Digital Freedom Fund

Charity Number: CUSTOM_4C1352B0

Annual Expenditure: £0.9M

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Quick Stats

  • Annual Giving: €900,000 (2024)
  • Success Rate: ~19% (based on recent rounds)
  • Decision Time: 12 weeks (3 months from deadline)
  • Grant Range: €16,000 - €100,000
  • Geographic Focus: Council of Europe Member States (pan-European)

Contact Details

Website: https://digitalfreedomfund.org

Address: Korte Lijnbaanssteeg 1-4513, 1012 SL Amsterdam, The Netherlands (registered address for post only)

Grant Enquiries: Through website contact form at digitalfreedomfund.org/support

Overview

The Digital Freedom Fund (DFF) is a Netherlands-registered charitable foundation established in 2018 to support strategic litigation advancing human rights in the digital context across Europe. Since inception, DFF has approved nearly 150 grants worth over €5 million, supporting the work of around 90 different organizations across 30 countries. In 2024 alone, DFF provided nearly €900,000 in funding support to 25 projects across 14 countries. The organization is currently supported by major foundations including Open Society Foundations, Adessium Foundation, Luminate, Oak Foundation, Ford Foundation, Fondation Nicolas Puech, and the Limelight Foundation. In 2024, DFF pioneered a community peer review process where grant decisions are made by a group of peers from the wider digital rights community, representing a significant shift toward participatory grantmaking.

Funding Priorities

Grant Programs

DFF accepts applications for two types of grants:

  • Litigation Track Support: €16,000 - €100,000 (average €38,000)
  • Covers legal, advocacy, research, and other costs involved in strategic litigation cases
  • Since 2024, includes post-litigation activities
  • Applications over €100,000 should demonstrate evidence of co-financing
  • Pre-Litigation Research Support: €16,000 - €100,000 (average €28,000)
  • Supports research to enhance understanding of evidence, frame issues, or inform forum choice
  • Prepares organizations to bring strong strategic cases

Application Method: Fixed deadlines through open calls twice per year (typically December-February and May-July)

Priority Areas

DFF does not prioritize cases related to any particular digital harm. What matters most is that cases are strategic in seeking to achieve wider change. Priority is given to litigation that:

  • Goes beyond individual benefit through legislative, policy, or social change
  • Increases capacity and collaboration in the digital rights community
  • Involves affected communities in a non-extractive way
  • Demonstrates strategic impact extending beyond parties directly involved

Issue Areas Funded Include:

  • Predictive policing and algorithmic profiling
  • Bulk surveillance and secret surveillance
  • Freedom of expression and online censorship
  • Data protection and privacy rights
  • Gig economy worker protections
  • Discrimination and bias in automated decision-making
  • Asylum seeker data extraction
  • Commercial exploitation of sensitive personal data
  • Reproductive rights and sexual health information access

Geographic Focus

DFF accepts grant applications concerning litigation in any Council of Europe Member States. Applicants based outside Europe can be considered as long as their litigation activities take place in the Council of Europe. Recent grants have been awarded in Albania, France, Germany, Ireland, Hungary, Malta, Netherlands, Poland, Romania, Serbia, Spain, Sweden, Turkey, Ukraine, and the United Kingdom, as well as cases at the Court of Justice of the European Union.

Who Can Apply

DFF will consider applications from:

  • Digital rights advocates (NGOs and other entities pursuing public interest objectives)
  • Pro bono lawyers and other litigators
  • Racial, social, feminist, queer, environmental, migrant rights, and economic justice movements and organizations working on digital rights

What They Don't Fund

Not explicitly stated in available materials, but implicitly excludes:

  • Non-strategic litigation focused solely on individual benefit without wider impact potential
  • Cases outside Council of Europe jurisdiction
  • Non-litigation activities without a clear litigation strategy
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Governance and Leadership

Leadership Structure

Since May 2024, DFF has adopted a distributed leadership model with two Co-Directors steering strategy and governance (initial three-year term):

  • Nikita Kekana - Co-Director and Community Strengthening and Support Lead
  • Darrah Hassell - Co-Director and Finance Lead

Other team members include:

  • Alexandra Giannopoulou - Fundraising Lead
  • Jihane - Events and Operations Lead
  • Ekaterina - Communications Officer
  • Ewa - Finance Officer
  • Splash - Well-Being and Care Lead

Board of Trustees

The Board consists of eight independent members:

  • Audrey - Executive Director of Amsterdam-based Centre for Research on Multinational Corporations (SOMO)
  • Monique Steijns - Human rights and technology consultant, founder of PEOPLE'S AI-GENCY
  • J Bob Alotta - Filmmaker, movement strategist, and philanthropic leader; formerly Senior Vice President of Global Programmes at Mozilla
  • Joyce - Director of Finance and Operations at Global Greengrants Fund UK
  • Björn - Director of Strategic Partnerships and Regranting at the Sunrise Project Inc.; previously Team Manager at Open Society Foundations

