grants/-- To work on behalf of human rights in areas of conflict.
25,000.00351992-11International Human Rightshttps://www.jmfund.org/program-grants/-- To promote human rights in Argentina.
3,000.00991992-10International Human Rightshttps://www.jmfund.org/program-grants/-- To support Chinese human rights activist Han Dongfang and his wife during their stay for medical treatment in the United States.
35,000.00251992-03International Human Rightshttps://www.jmfund.org/program-grants/-- To support Helsinki Watch’s project to build an indigenous human rights presence in selected republics of the former Soviet Union.
25,000.00351992-03International Human Rightshttps://www.jmfund.org/program-grants/-- To support the Committee to End the Chinese Gulag.
50,000.00191991-12International Human Rightshttps://www.jmfund.org/program-grants/-- To respond to unforeseen human rights emergencies around the world.
12,000.00541991-08International Human Rightshttps://www.jmfund.org/program-grants/-- To provide emergency support for a threatened Chinese human rights advocate.
35,000.00251989-07International Human Rightshttps://www.jmfund.org/program-grants/-- To support Asia Watch’s activities related to the recent events in China.
150,000.0011988-06International Human Rightshttps://www.jmfund.org/program-grants/-- To promote human rights in emergency situations around the world.
43,500.00241988-05International Human Rightshttps://www.jmfund.org/program-grants/-- To support the Orville Schell Fellowship Program.
10,000.00561987-12International Human Rightshttps://www.jmfund.org/program-grants/-- To monitor the Chilean national election.