Freedom Fund

Quick Stats

• Annual Giving: $3.7-4 million (UK entity, 2024); Total invested to date: $92.8 million (cumulative)
• Success Rate: Not publicly available
• Decision Time: Approximately 3 months (for Survivor Leadership Fund)
• Grant Range: $20,000 - $200,000 (varies by program)
• Geographic Focus: International (16 countries across Asia Pacific, Africa, Latin America)

Contact Details

US Office:

• Address: 315 Flatbush Avenue #406, Brooklyn, NY 11217, United States
• Phone: +1 (929) 224-2448
• Email: [email protected]

UK Office:

• Address: Lower Ground, Caledonia House, 223 Pentonville Rd, London N1 9NG, United Kingdom
• Phone: +44 (0) 203 777 2200
• Email: [email protected]

Website: https://www.freedomfund.org/

Overview

Founded in September 2013 by three leading anti-slavery donors—Humanity United, Legatum Foundation, and Walk Free Foundation—the Freedom Fund is a global philanthropic initiative dedicated to ending modern slavery. With a cumulative investment of $92.8 million as of 2023, the organization operates as a meta-charity that disburses grants to local frontline partners directly implementing anti-slavery initiatives. The Fund has supported 288 frontline organizations across 16 countries, impacting over 1.69 million lives directly and liberating 33,981 individuals from exploitation. In 2021, the organization received a transformative $35 million unrestricted gift from philanthropist MacKenzie Scott, followed by another $60 million in 2025. The Freedom Fund earned a Four-Star rating from Charity Navigator with a 100% score.

Funding Priorities

Grant Programs

Hotspot Programs: The primary funding mechanism. The Freedom Fund identifies geographic areas with high modern slavery incidence and convenes networks of grassroots organizations with strategically aligned programs. Grants typically range from $20,000 to $200,000 each. Current hotspot locations include:

• Asia Pacific (Seafood industry)
• Bangladesh
• Brazil (Amazon and Child Sexual Exploitation)
• Ethiopia
• Indonesia
• Kenya
• Nepal
• Uganda

Survivor Leadership Fund: Launched in 2021, provides unrestricted grants of up to $20,000 to grassroots organizations led by people with lived experience of exploitation. Currently operates in East Africa, Southeast Asia, and Latin America. Throughout 2024, the Fund made grants to 41 organizations in five countries through this program. Applications are currently closed; check website for future opportunities.

Convening Fund: Provides small grants to existing Freedom Fund movement-building partners to promote more inclusive convenings and ensure meaningful survivor inclusion. Grants of up to $30,000 are awarded to organizations to organize and hold convenings, and grants of up to $3,000 are awarded to individuals per year. Currently not accepting applications.

Ecosystem Program Seed Fund: Launched in 2024 with $200,000 distributed to 14 organizations to strengthen civil society's corporate accountability strategies.

Priority Areas

• Forced labor in supply chains (seafood, agriculture, garment manufacturing)
• Bonded labor
• Child domestic work and child labor
• Child sexual exploitation and child marriage
• Human trafficking
• Migrant worker exploitation
• Women and girls (representing ~70% of all people in modern slavery)
• Survivor-led movements and leadership
• Community-level prevention and protection
• Policy change and legal remedy
• Corporate accountability

What They Don't Fund

• Organizations outside their current hotspot regions (for hotspot grants)
• Current Freedom Fund partners (for Survivor Leadership Fund)
• Individual survivors (except through specific programs)
• Organizations without survivor leadership (for Survivor Leadership Fund)

Governance and Leadership

Board of Directors

• Molly Gochman (Board Chair)
• Andrew Doust (Vice Chair)
• Mahendra Pandey (Vice Chair)
• Joseph Boateng
• Katharine Bryant
• Shruti Chandrasekhar (Treasurer)
• Michelle Yue

Senior Leadership

• Nick Grono (CEO): Appointed inaugural CEO in January 2014. Former Australian human rights campaigner. "Our goal is to work with others to free a significant proportion of the estimated 30 million people in slavery today, and prevent millions of others from being enslaved."
• Jenny Jones (Managing Director of Finance and Operations)
• Xanthe Scharff (Managing Director for External Affairs and Editor-at-Large)
• Havovi Wadia (Managing Director, Programs)

Key Quote from Nick Grono: "We need to focus our efforts on supporting the fight against slavery in those countries and industries where it thrives most—such as brick kilns in India, brothels in Nepal, the fishing fleets of Thailand and migrant routes from Syria and Ethiopia... Women and girls make up around 70% of all people in modern slavery—and they must be put at the heart of efforts to end the crime."

Application Process & Timeline

How to Apply

Hotspot Programs: There is no public application process for hotspot grants. The Freedom Fund's country-based experts strategically identify and select grassroots partners and initiatives having the biggest impact in protecting those at risk, rescuing and rehabilitating those enslaved, and bringing those responsible to justice. Partnership selection is based on strategic alignment and demonstrated effectiveness in target regions.

