Human Rights Foundation Inc

Quick Stats

• Annual Giving: $10,008,303 (2023)
• Total Revenue: $38,718,664 (2024)
• Total Assets: $96,930,292
• Success Rate: Not publicly disclosed
• Decision Time: 4-6 weeks (Bitcoin Development Fund)
• Grant Range: Varies by program - Micro grants to $50,000+
• Geographic Focus: Global, with emphasis on authoritarian regimes

Contact Details

• Website: https://hrf.org/
• Phone: +1-212-246-8486
• Email: General format: [first]@hrf.org
• Bitcoin Development Fund Applications: dev.fund@hrf.org
• Freedom Fellowship Inquiries: jhanisse@hrf.org
• Address: 350 5th Ave, Suite 6500, New York, NY 10118

Overview

Founded in 2005 by Thor Halvorssen, the Human Rights Foundation (HRF) is a nonpartisan nonprofit organization promoting and protecting human rights globally, with headquarters in the Empire State Building, New York City. What differentiates HRF from other human rights organizations is its singular focus on closed societies and authoritarian regimes—countries where civil society is asphyxiated by government abuse, there's no independent media, no free and fair elections, no independent judiciary, and political opposition cannot operate freely. With total assets of $96.9 million and annual giving of over $10 million (2023), HRF provides direct support to dissidents through grants, secure communication tools, and high-profile platforms like the Oslo Freedom Forum, which The Economist described in 2010 as "on its way to becoming a human-rights equivalent of the Davos economic forum." The foundation has distributed over $8.5 million in Bitcoin grants alone to nearly 300 projects across 62 countries over five years, demonstrating its innovative approach to supporting activists in financially repressive environments.

Funding Priorities

Grant Programs

Bitcoin Development Fund

• Grant range: Typically $30,000-$50,000 per project
• Application method: Year-round rolling applications via online form or dev.fund@hrf.org
• Focus: Enhancing Bitcoin's privacy, security, and decentralization; supporting financial freedom tools for activists in authoritarian regimes
• Areas supported: Bitcoin Core development, Lightning Network, Nostr, e-cash, educational translation, user experience design, and complementary freedom technologies
• Decision timeline: 4-6 weeks; quarterly announcements of grantees
• 2023 awards: Over $1.9 million distributed across four quarters
• Q1 2024: $500,000 to 14 projects focusing on global education, Lightning Network development, and decentralized communications

Micro Grants Program

• Grant range: Small-scale funding (specific amounts not disclosed)
• Application method: Contact through HRF website
• Focus: Short-term projects for activists challenging tyranny on the frontlines
• Supported over 90 projects in 30+ countries; 19 projects funded across 14 countries in recent year
• Project types: Educational workshops, human rights documentation, creative activism, exposing repression, providing education, amplifying voices of political prisoners

Freedom Fellowship

• Grant type: Year-long mentorship program (not traditional grants)
• Cohort size: 10 fellows annually
• Eligibility: Human rights advocates, social entrepreneurs, and nonprofit leaders from authoritarian countries
• Structure: Kicks off at Oslo Freedom Forum in Norway; includes mentorship in movement building, leadership, organizing, technology & digital security, media, fundraising, nonviolence theory, mental health, and public speaking
• Partnership: Developed with Center for Applied Nonviolent Tactics and Strategies (CANVAS)
• Fellows become mentors to subsequent classes

Oslo Scholars Program

• Grant type: Summer internship matching program
• Structure: Connects Oslo Freedom Forum speakers with college/university students; universities fund the students' work while HRF facilitates matching

Priority Areas

• Financial freedom: Supporting Bitcoin and cryptocurrency development to counter financial surveillance, censorship, confiscation, and repression
• Free speech and information access: Promoting creative resistance and information access in closed societies (e.g., Flash Drives for Freedom campaign for North Korea)
• Fighting authoritarian propaganda: Celebrities & Dictators campaign documenting how regimes use popular culture for legitimacy
• Direct activist support: Micro grants for frontline activists in countries including Venezuela, Cuba, North Korea, Nicaragua, Nigeria, China, Russia, Burma, Pakistan, Turkey, Ghana, Hong Kong, Afghanistan, Tajikistan, and Lebanon
• Global education: Supporting Bitcoin education and translation into regional languages for populations in authoritarian regimes
• Technology for freedom: Secure communications, privacy tools, and open-source technologies

