Freedom Fund
{{Short description|International anti-slavery organisation}}
{{For|the German political initiative|Freiheitsfonds}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=June 2022}}
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| formation = {{start date|2013|9|26|df=y}}
| founders = [https://humanityunited.org/ Humanity United]
Legatum
Walk Free Foundation
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| type = United States 501(c)(3) public charity
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| registration_id = United States 30-0805768, United Kingdom 1158838
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| headquarters = Lighterman House
26-36 Wharfdale Road
London, N19RY, UK
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The Freedom Fund is an international non-profit organisation dedicated to identifying and investing in the most effective frontline efforts to end slavery. In 2017, the International Labour Organization reported that on any given day in 2016, there were 40 million people living in modern slavery worldwide across a wide range of industries.{{Cite web|url=https://www.alliance87.org/2017ge/modernslavery#!section=0|title=2017 Global Estimates of Modern Slavery and Child Labour|last=FFunction|website=2017 Global Estimates of Modern Slavery and Child Labour|language=en|access-date=2018-04-23|archive-date=2022-09-01|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220901041220/https://www.alliance87.org/2017ge/modernslavery/#!section=0|url-status=dead}}
The Freedom Fund was founded in September 2013, by three leading anti-slavery donors, Humanity United, the Legatum Foundation and the Walk Free Foundation and officially announced by President Bill Clinton at the Clinton Global Initiative on September 26, 2013 where he declared "this is a huge deal and we should all support this."
Mission and values
The Freedom Fund has set a target of raising USD $100million by 2020 and investing it to bring about much needed strategic focus to the fight against modern slavery.{{Cite journal|last=Ucnikova|first=Martina|date=2014-09-22|title=OECD and Modern Slavery: How much aid money is spent to tackle the issue?|url=https://antitraffickingreview.org/index.php/atrjournal/article/view/68|journal=Anti-Trafficking Review|volume=3|issue=3|doi=10.14197/atr.20121437|issn=2286-7511|doi-access=free}} To achieve this, The Freedom Fund has focused its activities on three main areas:{{cite web |title=The Freedom Fund |url=https://www.devex.com/organizations/the-freedom-fund-53607 |website= Devex |access-date=15 September 2020}}
:Hotspot projects – The Freedom Fund partners with frontline organisations to directly combat slavery in defined regions with a high concentration of slavery. They do this by setting up "hotspot" projects - clusters of the most effective community-based organisations in these regions. Partnering with these organisations in some of the world's poorest and most marginalised communities is difficult, demanding and time intensive, but it is also one of the most effective ways to achieve large scale and sustainable change. The Freedom Fund's northern India hotspot has been in place since 2014, and as of December 2017, had liberated over 11,000 people from modern slavery. The Freedom Fund's hotspots are located in central Nepal, Ethiopia, northern India, south-eastern Nepal, southern India and Thailand.{{Cite news|title=Suburbia's secret slaves|newspaper=The Telegraph|date=19 September 2014
|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/sponsored/lifestyle/modern-slavery-britain/11109547/suburbia-domestic-slaves.html|access-date=2020-09-03 |language=en-GB}}
