Imagine I gave you $500 right now, straight to your bank account. How would you use that money? What’s the first thing you would do?  

Now, imagine that when I deposited the money into your account, I told you that the money could only be used for education. You might look at me and say, “I graduated from college a decade ago. I don’t need money for educational expenses. I need to pay rent.” I then respond by letting you know this is not negotiable, and that studies show investing in education is the best way to improve someone’s outcomes. How would you feel? Would that $500 be as useful to you now?  

This is the traditional model of philanthropy and humanitarian aid : Global South organizations receive Global North administered funds that stipulate in definite terms what it can—and cannot—be spent on. It’s the model we, as humanitarian aid practitioners, are trained on, but it’s also the model that UUSC boldly rejects. 

Between January and June 2026, UUSC distributed $1.7 million via 61 grants to our grassroots partners around the world. With this funding, our partners have engaged in critical community support activities like advancing physical and psychological health outcomes, advocating for community rights, assisting recently migrated people with language learning and legal accompaniment, providing housing for trans folks, and much more. Moreover, as our partners identify changing or evolving needs within their communities, they can pivot their approaches as needed to find solutions, strengthening the impact of their work.  

UUSC’s flexible approach to funding bolsters our partners’ ability to adapt their programming to the evolving needs of their communities. Of the 61 grants administered during the first half of the year, 53 (nearly 90%) of them supported the general operations of organizations. This means that organizations have the freedom to use that funding to meet any critical need—whether that’s procuring technology to implement early warning systems for community safety during air raids, adding staff to ensure a person always answers a phone call through a hotline for emergency services, covering travel expenses so that grassroots groups have a seat at the table at UN events, and so much more.  

This type of support rejects the traditional approach of limiting funding narrowly to specific uses to accomplish projects or initiatives. General operating grants shift power to community leaders—who are from the communities they serve and therefore the experts on the needs of their communities—to decide how funding is best used. Most of our grants are also multi-year funding commitments that our partners can count on. Being able to budget for the future further bolsters grassroots work.  

UUSC’s nontraditional approach to funding reflects our values- and trust-based approach to human rights work as a whole. We recognize that our partners are the experts on their community’s needs, and we trust them to use the funding we distribute however they see fit.  

While philanthropic funding systems aim to guard against financial abuse and misuse, we strongly reject the paternalistic notion that partners must be strictly monitored or that we know better how grant funding should be spent. Flexible resources and long-term commitments: this is what movements need to succeed.  

We understand that redistribution of wealth cannot truly happen if Global North funders limit how, where, and on what redistributed funds can be spent. We know that there truly is enough for everyone if wealth is legitimately redistributed, and we strive to exemplify that fact in all aspects of our work.  

Follow us on Facebook and Instagram to learn how our partners are using their unrestricted grant funds to advance human rights in their communities.