What They Don't Fund

• Alternative cryptocurrencies (Bitcoin Development Fund explicitly does not fund altcoins)
• Projects not aligned with supporting activists in repressive societies
• Work in established democracies with functioning civil society (HRF explicitly focuses on closed societies and dictatorships, not democracies)
• General human rights work not specifically focused on authoritarian contexts

Governance and Leadership

Key Leadership:

• Thor Halvorssen - Founder and CEO (Venezuelan-born human rights activist who founded HRF in 2005)
• Yulia Navalnaya - Current Chairman (Russian opposition activist, widow of Alexei Navalny)
• Céline Boustani - President
• Javier El-Hage - Chief Legal Officer
• Alex Gladstein - Chief Strategy Officer, oversees Bitcoin Development Fund

Board Members:

• Garry Kasparov - Russian pro-democracy leader, senior visiting fellow at Oxford-Martin School
• Diego Arria - Former UN Assistant Secretary General, former Venezuelan ambassador to the UN, former chair of UN Security Council
• Mart Laar - Former Prime Minister of Estonia
• Jacqueline Moudeina - Chadian human rights lawyer
• Marina Nemat - Iranian-Canadian author and human rights activist
• Yeonmi Park - North Korean defector and activist
• Park Sang Hak - North Korean defector and activist
• Mutabar Tadjibaeva - Uzbek human rights defender
• Álvaro Vargas Llosa - Peruvian writer and political commentator

Former Leadership:

• Václav Havel (former Czech president) served as chair of HRF's international council until his death in 2011

Leadership Quote: Thor Halvorssen: "Liberty of opinion, speech, and expression is indispensable to a free and, in the deepest sense, progressive society. Deny it to one, and you deny it effectively to all."

Application Process & Timeline

How to Apply

Bitcoin Development Fund:

• Submit proposal through online application form at https://hrf.org/bdfapply or email dev.fund@hrf.org
• Applications accepted year-round on rolling basis
• Include brief description of your project and how it enhances Bitcoin/freedom technologies for human rights defenders
• Can reapply if not initially selected

Micro Grants Program:

• Contact HRF through their website at https://hrf.org/contact-us
• Application form available: 2024-hrf-grant-application-form.docx on their website
• Focus on short-term projects for activists in authoritarian regimes

Freedom Fellowship:

• Contact jhanisse@hrf.org for application information
• Competitive annual selection of 10 fellows from authoritarian countries

Decision Timeline

Bitcoin Development Fund:

• Review process: 4-6 weeks
• Quarterly announcements published on HRF website
• Personal contact made to successful applicants
• Grant sizes vary based on project scope

Micro Grants:

• Specific timeline not publicly disclosed
• HRF tracks impact and provides ongoing support to leverage grants

Freedom Fellowship:

• Annual cohort selection
• Year-long program from one Oslo Freedom Forum to the next

Success Rates

HRF does not publicly disclose application numbers or success rates for their grant programs. Based on publicly available data:

• Bitcoin Development Fund awarded approximately 49 grants totaling $1.935 million across 2023 (4 quarterly rounds)
• Micro Grants program supported 19 projects across 14 countries in recent year (from pool of over 90 projects funded historically)

Reapplication Policy

Bitcoin Development Fund: Applicants can reapply if not initially selected. HRF encourages reapplication with refined proposals.

Other programs: Specific reapplication policies not publicly disclosed, but HRF's supportive approach suggests reapplication is acceptable.

Application Success Factors

Focus on Closed Societies: HRF explicitly prioritizes work in authoritarian regimes. Your organization or project must demonstrate clear impact in countries where civil society is suppressed, there's no independent media, no free elections, no independent judiciary, and political opposition cannot operate freely. Applications from or supporting activists in democracies are unlikely to be successful.

