LEF Awards $1.052 Million to Grassroots Groups Advancing Climate Justice in Southeast Asia

The Legal Empowerment Fund (LEF), a program hosted by the Fund for Global Human Rights, is pleased to announce that 26 grassroots community groups across five countries have been awarded a total of $1.052 million in flexible, two-year grants. The full list of organizations is provided below, excluding three grantee partners whose work requires confidentiality due to its sensitive nature. 

This marks the fourth cohort of grantee partners since the LEF’s launch in 2021. To date, the LEF has allocated over $8.5 million to 137 grassroots groups globally, advancing legal empowerment strategies that enable communities to secure their rights and drive lasting change. By offering unrestricted funding and fostering peer-led networks, the LEF supports grassroots efforts to build resilience and achieve meaningful impact. 

True to its commitment to participatory grantmaking, the selection process for this cohort began with an open call for proposals in November 2023. The LEF’s grants selection committee—composed of legal empowerment practitioners, grassroots activists, and academics—reviewed nearly 190 expressions of interest and evaluated 84 full proposals from nine countries (Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, Papua New Guinea, the Philippines, Thailand, and Timor-Leste). This participatory approach ensures that resources are directed to organizations best positioned to create transformative, long-term change in their communities. 

Read on to learn more about the LEF and to meet a few of the newest grantee partners.

CENTER FOR ENVIRONMENTAL CONCERNS (CEC)
The Philippines 

CEC works closely with communities and organizations in the Philippines, supporting their initiatives to nurture their ecosystems, defend their common access to natural resources, and eventually improve their living and working conditions in the context of a balanced and healthy environment. 

cecphils.org/

Cambodian Human Rights Action Coalition (CHRAC)
Cambodia

By collaborating with civil society organizations across Cambodia, CHRAC’s work encompasses a wide range of human rights issues, including land grabbing, labor rights, environmental rights, prisoners’ rights, children’s rights, women’s rights, and much more. 

chrachumanrights.org/

Lembaga Bantuan Hukum (LBH) Yogyakarta
Indonesia

LBH Yogyakarta is an Indonesian civil society organization dedicated to defending marginalized and oppressed communities from legal and political abuse. Since 1981, it has provided legal aid and empowered vulnerable groups, ensuring their voices are heard and their rights upheld amid growing state repression, particularly in land disputes. LBH Yogyakarta’s mission focuses on fostering political, economic, and social transformation with a commitment to gender justice and protecting basic human rights.

lbhyogyakarta.org/

Kelompok Studi dan Pengembangan Prakarsa Masyarakat (KSPPM)            Indonesia

Founded in 1984, KSPPM began by providing legal education to the Toba Batak people in North Sumatra, Indonesia, empowering them to protect their land and rights. Over the years, it has evolved into a comprehensive advocacy group focused on Indigenous rights, environmental justice, and socioeconomic empowerment. Through grassroots organizing and policy analysis, the team addresses issues like food sovereignty, climate change, and the impacts of development, working to safeguard the rights of local communities.

ksppm.org/ 

List of LEF Grantees

Listed alphabetically by country
Two organizations are not listed due to the sensitive nature of their work.