Application Process and Timeline

How to Apply

  1. Eligibility Check: First step is completing an eligibility check on the DFF grant platform
  2. Full Application: If eligible, applicants receive access to the full application form
  3. Submission: Applications must be submitted through the DFF grant platform by the call deadline
  4. Review Process: Applications meeting criteria are evaluated by a Community Peer Group
  5. Recommendation: Peer Group decisions are sent to the Board Grantmaking Committee for sign-off

Application Schedule: Open calls twice per year

  • Winter Call: December - February
  • Summer Call: May - July

Decision Timeline

Total Timeline: Approximately 3 months from application deadline to final decision

Example: If the application deadline is 1 March, applicants can expect a final decision in June.

Notification: Decisions are finalized and communicated to all applicants at the conclusion of the review process.

Success Rates

DFF's application rounds have become increasingly competitive:

  • 2024: 83 applications received (most popular year)
  • Summer 2025 Round: 59 applications received, 11 grants awarded (18.6% success rate)
  • July 2025 Call: Record-breaking 73 submissions received

The data indicates that while the Fund continues to grow, success rates are declining due to increased demand, making applications highly competitive.

Reapplication Policy

Unsuccessful applicants are welcome to apply again in subsequent calls. There are no restrictions or waiting periods mentioned. DFF acknowledges that due to the large number of applications relative to available funding, not all applications meeting their criteria can be approved.

Application Success Factors

Key Requirements

Applications must demonstrate careful consideration of:

  • Community Involvement: Which groups/communities are most affected by the digital rights issue and how they will be involved in a non-extractive way
  • Forum Selection: The best forum to litigate
  • Litigation Strategy: Possible instances of litigation including appeals and regional court referrals
  • Broader Context: How the litigation relates to other existing activities
  • Appropriateness: Why litigation is the appropriate approach
  • Risk Management: Identified risks and mitigation strategies
  • Implementation Plans: Plans for implementation in case of positive or negative outcomes

Strategic Litigation Definition

To qualify as strategic, litigation must:

  • Have potential for impact extending beyond the parties directly involved
  • Seek to achieve wider change through legislative, policy, or social change
  • Increase capacity and collaboration in the digital rights community

DFF emphasizes that litigation is more likely to be effective when embedded in a wider strategy with advocacy and other interventions.

Examples of Funded Projects

DFF has successfully funded litigation that:

  • Ended the use of predictive policing risk-scoring tools
  • Prevented blocking of online information about sexual health and reproductive rights
  • Improved lives and working conditions of Uber drivers
  • Stopped racist visa streaming algorithms
  • Held governments accountable for illegal secret surveillance
  • Challenged the “digital strip search” policy of UK police (leading to policy revocation)
  • Prepared challenges to the advertising technology industry
  • Addressed extraction of asylum seeker mobile data
  • Tackled exploitation of sensitive personal medical data by commercial entities

Co-Financing Expectations

For grants exceeding €100,000, applicants should show evidence of co-financing to improve chances of approval. DFF does not approve many grants above this threshold.

Community Peer Review (New in 2024)

Applications are now reviewed by a Community Peer Group consisting of 17 people from the wider digital rights community, rather than DFF staff. This participatory decision-making process means applications are assessed by practitioners and experts in the field.

Resources Available

DFF provides a Strategic Litigation Toolkit including guidelines, expert tips, examples, and case studies to guide digital rights litigators from conception to finalization.

Key Takeaways for Grant Writers

  1. Emphasize Strategic Impact: Focus on how the case will achieve change beyond the individual parties involved—demonstrate potential for legislative, policy, or social transformation.
  1. Community-Centered Approach: Show meaningful, non-extractive involvement of affected communities. Applications with strong community engagement and consideration are prioritized.
  1. Comprehensive Planning: Demonstrate thorough consideration of forum selection, appeal possibilities, risk mitigation, and implementation plans for both positive and negative outcomes.
  1. Competitive Landscape: With success rates around 19% and declining, applications must be exceptionally strong. Consider applying multiple times if unsuccessful—reapplication is explicitly encouraged.
  1. Co-Financing for Larger Grants: If requesting over €100,000, secure and demonstrate co-financing commitments to strengthen your application.
  1. Embed in Wider Strategy: Show how litigation fits within broader advocacy and intervention strategies. DFF values litigation as part of holistic approaches rather than standalone actions.
  1. Use Available Resources: Leverage DFF's Strategic Litigation Toolkit and case studies to strengthen your application and learn from successful examples.

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