The Disability Rights Fund (DRF) is a grantmaking collaborative between donors and the global disability rights community that empowers persons with disabilities to advocate for equal rights and full participation in society.

The Disability Rights Fund envisions a world where persons with disabilities participate fully in society and enjoy equal rights and opportunities. To accomplish this vision, DRF supports disabled persons organizations (DPOs) in the developing world to take the lead in advocating for the human rights of persons with disabilities at local and national levels, utilizing the mechanism of the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD) as a platform for rights advocacy. DRF focuses the grantmaking on building the capacity of DPOs to be full and equal participants in the achievement of rights for the world’s one billion people with disabilities.

Their approach and philosophy form their grantmaking programs are based on the respect for these principles:

• Learning and Change: Embracing an open approach to the work they are doing to advance rights of persons with disabilities. This requires learning from the actions, responding to needs as well as successes, and changing course when appropriate;
• Partnerships: Encouraging the pursuit of a variety of partnerships as part of a strategy to increase capacity and advance rights;
• Accountability: Committing to take responsibility for one’s actions, especially when in a position of power;
• A Culture of Rights: Promoting rights-based policies and programs;
• Sustainability: Recognizing the need for community-led processes that can be sustained long-term in an environmentally friendly manner.

Vision is a world where persons with disabilities fully participate in society and enjoy equal rights and opportunities on an equal basis with others

Mission is to support persons with disabilities around the world to build diverse movements, ensure inclusive development agendas, and achieve equal rights and opportunity for all.