The Freedom Fund

The Freedom Fund The Freedom Fund is a leader in the global movement to end modern slavery.

We identify and invest in the most effective frontline efforts to eradicate modern slavery in the countries and sectors where it is most prevalent. Partnering with visionary investors, governments, anti-slavery organisations and those at risk of exploitation, we tackle the systems that allow slavery to persist and thrive. Working together, we protect vulnerable populations, liberate and reintegrate those enslaved and prosecute those responsible.

Forced labour often relies on coercion, intimidation and the abuse of power to keep people trapped in exploitation. Forc...
20/08/2026

Forced labour often relies on coercion, intimidation and the abuse of power to keep people trapped in exploitation.

Forced labour is any work that is done under duress, involuntarily and under the threat of penalty. People may be coerced into work through violence or intimidation, the confiscation of identity documents, or threats of being reported to immigration authorities. According to the Global Slavery Index, an estimated 27.6 million people are trapped in forced labour worldwide.

Frontline organisations supported by the Freedom Fund are working to address forced labour in sectors where exploitation is prevalent, including seafood supply chains across the Asia Pacific region and in the Brazilian Amazon, where forced labour is linked to deforestation. Through worker organising, legal advocacy and community-led action, they are helping to challenge the systems that enable exploitation to persist.

Learn more about forced labour and other forms of modern slavery: https://www.freedomfund.org/what-is-modern-slavery/?utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=social

18/08/2026

The Survivor Leadership Fund is now accepting applications in Indonesia

This round offers one‑year unrestricted grants of up to US $20,000, with the possibility of a second‑year grant of US $25,000.

The fund is designed to strengthen survivor‑led organisations by providing flexible support for whatever matters most, from program delivery to staff and operating costs.

Organisations must be based and operating in in central and eastern Indonesia and be led by persons with a lived experience of modern slavery.

Apply by 21 September 2026.

More information: https://bit.ly/4xHJqs1

After nearly 12 years leading the Freedom Fund, Nick Grono is preparing to step down as CEO, with Havovi Wadia, our Mana...
17/08/2026

After nearly 12 years leading the Freedom Fund, Nick Grono is preparing to step down as CEO, with Havovi Wadia, our Managing Director of Programs, succeeding him in December.

In a new op-ed for the Chronicle of Philanthropy, Nick reflects on what he learned from planning his own departure, and why leadership is not only about building organisations, but ensuring they can thrive after you go.

His piece offers practical lessons on succession, stewardship and leaving well, with the organisation's mission always at the centre.

Read the article:
https://www.philanthropy.com/solutions/how-to-plan-your-own-succession/

14/08/2026

The Survivor Leadership Fund is now accepting applications in Indonesia

This round offers one‑year unrestricted grants of up to US $20,000, with the possibility of a second‑year grant of US $25,000.

The fund is designed to strengthen survivor‑led organisations by providing flexible support for whatever matters most, from program delivery to staff and operating costs.

Organisations must be based and operating in in central and eastern Indonesia and be led by persons with a lived experience of modern slavery.

Apply by 21 September 2026.

More information: https://bit.ly/4fY3Dnp

Change is strongest when it is locally led. Across Asia, our partners are laying the ground work for future cases to hol...
13/08/2026

Change is strongest when it is locally led.

Across Asia, our partners are laying the ground work for future cases to hold companies accountable for forced labour in their supply chains.

Across Asia, our partners are laying the groundwork for future cases to hold companies accountable for forced labour in their supply chains.

Strategic litigation is not just about legal wins, it’s about building the conditions for long-term change.

Nick Grono explores how donors can support this work, and why it matters now, in a new article for the Center for Effective Philanthropy, read it here: https://cep.org/blog/the-case-for-funding-courage-why-donors-who-embrace-risk-should-embrace-strategic-litigation/

Find out more about our responsible supply chains program here: https://www.freedomfund.org/work/responsible-supply-chains/?utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=social

What happens when a family has no safety net? In Karamoja, Uganda, where 74.2% of people live in absolute poverty and fo...
12/08/2026

What happens when a family has no safety net?

In Karamoja, Uganda, where 74.2% of people live in absolute poverty and food crises are a recurring reality, many families face impossible choices. For some children, that means leaving school to earn money; for others, it means facing pressure to marry before they are ready.

New research from The AfriChild Centre and the Freedom Fund found that six in ten children surveyed were engaged in child labour, while child marriage remains widely normalised. Families and children described these practices as ways of coping when there was no safety net to fall back on.

But this isn't just a story about risk. It's also a story about resilience.

Children told us they want many of the same things young people everywhere want: the chance to learn, build livelihoods and shape their own futures. Some described resisting child marriage, continuing their education where possible, and even using their earnings to return to school.

Their voices are helping shape the Freedom Fund's work in Uganda and the solutions needed to protect children from exploitation.

