The Robert Carr Fund is the world’s leading international fund focused on funding regional and global networks led by and involving and serving inadequately served populations (ISPs).

As a cooperative effort of donors and civil society, the Robert Carr Fund is structured to maximize participation, empowerment, equity, transparency and accountability in our fundraising and grant making.

The Robert Carr Fund works to mobilize and deliver core and strategic funding for regional and global networks to achieve four outcomes:

Protecting and promoting human rights
Improving access to HIV services
Mobilizing and monitoring national and international funding for human rights and health
Building capacity of civil society and community networks

Our goal: Improved health, inclusion and wellbeing for inadequately served populations (ISPs).

History and values

Founded in 2012, the Fund is named to honor Dr. Robert Carr, a scholar and activist who worked tirelessly for human rights and an end to HIV in his native Caribbean region and globally. Dr. Carr was vocal, honest, and unapologetic in naming injustices that contribute to poor health and barriers to health services, and he was a powerful organizer and advocate for the central role of civil society and communities in the HIV response.

Human rights are the foundation of our work. This means that the Robert Carr Fund’s structures and actions follow core principles of human rights, including:

Participation

The Robert Carr Fund was conceptualized and created through a global dialogue among civil society networks and donors. The Fund’s governance, grant making, and monitoring, evaluation and learning (MEL) all emphasize civil society participation and leadership, and openess to a diversity of perspectives, leaders, and grantees.

Empowerment and equity

As a collective of donors and civil society, the Robert Carr Fund accommodates multiple perspectives, priorities and capacities in our fundraising, grant making and grantee support. In all of our work, the Robert Carr Fund is committed to empowerment and equity across gender, geographic region, and all of the diverse populations represented and served by the Fund, and has strict policies and procedures regarding non-discrimination, accommodation of diversity and disability, and attention to issues faced by women and ISPs in working environments, including gender bias or sexual harassment.

Transparency and accountability

Each Robert Carr Fund funding cycle includes public communication about priorities and opportunities for grantees and stakeholders to provide input. After grants are made, the Fund regularly convenes grantees to meet, exchange ideas, develop strategies, and build solidarity and collaborations. The Robert Carr Fund also works to ensure transparency and accountability in its governance structures and grants management (including zero tolerance for corruption, fraud or mismanagement) and monitoring, evaluation and learning (MEL) and reporting. In these ways, the Fund maximizes its accountability to donors, to the diverse populations who are intended to benefit, and to the Fund’s goal of improved health, inclusion and wellbeing for ISPs.

RCF Annual Reports can be requested by sending an email to secretariat@robertcarrfund.org.