:Global initiatives - The Freedom Fund tackles underlying systems that allow slavery to persist. They do this in their hotspots, engaging the government, private sector, media, social movements, and other key drivers of change. They also do it by catalysing action on selected global issues and industries that have a direct link to their hotspots. This allows the Freedom Fund to tackle systemic issues like slavery in fishing, migration, or to help develop new technological tools or legal initiatives.{{cite news|last1=Grono|first1=Nick|title=Using the law to defeat modern slavery|url=http://www.trust.org/item/20150224192144-q3sgb/?source=search|access-date=2 April 2015|publisher=Thomson Reuters Foundation|date=24 February 2015|archive-date=3 April 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150403141833/http://www.trust.org/item/20150224192144-q3sgb/?source=search|url-status=dead}} In March 2015, the Freedom Fund and C&A Foundation announced a partnership to tackle forced labour in the textile industry.{{cite news|title=C&A Foundation Launches New Partnership Strategy to Address Fight Bonded Labour in Apparel Industry|url=http://textilesupdate.com/ca-foundation-launches-new-partnership-strategy-to-address-fight-bonded-labour-in-apparel-industry|access-date=2 April 2015|date=10 March 2015|archive-date=15 August 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180815121006/http://textilesupdate.com/ca-foundation-launches-new-partnership-strategy-to-address-fight-bonded-labour-in-apparel-industry|url-status=dead}}
:Movement building initiatives - The Freedom Fund helps to build and empower a global anti-slavery movement, providing the platforms, tools and knowledge for organisations to connect and work together more effectively.{{Cite journal|last=Newcomb|first=Randy|date=2014-09-22|title=Debate: Lessons Learnt from 10 Years and USD 50 million of Grant Making to End Human Trafficking|url=https://antitraffickingreview.org/index.php/atrjournal/article/view/69|journal=Anti-Trafficking Review|volume=3|issue=3|doi=10.14197/atr.20121438|issn=2286-7511|doi-access=free}}{{cite web |title=Freedom Fund |url=https://www.endslaverynow.org/freedom-fund |website=End Slavery Now |access-date=15 September 2020}}
Leadership
{{main|Nick Grono}}
The Freedom Fund's inaugural CEO, Nick Grono, has written articles on modern slavery for the Huffington Post, Newsweek, The Guardian, as well as the Freedom Fund blog. Grono previously served as Deputy President and COO of the Brussels-based International Crisis Group and as CEO of the Walk Free Foundation, an international anti-slavery organisation. During his tenure, the Walk Free Foundation built a global anti-slavery movement with over five million supporters and launched the first ever Global Slavery Index. Grono joined Freedom Fund in December 2013.{{cite web |title=Nick Grono, Vice-President of the International Crisis Group |url=https://lapa.princeton.edu/content/nick-grono-vice-president-international-crisis-group |website=The Program in Law and Public Affairs, Princeton University |access-date=15 September 2020 |archive-date=31 October 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221031224832/https://lapa.princeton.edu/content/nick-grono-vice-president-international-crisis-group |url-status=dead }}{{cite web |title=Nicholas Grono |url=https://globalinitiative.net/experts/nick-grono/ |website=Global Initiative against Transnational Organized Crime |access-date=15 September 2020}}
Impact
Freedom Fund operates as a meta-charity which disburses grants to local partners who directly implement anti-slavery initiatives.{{Cite web|url=http://freedomfund.org/impact/monitoring-and-evaluation/|title = Monitoring & Evaluation}} Freedom Fund requires funding recipients to evaluate their performance using a common set of metrics, answering questions including "How many people are being reached directly?" and "[What's the] cost per person to each project?".
As of June 2020 the Freedom Fund reported to have:{{Cite web|url=https://freedomfund.org/impact/global-metrics/|title=Global Metrics | Our Impac|website=The Freedom Fund}}
- Impacted 765,628 lives
- Liberated 28,040 people from modern slavery
- Helped 57,419 previously out-of-school children to receive formal or non-formal education
COVID-19 emergency fund: In response to the 2019–2020 coronavirus pandemic, The Freedom Fund set up a COVID-19 emergency fund which offered immediate, small scale support to frontline responders in disadvantaged communities in Brazil, Ethiopia, India, Myanmar, Nepal, and Thailand. Monetary assistance was used for food, shelter, protective equipment for medical professionals, sanitation, and other immediate virus-related needs.{{cite web |title=Freedom Fund NPO spotlight |url=http://philanthropynewsdigest.org/npo-spotlight/freedom-fund |website=PhilanthropyNewsDigest.com |access-date=26 October 2020}}
Reports