Financial Freedom and Bitcoin Projects: For the Bitcoin Development Fund, successful projects enhance Bitcoin's privacy, security, or decentralization specifically for activists facing financial censorship. Recent funded examples include:

• Bitcoin Policy Summit 2024: Conference bringing together policymakers, academics, and industry leaders to explore Bitcoin's potential to undermine closed societies
• Bitcoin for Billions: Educational videos in Hindi, Bengali, Marathi, and Gujarati targeting 750 million people in India
• BTCPay Server: Free, open-source payment solution for merchants in difficult political and economic climates
• CoinSwap protocol implementation: $50,000 grant for privacy-enhancing Bitcoin development

Direct Activist Impact: Micro Grants recipients demonstrate frontline activism challenging tyranny. Recent funded projects include:

• Beit El Baraka supporting 542 internally displaced individuals in Lebanon, providing 4,878 meals in October 2024
• European Hong Kong diaspora organizing, establishing European Hong Kong Diaspora Alliance (EHKDA) for EU-level advocacy
• Exposing systematic repression in Venezuela
• Providing virtual education for Afghan girls
• Amplifying stories of imprisoned Tajik journalists

Global Education and Access: Projects that translate Bitcoin/freedom technology education into regional languages or provide educational resources for populations in authoritarian regimes align with HRF's priorities. Focus areas include Latin America, Asia, and Africa.

Open Source and Decentralization: HRF favors open-source projects that enhance decentralization, privacy, and censorship resistance. They do not fund proprietary solutions or alternative cryptocurrencies.

Alignment with Mission: Alex Gladstein (Chief Strategy Officer) notes that "these bounties come from conversations with global activists"—successful applications address real needs identified by activists in the field rather than theoretical improvements.

Key Takeaways for Grant Writers

• Geographic focus is critical: Only apply if your work directly supports activists or communities in authoritarian regimes, closed societies, or dictatorships—not democracies with functioning civil society
• Bitcoin Development Fund offers regular opportunities: With quarterly funding rounds and 4-6 week review periods, this is HRF's most accessible grant program for technology projects
• Demonstrate activist-driven need: Best applications respond to specific challenges identified by human rights defenders in repressive environments, not theoretical improvements
• Open source is preferred: Particularly for technology grants, HRF strongly favors open-source solutions that maximize access and avoid vendor lock-in
• Think beyond traditional advocacy: HRF funds creative approaches including technology development, educational content, cultural platforms, and direct support—not just traditional human rights documentation
• Financial freedom is a strategic priority: With over $8.5 million invested in Bitcoin projects across 62 countries, this represents a major funding opportunity for qualified applicants
• Build connections through Oslo Freedom Forum: Attending or speaking at OFF can provide visibility to HRF leadership and demonstrate alignment with their community

References

• Human Rights Foundation official website: https://hrf.org/ (accessed January 2025)
• Bitcoin Development Fund program page: https://hrf.org/program/financial-freedom/bitcoin-development-fund/ (accessed January 2025)
• Micro Grants program page: https://hrf.org/program/micro-grants/ (accessed January 2025)
• Freedom Fellows program page: https://hrf.org/program/freedom-fellows/ (accessed January 2025)
• ProPublica Nonprofit Explorer - Human Rights Foundation Inc (EIN 20-2669700): https://projects.propublica.org/nonprofits/organizations/202669700 (accessed January 2025)
• "HRF Bitcoin Development Fund Grants $505,000 to 15 Projects Worldwide": https://hrf.org/devfund2023q3/ (2023)
• "HRF Grants $500,000 to 14 Projects Worldwide" (Q1 2024): https://hrf.org/latest/hrf-grants-500000-to-14-projects-worldwide/
• Wikipedia - Human Rights Foundation: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Human_Rights_Foundation (accessed January 2025)
• Wikipedia - Thor Halvorssen: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thor_Halvorssen_(human_rights_activist) (accessed January 2025)
• HRF Annual Reports page: https://hrf.org/annual-reports/ (accessed January 2025)
• "Introducing: HRF's 2023 Annual Report": https://hrf.org/latest/introducing-hrfs-2023-annual-report/ (2023)
• HRF Contact page: https://hrf.org/contact-us/ (accessed January 2025)
• "The Human Rights Foundation Is Now Funding Bitcoin Privacy Development, Starting With CoinSwap" - Bitcoin Magazine (accessed January 2025)
• Instrumentl 990 Report - Human Rights Foundation Inc: https://www.instrumentl.com/990-report/human-rights-foundation-inc (accessed January 2025)