Consumer Privacy Rights Fund

The Consumer Privacy Rights Fund was created from a series of legal settlements involving consumer privacy issues. It awards grants to support privacy-related research, education, advocacy and policy development. Since inception in 2002, the Fund has awarded over $4.5 million to support privacy protection in California and throughout the US.

Most grants from the Consumer Privacy Rights Fund range between $25,000 – $150,000. Grant cycles are dependent on the enabling funding, so consumer privacy grants tend not to be awarded with the same twice-yearly regularity as most of Rose's environmental funds. Depending on individual settlement restrictions, some grant cycles may be limited primarily to California, while others may be national in scope.

In the course of administering the Fund, we have learned that there is little funding for research and advocacy on the most pressing privacy issues, including behavioral profiling, data mining, employer and governmental surveillance, patient privacy, on-line security and more. On behalf of all of the grantees of the Consumer Privacy Rights Fund, we extend our heartfelt thanks to the Privacy Rights Clearinghouse, Utility Consumer Action Network, and the other vigilant consumers whose work has enabled the Consumer Privacy Fund.