- March 2015: Putting justice first[http://freedomfund.org/wp-content/uploads/Putting-Justice-FINAL-REPORT-24Apr15.pdf Putting justice] freedomfund.org 24 April 2015
- October 2015: Addressing mental health needs in survivors of modern slavery: A critical review and research agenda[http://freedomfund.org/wp-content/uploads/2015-Addressing-the-Mental-Health-Needs-in-Survivors-of-Modern-Slavery.pdf Addressing mental health needs in survivors of modern slavery: A critical review and research agenda] freedomfund.org
- December 2015: Ending impunity, securing justice: Using strategic litigation to combat modern-day slavery and human trafficking{{cite web| title=Ending Impunity, Securing Justice: Using Strategic Litigation to Combat Modern-Day Slavery and Human Trafficking | website=Freedom Fund | date=15 December 2015 | url=https://freedomfund.org/our-reports/5292/ | access-date=8 February 2024}}
- December 2015: Fighting modern slavery: Why role for international criminal justice<{{cite web| title=Fighting slavery: What role for International Criminal Justice? | website=Freedom Fund | date=2 December 2015 | url=https://freedomfund.org/our-reports/fighting-modern-slavery-what-role-for-international-criminal-justice/ | access-date=8 February 2024}}
- December 2015: Unshackling development: Why we need a global partnership to end modern slavery{{cite web| title=Why we need a global partnership to end modern slavery | website=Freedom Fund | date=2 December 2015 | url=https://freedomfund.org/our-reports/unshackling-development-why-we-need-a-global-partnership-to-end-modern-slavery/ | access-date=8 February 2024}}
- January 2016: Modern slavery and corruption[http://freedomfund.org/wp-content/uploads/Liberty-Asia-Corruption-Briefing-Paper-FINAL-FOR-EMAIL.pdf Corruption Briefing paper] freedomfund.org[http://freedomfund.org/wp-content/uploads/Liberty-Asia-Corruption-Legal-Analysis-FINAL-FOR-EMAIL.pdf Corruption analysis] freedomfund.org
- February 2016: Safer labour migration and community-based prevention of exploitation: The state of the evidence for programming[http://freedomfund.org/wp-content/uploads/FF_SAFERMIGRATION_WEB.pdf Safer immigration] freedomfund.org
- April 2016: Funding the fight against modern slavery{{cite web | last=Kennedy | first=Kate | title=Funding the fight against modern slavery | website=Freedom Fund | date=1 April 2016 | url=https://freedomfund.org/blog/funding-fight-modern-slavery/ | access-date=8 February 2024}}
- April 2016: Struggling to survive: Slavery and exploitation of Syrian refugees in Lebanon[http://freedomfund.org/wp-content/uploads/Lebanon-Report-FINAL-8April16.pdf Lebanon report] freedomfund.org
- May 2016: Assessing government and business responses to the Thai seafood crisis[http://freedomfund.org/wp-content/uploads/Thai-seafood-reforms-FINAL.pdf Thai seafood reforms] freedomfund.org
- October 2016: Fighting impunity, securing justice: Investing in strategic litigation to combat modern slavery[http://freedomfund.org/wp-content/uploads/Fighting-impunity-funding-justice.pdf Fighting im punity, funding justice] freedomfund.org
- November 2016: Modern slavery and trafficking in conflict: The UN's response[http://freedomfund.org/wp-content/uploads/UN-trafficking-in-conflict-WEB.pdf UN trafficking in conflict] freedomfund.org
- January 2018: Her freedom, her voice: Insights from the Freedom Fund’s work with women and girls{{Cite news|url=https://freedomfund.org/our-reports/her-freedom-her-voice-insights-from-the-freedom-funds-work-with-women-and-girls/|title=Her freedom, her voice: Insights from the Freedom Fund's work with women and girls - Freedom Fund|date=2018-01-17|work=Freedom Fund|access-date=2018-04-23|language=en-GB}}
- December 2018: Leaning in: Advancing the role of finance against modern slavery{{cite news |url=https://freedomfund.org/our-reports/leaning-in-advancing-the-role-of-finance-against-modern-slavery/|title=Leaning in: Advancing the role of finance against modern slavery - Freedom Fund}}
- January 2019: The longer, the riskier: Forced labour along the supply chain{{cite news |url=https://freedomfund.org/blog/the-longer-the-riskier-forced-labour-along-the-supply-chain/|title=The longer, the riskier: Forced labour along the supply chain - Freedom Fund}}