Survivor Leadership Fund: When open (currently closed):

• Organizations with one or more people in leadership positions (directors, deputy directors, senior management, department heads) who have lived experience of exploitation are eligible
• Anyone in the organization can submit the application
• Features a straightforward application process with minimal reporting requirements
• Applicants meeting criteria are invited for a discussion with a Freedom Fund staff panel
• Check https://www.freedomfund.org/work/movement-building/survivor-leadership-fund/ for future application windows

Convening Fund: Currently not accepting applications. Available only to existing Freedom Fund movement-building partners.

Decision Timeline

Approximately 3 months from application submission to final decision (based on similar trust-based funding models). The Freedom Fund emphasizes a trust-based approach with minimal due diligence and reporting processes to quickly get funding to frontline organizations.

Success Rates

Not publicly available. The organization has supported 288 frontline organizations to date, including 39 survivor-led organizations across 7 countries in recent years.

Reapplication Policy

For Survivor Leadership Fund: Current Freedom Fund partners are not eligible, suggesting the fund aims to reach new organizations. Specific reapplication policies for unsuccessful applicants are not publicly documented.

Application Success Factors

For Organizations Seeking Partnership:

The Freedom Fund prioritizes:

• Local, frontline presence: Organizations working directly in communities with high modern slavery prevalence
• Demonstrated impact: Ability to show measurable results in liberating victims, preventing exploitation, or driving policy change
• Collaborative approach: Willingness to work within networks and share knowledge
• Rigorous outcome measurement: Capacity to meet requirements on measuring outcomes and impact
• Strategic alignment: Programs that align with hotspot strategies and target industries/populations

For Survivor Leadership Fund Applications:

Key success factors documented by grantees:

• Lived experience in leadership: Organizations genuinely led by survivors in decision-making positions (not just advisory roles)
• Grassroots focus: Small, local organizations working at community level
• Clear organizational development needs: Ability to articulate how unrestricted funding will support growth or sustainability
• Accessible application: Simple, straightforward submission (not requiring specialized grant writing skills)

Direct Grantee Quote: "With the unrestricted nature of Survivor Leadership Fund...we could do anything that supports the organisational development..."

Recent Success Stories:

• Ethiopia migration program partners drove policy changes including comprehensive migration policy development and digital registration system for migrant domestic workers
• Kenya partners supported individual survivors to access documentation and education
• Bonded labour program achieved movement-building, policy changes, and increased access to services for bonded laborers

Key Strategic Principles: "We set up the Survivor Leadership Fund because we believe survivor-led organisations can—and should—lead the way in the global movement to end modern slavery." This reflects the Fund's trust-based philosophy prioritizing power-sharing with those most affected.

Key Takeaways for Grant Writers

• No public hotspot application process: For strategic hotspot programs (the bulk of funding), the Freedom Fund identifies partners rather than accepting applications. Focus on demonstrating excellence in your region and building reputation within the anti-slavery sector.
• Survivor leadership is essential for SLF: If applying to Survivor Leadership Fund, ensure people with lived experience hold genuine leadership positions (director, deputy director, senior management, department head level).
• Geographic focus matters: The Fund works only in specific countries. Organizations outside current hotspot regions (Asia Pacific, Bangladesh, Brazil, Ethiopia, Indonesia, Kenya, Nepal, Uganda) are unlikely to receive funding unless through specialized programs.
• Unrestricted, trust-based approach: The Fund increasingly emphasizes flexible, multi-year funding with minimal restrictions and reporting burdens, especially for survivor-led organizations.
• Collaborative network model: Hotspot grants involve working within networks of organizations; demonstrate collaborative capacity and willingness to share learnings.
• Impact measurement is critical: While reducing reporting burden, the Fund maintains "rigorous requirements on measuring outcomes," so organizations must demonstrate capacity to track and report impact.
• 2025-2030 strategic priorities: The Fund aims to strengthen 500 frontline partners (including 200 survivor-led organizations) by 2030, suggesting expanded grantmaking in coming years.

References

• Freedom Fund official website: https://www.freedomfund.org/ (accessed January 2026)
• Freedom Fund Impact Report 2023-2024: https://www.freedomfund.org/impact/impact-report-2023/ (accessed January 2026)
• Freedom Fund Survivor Leadership Fund: https://www.freedomfund.org/work/movement-building/survivor-leadership-fund/ (accessed January 2026)
• Freedom Fund Hotspot Model: https://www.freedomfund.org/work/hotspots/ (accessed January 2026)
• Freedom Fund Year in Review 2024: https://www.freedomfund.org/year-in-review-2024/ (accessed January 2026)
• Charity Navigator Freedom Fund Profile (EIN 30-0805768): https://www.charitynavigator.org/ein/300805768 (accessed January 2026)
• UK Charity Commission Register: The Freedom Fund UK (Charity 1158838): https://register-of-charities.charitycommission.gov.uk/en/charity-search/-/charity-details/5049420 (accessed January 2026)
• Freedom Fund leadership page: https://freedomfund.org/about/directors/ (accessed January 2026)
• MacKenzie Scott transformative gift announcement: https://www.freedomfund.org/news/gift-mackenzie-scott/ (June 2021)
• Nick Grono "Fighting slavery on the frontlines": https://theantislaverycollective.org/2018/10/fighting-slavery-on-the-frontlines-by-nick-grono-ceo-freedom-fund/ (accessed January 2026)