The Freedom Fund

What The Freedom Fund does

The Freedom Fund is a global collaborative grantmaking nonprofit dedicated to ending modern slavery. Founded in 2013 by a coalition including President Bill Clinton and operational since January 2014 under inaugural CEO Nick Grono, the organization functions as a philanthropic intermediary rather than a technology or service-delivery business. Its core offering is flexible grant capital — including the US$50,000 Elevate Grant and the Survivor Leadership Fund — channeled to 288+ frontline and survivor-led organizations working across 12 high-prevalence countries: Brazil, Ethiopia, Kenya, Nepal, Nigeria, Bangladesh, Indonesia, Myanmar, Thailand, and Uganda, with thematic focus on bonded labor, child domestic work, commercial sexual exploitation of children, and forced labor in supply chains.

Beyond direct grantmaking, The Freedom Fund operates capacity-building programs, convenes learning communities, and maintains the Slavery Research Library — described as the largest research library on modern slavery. It has produced 371 documented changes in public policy and supported 8,397 legal cases through its partner network. The 2025-2030 strategic plan, released after consultation with over 250 stakeholders, narrows focus to direct grantmaking and supporting frontline movements.

The organization has no revenue-generating products and is funded entirely through philanthropic donations and grants. Major disclosed gifts include MacKenzie Scott's $35M (2021) and $60M (Nov 2025) unrestricted contributions and Legatum's renewed $6M five-year commitment, supplemented by funding from the Norwegian Agency for Development Cooperation (Norad) and other foundations and individuals. Structurally, it operates as a US 501(c)(3) public charity (EIN 30-0805768) with a wholly-owned UK subsidiary (The Freedom Fund UK, registered charity 1158838), dual-headquartered in London and Brooklyn with 51-100 employees. Nick Grono is departing as CEO after 12 years, with Managing Director of Programs Havovi Wadia announced as incoming CEO effective December 1, 2026.

Name

The Freedom Fund

Legal name

The Freedom Fund

Website

https://freedomfund.org/

Company type

Private

Founded year

2013

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

51–100 employees

Short description

The Freedom Fund is a global nonprofit grantmaking organization that channels philanthropic capital to 288+ frontline and survivor-led organizations across 12 countries to end modern slavery through direct grants, capacity building, and research.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Nonprofit Grantmaking and Anti-Slavery Philanthropy

akta.pro primary industry

Social Justice & Human Rights Grantmaking Foundations (BPAGAKAN)

akta.pro secondary industry

Grantmaking & Philanthropic Funds (Institutional Donors) (BPADAOAB)

Keywords

• Anti-slavery philanthropy
• Grantmaking nonprofit
• Modern slavery prevention
• Human rights grants
• Humanitarian funding

Headquarters

HQ city

London

HQ country

United Kingdom

HQ region

Europe

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Others

Revenue model

1. Philanthropic donations and grants: The Freedom Fund generates revenue through philanthropic donations, major gifts, and grants from foundations and individual donors. Key funding includes MacKenzie Scott's $60M unrestricted gift (November 2025) and $35M prior gift (2021), Legatum's $6M five-year commitment, and Norwegian Agency for Development Cooperation (Norad) funding. The organization is a US 501(c)(3) public charity.

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels7 records

Core offering

The Freedom Fund is a US 501(c)(3) public charity and registered UK charity that functions as a global collaborative grantmaking fund. It pools philanthropic capital from foundations, governments and individual donors and channels it as flexible grants, technical assistance, capacity-building and research support to frontline and survivor-led organizations working to end modern slavery in high-prevalence countries across Asia, Africa and Latin America.