- May 2019: Pathways to justice: How grassroots organisations are harnessing the law to tackle modern slavery{{cite news |url=https://freedomfund.org/our-reports/pathways-to-justice-how-grassroots-organisations-are-harnessing-the-law-to-tackle-modern-slavery/|title=Pathways to justice: How grassroots organisations are harnessing the law to tackle modern slavery - Freedom Fund}}
- August 2019: Methodologies for measuring the prevalence of modern slavery{{cite news |url=https://freedomfund.org/our-reports/methodologies-for-measuring-the-prevalence-of-modern-slavery/|title=Methodologies for measuring the prevalence of modern slavery - Freedom Fund}}
- September 2019: Unlocking what works: How community-based interventions are ending bonded labour in India{{cite news |url=https://freedomfund.org/our-reports/unlocking-what-works-how-community-based-interventions-are-ending-bonded-labour-in-india/|title=Unlocking what works: How community-based interventions are ending bonded labour in India - Freedom Fund}}
- May 2020: Lessons from humanitarian crises{{cite news |url=https://freedomfund.org/our-reports/lessons-from-humanitarian-crises/|title=Lessons from humanitarian crises - Freedom Fund}}
- June 2020: "Our departure" - Responsible recruitment scoping study{{cite news |url=https://freedomfund.org/our-reports/our-departure-responsible-recruitment-scoping-study/|title="Our departure" - Responsible recruitment scoping study - Freedom Fund}}
- September 2020: Global pandemic, local devastation{{cite news |url=https://freedomfund.org/our-reports/global-pandemic-local-devastation/|title=Global pandemic, local devastation - Freedom Fund}}
- October 2020: Survivors of trafficking need economic security and decent work to sustain liberation{{cite news |url=https://freedomfund.org/press-release/survivors-of-trafficking-need-economic-security-and-decent-work-to-sustain-liberation-new-study-finds/|title=Survivors of trafficking need economic security and decent work to sustain liberation - Freedom Fund}}
- January 2021: Lessons from the COVID frontlines{{cite news |url=https://freedomfund.org/blog/lessons-from-the-covid-frontlines/|title=Lessons from the COVID frontlines - Freedom Fund}}
See also
References
{{reflist|refs =
{{cite news|title=Everywhere in (supply) chains|url=https://www.economist.com/news/international/21646199-how-reduce-bonded-labour-and-human-trafficking-everywhere-supply-chains|access-date=2 April 2015|publisher=The Economist|date=14 March 2015}}
{{cite news|last1=Savchuk|first1=Katia|title=EBay Billionaire Omidyar And Wife To Add $50 Million To Anti-Slavery Efforts|url=https://www.forbes.com/sites/katiasavchuk/2014/11/19/ebay-billionaire-omidyar-and-his-wife-to-add-50-million-to-anti-slavery-efforts/|access-date=2 April 2015|work=Forbes|date=19 November 2014}}
{{cite web|title=$100 Million Freedom Fund to Combat Modern-Day Slavery|url=http://www.marketwatch.com/story/100-million-freedom-fund-to-combat-modern-day-slavery-2013-09-26|publisher=Market Watch|access-date=5 August 2014}}
{{cite news|last1=CASPANI|first1=MARIA|title=Campaigners launch first anti-slavery organizations database|url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-foundation-humantrafficking-idUSKCN0HY2GZ20141009|access-date=2 April 2015|publisher=Reuters|date=9 October 2014}}
{{cite news|title=One brick at a time|url=https://www.economist.com/news/international/21646201-freeing-those-enslaved-quarries-and-brick-kilns-slow-process-one-brick-time|access-date=2 April 2015|publisher=The Economist|date=14 March 2015}}
{{cite news|last1=Grono|first1=Nick|title=India: Time to Put an End to Slavery|url=http://www.newsweek.com/india-time-put-end-slavery-286962|access-date=2 April 2015|publisher=Newsweek|date=25 November 2014}} and The Guardian
{{cite news|last1=Grono|first1=Nick|title=The economic case for ending slavery|url=https://www.theguardian.com/global-development-professionals-network/2013/aug/15/economic-case-for-ending-slavery|work= The Guardian |date=15 August 2013}}
{{cite web|title=Freedom Fund Blog|url=http://www.freedomfund.org/blog/|access-date=5 August 2014}}
{{cite news|last1=Bales|first1=Kevin|title=The methodology behind the Global Slavery Index|url=https://www.theguardian.com/global-development-professionals-network/2013/oct/17/global-slavery-index-methodology|access-date=2 April 2015|work=The Guardian|date=17 October 2013}}
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