Because lasting change starts with listening to communities and acting on the evidence.

Read more: https://www.freedomfund.org/news/growing-up-in-karamoja-uganda/?utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=social

11/08/2026

Child domestic work can amount to modern slavery when children are subjected to harmful conditions or abuse.

This can include working at a very young age, excessive hours, hazardous tasks, violence, neglect, or other conditions that impair a child's development.

The United Nations theme for International Youth Day this year, Different Contexts, Common Aspirations, reminds us that children everywhere share many of the same hopes: dignity, opportunity, education and the chance to shape their own future.

In The Invisible Workforce, Florence Keya of Maisha Girls Safe House and our Head of Programs, Africa, Ruth Kimani, share how communities in Kenya are challenging the norms that have long allowed child domestic work to remain hidden.

As Florence reflects: "It was very much just normalised as a way of life."

The film highlights how locally led organisations are helping children access protection, healthcare, education and justice, while also shifting attitudes and raising awareness. As Florence puts it, impact looks like hearing people ask: "What about the children who are working as domestic workers?"

By supporting frontline partners through trust-based funding, we're helping drive sustainable solutions so that more children can grow up protected, educated and empowered.

Find out more about child domestic work here: https://www.freedomfund.org/what-is-modern-slavery/child-domestic-work/?utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=social

“I knew this course would change my life. And it did.” That's how one recent graduate described her experience of the Fr...
07/08/2026

“I knew this course would change my life. And it did.”

That's how one recent graduate described her experience of the Freedom Fund-supported program in Recife, Brazil, delivered by our partner Instituto Aliança

Today we're celebrating another graduating class of young people who completed a training program designed to build confidence and resilience, develop plans for their futures, and access pathways into employment.

The program is part of a broader effort to prevent the commercial sexual exploitation of children in the Recife Metropolitan Region, where poverty, inequality and gender-based violence leaves Afro-Brazilian girls at greater risk. By strengthening skills, expanding opportunities and connecting young people to employment pathways, the program helps adolescents build safer, more independent futures.

The impact extends beyond the adolescents themselves. One family member reflected on the changes she had seen in her daughter:

“Today I can say that the program brought us closer. We are much more than mother and daughter, we are friends, because my daughter trusts me.”

Since 2021, the program has:

🧒 Reached 286 adolescents
🎓️ Supported 200 to complete the training program
🤝 Seen 85% of graduates enter formal employment through professional apprenticeship opportunities

Congratulations to the young people, families, educators, and the entire Instituto Aliança team on this achievement.

Find out more: https://www.institutoalianca.org.br/boletim/agosto16/materia12_agosto16.html

This program is funded in part by a grant from the United States Department of State.

We often measure progress in years, but healing doesn't work that way. In this episode of Human Rights: Conversations Ac...
06/08/2026

We often measure progress in years, but healing doesn't work that way.

In this episode of Human Rights: Conversations Across Generations, the Freedom Fund's Head of Programs for Africa, Ruth Kimani, reflects on why flexible, trust-based funding is essential to lasting change and what survivor-centred approaches look like in practice.

Drawing on lessons from the Freedom Fund's programmes across Africa, which have invested more than $26 million in frontline organisations and reached more than 223,000 people, Ruth shares insights on ethical survivor engagement, community-led solutions and the long-term investment needed for children and communities to thrive.

It's a thought-provoking conversation about dignity, partnership and building sustainable change. Thank you to hosts Professor Bert Lockwood and Meredith Lockwood for creating space for this important discussion.

🎧 Listen here on Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/human-rights-conversations-across-generations/id1846179353?i=1000779324950

🎧 Or here on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/episode/4ltf8AVgxbZyh9v9VNgPX7?si=17c788e7679c4a9e

What happens when a family has no safety net? In Karamoja, Uganda, where 74.2% of people live in absolute poverty and fo...
05/08/2026

What happens when a family has no safety net?

In Karamoja, Uganda, where 74.2% of people live in absolute poverty and food crises are a recurring reality, many families face impossible choices. For some children, that means leaving school to earn money; for others, it means facing pressure to marry before they are ready.

New research from the AfriChild Centre and the Freedom Fund found that six in ten children surveyed were engaged in child labour, while child marriage remains widely normalised. Families and children described these practices as survival strategies when there was no safety net to fall back on.

But this isn't just a story about risk. It's also a story about resilience.

Children told us they are finding ways to shape their own futures: resisting child marriage, continuing their education where possible, and even using their earnings to return to school.

Their voices are helping shape the Freedom Fund's work in Uganda and the solutions needed to protect children from exploitation.

Because lasting change starts with listening to communities and acting on the evidence.

Read more: https://www.freedomfund.org/news/growing-up-in-karamoja-uganda/?utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=social

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Office 31, Lighterman House, 26 Wharfdale Road
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N19RY

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+442030772222

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