Thematic Funding
Connecting your passion or mandate with our mission
UNICEF, solely reliant on voluntary contributions, appreciates the importance of effectively utilizing resources to yield the best possible results for children. This necessity has led to the inception of thematic funding ‒ flexible funding for a cause, a mechanism which aligns donors' passions or institutional objectives with UNICEF's mission, fostering a synergistic relationship that strengthens the systems children and their communities depend on, creating sustainable and collective impact.
Thematic funding is a pioneering solution developed by UNICEF to maximize the impact of donations for children's welfare Thematic funds give partners an opportunity to achieve large-scale results in the UNICEF Strategic Plan 2022-2025 through flexible, softly earmarked, multi-year funding. They contribute to the UNICEF mandate to advocate for the protection of children’s rights, to help meet their basic needs, and to expand their opportunities to reach their full potential.
We have 11 global Thematic Funds, one for each of the most pressing issues facing children around the world. Donors can simply select the fund that best reflects their passion or mandate and choose to have their funds used either globally or targeted to a specific country or region.
- Global level: Donors can choose from 11 thematic funding windows, based on programme areas. These funds are then distributed around the world for that programme area based on greatest need for children.
- Regional level: Donors can choose to direct funding to one of UNICEF’s seven regions, and within the chosen region, to one of two pools: development or humanitarian action.
- Country level: Donors can choose a particular country and ask that their funds support across all programme areas so that UNICEF can support the full needs of children. Donors can also target to one of the programme areas, with the exception of Mental Health, available only at the global level.
In 2022, our resource partners generously contributed US$1,201 million in Thematic Funding. Our top three partners were the United States Fund for UNICEF (US$288 million), the Government of Germany (US$130 million), and the German Committee for UNICEF (US$105 million). With their support, and the support of all thematic partners, UNICEF was able to achieve stronger results for more children, including those who are hardest to reach.
Results for children
Thematic contributions by sector, 2022
Top 10 donors to Thematic Funding, 2022
| Rank | Resource partner | Total US$, millions |
| 1 | United States Fund for UNICEF | 287.8 |
| 2 | Germany | 130.2 |
| 3 | German Committee for UNICEF | 105.4 |
| 4 | United Kingdom Committee for UNICEF | 81.6 |
| 5 | Japan Committee for UNICEF | 76.3 |
| 6 | Swedish Committee for UNICEF | 60.1 |
| 7 | Sweden | 59.0 |
| 8 | Committee for UNICEF Switzerland and Liechtenstein | 51.4 |
| 9 | Denmark | 32.4 |
| 10 | French Committee for UNICEF | 31.3 |