Product overview

The Freedom Fund is a nonprofit organization (501(c)(3)) that operates as a collaborative grantmaking fund rather than a technology company. The organization does not offer products or services in the traditional sense. Its offerings consist of grant programs to frontline anti-slavery organizations, research and evaluation services, knowledge-sharing resources, and advocacy initiatives targeting modern slavery hotspots across Asia, Africa, and Latin America. Key programmatic offerings include: hotspot programs focused on specific forms of exploitation (bonded labour, forced labour, child domestic work, commercial sexual exploitation of children) in geographic regions including Brazil, Ethiopia, Indonesia, Kenya, Nepal, Nigeria, Bangladesh, Myanmar, Thailand, and Uganda; grant programs including the Elevate Grant providing US$50,000 unrestricted grants to long-term partners; the Funding Frontline Impact online resource for donors; the Slavery Research Library as a knowledge resource; and impact reports documenting outcomes. The organization functions as a philanthropic intermediary, mobilizing capital to support frontline organizations rather than delivering a technology product or software platform.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Survivor Leadership Fund Unrestricted grantmaking program that provides funding and support to survivor-led organizations leading the anti-slavery movement.
• Elevate Grant Program US$50,000 unrestricted grants provided to long-term frontline partner organizations to strengthen their sustainability and effectiveness.
• Hotspot Programs (Asia Pacific Seafood, Bangladesh, Brazil Amazon, Brazil CSEC, Ethiopia CDW, Ethiopia SM, Indonesia, Kenya, Nepal, Nepal CSEC, Nigeria, Uganda, Myanmar, Rajasthan, Thailand) Region-specific collaborative grantmaking and capacity-building programs targeting defined forms of modern slavery (bonded labour, child domestic work, commercial sexual exploitation of children, forced labour in seafood and other supply chains) in high-prevalence countries across Asia, Africa and Latin America.
• Funding Frontline Impact Online initiative offering donors tools, case studies and principles for effective frontline grantmaking in the anti-slavery sector.
• Slavery Research Library The largest research library on modern slavery globally, containing reports, academic journals, books and tools from around the world.
• Responsible Supply Chains Program Programmatic initiative combining strategic litigation, ecosystem building and stronger laws work to tackle slavery in corporate supply chains.

Named customers2 records

Segments2 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Seven partnerships are on record, tiered core.

• Brave1 Defense Innovation ClustercoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerUkrainian defense tech cluster that provides integration testing assessment and support for defense technology companies including MaXon Systems and Occam Industries.
• Harawa-Charawa NetworkcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerSurvivor-led movement of Harawa-Charawa bonded labor survivors in Nepal that advocates for community liberation and rights. The Freedom Fund supported the establishment of this network in 2017.
• NORC at the University of ChicagocoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerLeading research organization that conducted rigorous evaluations of Freedom Fund's pilot programs tackling exploitative child domestic work in Liberia and Nigeria.
• The Khana GroupcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerResearch and evaluation partner that collaborated with NORC and Freedom Fund on evaluating interventions addressing exploitative child domestic work in West Africa.
• ActionAid NepalcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerImplementing partner for the Livelihood Technical Assistance Project supporting the Harawa-Charawa community, managing capacity-building training and revolving fund programs.
• Community Improvement CentrecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerLocal partner in Nepal implementing programs for the Harawa-Charawa community, including upgrading organizational policies and systems.
• Shripurraj Community Development CentercoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerNepal-based organization that received Elevate Grant funding and implemented community development programs for Harawa-Charawa families.

Scale indicators14 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Broad incumbents

• Open Society Foundations: Major human-rights grantmaker with broad thematic scope that includes anti-trafficking. Overlaps with The Freedom Fund's rights-based grantmaking but operates at much larger scale across many causes.

Direct peers

• International Justice Mission: Large international anti-trafficking organization working on rescue, restoration, and prosecution across multiple high-prevalence countries. Comparable mission and multi-country footprint.
• Free the Slaves: US-based nonprofit operating frontline anti-trafficking community-based programs in partnership with local NGOs. Comparable field model and survivor empowerment orientation.
• Wellspring Philanthropy: Private foundation that funds anti-trafficking, human rights, and survivor-led movements. Highly comparable in grantmaking approach, particularly on survivor leadership.
• Humanity United: Philanthropic foundation that funds anti-slavery and human-trafficking initiatives, often working through frontline NGOs in similar geographies. Closely comparable funder-side model.
• Walk Free Foundation: Walk Free Foundation publishes the Global Slavery Index and funds anti-slavery initiatives globally. Nick Grono served as its inaugural CEO before leading The Freedom Fund, making it the closest organizational sibling.
• Polaris Project: Operated the US National Human Trafficking Hotline and ran grant programs to combat trafficking. Direct peer in the anti-slavery grantmaking and survivor-services space.
• Anti-Slavery International: The world's oldest anti-slavery organization, funding grassroots partners in high-prevalence countries. Direct overlap with The Freedom Fund's hotspot model and frontline grantmaking approach.

Regional players

• Freedom Fund (the original pre-2013 US entity): Unrelated US-based human-trafficking survivor-services nonprofit. Same name creates occasional confusion but operates a distinct shelter and direct-service model in the US.

Emerging players

• Legatum Foundation: Founding donor and partner of The Freedom Fund. A diversified philanthropy and investment firm that also makes anti-slavery grants, making it both a funder and a comparable grantmaker.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• YouTubeyoutube.com/@Freedom_Fund
• Facebookfacebook.com/FreedomFund
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/the-freedom-fund
• Instagraminstagram.com/the_freedom_fund

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles7 records

Subsidiaries1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds2 records

Investors1 record

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M&A

Investments

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Frequently asked questions about The Freedom Fund