Navigating Challenges with Unity: Human Rights Day Reflections with Caitlin Heising

On December 10 each year, a global community of human rights defenders observes the principles articulated in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, first ratified by the UN General Assembly in 1948. International Human Rights Day celebrates the fundamental rights and freedoms that connect us all as human beings with events around the world aimed to spark awareness and encourage collective action.

In San Francisco, the Heising-Simons Foundation’s annual Human Rights Day convening brings together leaders, advocates, and champions for a morning of learning and reflection. We caught up with Caitlin Heising, Vice Chair of the Board at Heising-Simons Foundation, to learn more about her philanthropic approach to human rights issues, lessons learned from funding in this space, and her leadership behind the Foundation’s Human Rights Day event.

You’ve been deeply involved in human rights work for many years, including serving on the boards of Human Rights Watch and the Heising-Simons Foundation, and being a founding member of Maverick Collective. What drew you to this work, and how has your approach to human rights philanthropy evolved over time?

Growing up in Palo Alto, I noticed the resources our community had, and the contrast with other communities and countries where I had an opportunity to travel. In college, I studied international relations with a focus on the role of NGOs and international human rights. I started out thinking I’d want to work at the UN or an international nonprofit, but ended up being dissuaded after learning more. In university, we took a critical look at these organizations and the unintended consequences of certain kinds of international engagement, development, and philanthropy. I came away convinced that work informed and led by people directly impacted by the challenges facing their communities had the best chance to make a positive impact. 

When I joined the Board of our family foundation, the Heising-Simons Foundation, which had already been supporting early childhood education, science, and climate and clean energy work, I knew I wanted to add a focus on human rights. We started out broadly to get to know the field. We supported great groups, but eventually narrowed our focus to human rights in the United States, specifically on criminal justice and immigration, and the intersection between these two areas. It felt hypocritical for the U.S. to act as a leader on the international human rights stage, calling out other countries for their abuses, when we have so much to contend with here at home. I consider it a patriotic act to support human rights in the U.S. and hopefully contribute to making this country a better place for all who live here.

What are some of the most salient lessons you’ve learned from funding human rights work? What approaches seem to have the most enduring impact?

Progress in human rights can be slow, halting, and nonlinear, but it’s critical to support leaders and groups who have vision, experience, and strategic acumen, even and especially when the tide turns against them. At the Foundation’s Human Rights program, we’ve learned to prioritize supporting people who are leaders in their community, rather than focusing on specific policies, because ultimately power and understanding of a community’s needs lie with the people. We follow our grantee partners’ lead on policy issues and support them in their work to implement sustainable policy solutions. We believe that community stakeholders themselves are best positioned to ensure durable change by holding elected leaders accountable for implementing policies and reforms with integrity. 

Under your leadership, the Heising-Simons Foundation hosts an annual International Human Rights Day event on December 10 that celebrates the global leaders, advocates, and champions fighting for the rights that connect us all. What inspired you to take this on, and what do you hope attendees take away from the event?

My mentor, Darian Swig, had been hosting Human Rights Day in San Francisco with her colleague David Keller for ten years before our foundation adopted the event. I had worked with them on the event for several years. From the beginning, the event has brought together advocates, philanthropists, changemakers, civic leaders, and community members to pause, reflect, learn, and recommit to the principles of human rights. Over the years we’ve had speakers on topics ranging from digital rights to environmental justice, always with the values of universal human rights at the core. The event has never been a fundraiser; it is an opportunity to come together on this day representing global solidarity and our shared humanity. 

This year our theme is “Navigating with Unity: Human Rights as Our Common Compass” and we hope attendees take away a fresh perspective on how human rights can guide us through entrenched conflict, leading the way toward a more peaceful future. We have an extraordinary slate of speakers joining us this year, from Nobel Peace Prize laureates Nadia Murad and President Juan Manuel Santos to journalist José Antonio Vargas, advocate Ai-jen Poo, and movement leader Kica Matos. Last year, attendees expressed that the event provided a jolt of energy and inspiration, and motivated people to continue on with this vital work. We hope we leave attendees as hopeful this year. 

San Francisco has a long history of being at the forefront of social justice and human rights––in fact, the United Nations Charter, which led to the creation of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, was signed here. I hope our stewardship of International Human Rights Day plays a role in encouraging a culture of dignity, humanity, and empathy in our community and inspires others to get involved. 

Looking ahead, what gives you hope about the future of human rights, and where do you see opportunities for philanthropic impact? 

The courage, vision, and relentlessness of human rights defenders gives me a deep sense of hope for the future. When we talk about human rights, we are talking about what every human wants and deserves: safety, freedom, opportunity, the ability to learn, work, live, and thrive. While so much divides us these days, I do think people recognize the simple truth that we all need these rights to live a full life. For example, looking at the United States, more and more people are rising up against the unjust and shocking abuses immigrant communities are facing. Organizations like Silicon Valley De-Bug are using organizing models such as participatory defense to help family and community members intervene in the first 24 hours after a loved one is detained by ICE.

At such a contentious time, I see an opportunity for human rights philanthropy to not only advocate for an end to these abuses, but also to help build the world we want to see. One way to do this is to support alternative, community-led solutions for safety, justice, and accountability. For example, the Foundation has supported community-based alternatives to youth incarceration, such as the Young Women’s Freedom Center’s Safe Healing Centers, and first-response programs that dispatch mental health care workers, EMTs, and peer support specialists instead of law enforcement in response to non-violent crises. We’re seeing that these types of programs are credible and politically viable in states across the country. There is so much opportunity for tangible impact at the local and state level—for me this is where we can really move the needle now.