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THE FREEDOM FUND
BROOKLYN, NY · EIN 300805768 · Form 990 · FY2023 · NTEE T30 · Philanthropy & Grantmaking · Large ($10M-$50M) · freedomfund.org
revenue
$16.7M
expenses
$22.5M
net assets
$39.5M
employees
10
volunteers
9
program ratio
80%
profile · synthesized from sources

The Freedom Fund is a global nonprofit focused on ending modern slavery by funding frontline organizations and driving systemic change. It supports survivor-led initiatives, strengthens anti-slavery policies, and targets forced labor in supply chains across multiple countries. The organization operates through regional "hotspots" in high-risk areas, combining direct support, advocacy, and evidence-based research to dismantle systems of exploitation.

irs program accomplishments · form 990 part iii · fy2023

What they reported doing

  1. #1 primary $3.35M
    MOVEMENT BUILDING: ORGANIZATIONS AROUND THE WORLD ARE DOING EXCEPTIONAL WORK TO ERADICATE SLAVERY BUT, TOO OFTEN, THESE EFFORTS ARE FRAGMENTED AND UNDERFUNDED. WE AIM TO BUILD A GLOBAL COMMUNITY OF ACTIVISTS, EXPERTS AND DONORS BY PROVIDING THE PLATFORM, KNOWLEDGE, AND TOOLS FOR THEM TO CONNECT AND WORK TOGETHER MORE EFFECTIVELY OVER A SUSTAINED PERIOD. WE USE OUR GLOBAL LEADERSHIP ROLE, AND THE CREDIBILITY CONFERRED BY THE BACKING OF OUR FOUNDERS, TO BRING ACTORS TOGETHER AND ENCOURAGE GREATER COLLABORATION AND COORDINATION.
  2. #2 $2.57M
    GLOBAL INITIATIVES: OUR SECTOR INITIATIVES COORDINATE ACTORS AND RESOURCES AROUND A SLAVERY-SPECIFIC ISSUE, INCLUDING SECTORS, INDUSTRIES, OR CIRCUMSTANCES. THIS ALLOWS THE FREEDOM FUND TO TACKLE SYSTEMIC ISSUES LIKE SLAVERY IN FISHING OR CROSS-BORDER MIGRATION WITH NEW TECHNOLOGICAL TOOLS OR LEGAL INITIATIVES. IT FACILITATES A COLLABORATIVE APPROACH AND GREATER COMBINED IMPACT. THE FREEDOM FUND PROVIDES A CHANNEL THROUGH WHICH THOSE WITH FUNDS, KNOWLEDGE, OR INFLUENCE CAN IMPACT INTERNATIONAL ORGANIZATIONS, GOVERNMENTS, MEDIA AND THE CORPORATE SECTOR TO SPEED ACTION.
named programs · 7 · from sources

What they call their work

Brazilian Amazon Hotspot
Addresses forced labor in timber and livestock supply chains by strengthening civil society, improving inter-agency collaboration, and integrating anti-slavery efforts into municipal systems.
Ethiopia Child Domestic Workers Hotspot
Strengthens community and government protection systems, promotes survivor reintegration, and advances labor rights for child domestic workers.
Ethiopia Safer Migration Hotspot
Reduces trafficking risks for Ethiopian women migrating to the Middle East through shelters, reintegration support, pre-departure training, and policy reform.
Indonesia Seafood Sector Program
Combats forced labor in the seafood industry by empowering migrant and domestic workers, strengthening unions, and improving legal protections and labor standards.
Nepal Agricultural Bonded Labour Program
Supports Harawa-Charawa, Haliya, and Kamaiya communities through survivor-led advocacy, legal assistance, land rights, and livelihoods programs.
Not Invisible Anymore (NIA) Program
Protects child domestic workers in Kenya through policy advocacy, shelter services, psychosocial support, and community mobilization.
Uganda Child Marriage Hotspot
New initiative focused on addressing child marriage as a driver of exploitation and vulnerability to modern slavery.
activities · 5 groups

What they do

  • Nonprofit Capacity Building Services 1 activity
    • Capacity building for frontline anti-slavery organizations
      Strengthened the sustainability, connectivity, and effectiveness of over 300 organizations, nearly half of which are survivor-led, and played a central role in shaping strategic direction and organizational growth to increase impact across global hotspots.
  • Domestic and Sexual Violence Prevention Education 1 activity
    • Education and child protection programs
      Enrolled over 241,000 at-risk children in formal or informal education and implemented community-level interventions to keep children out of exploitation, including awareness campaigns on child marriage and child trafficking. Hosted expert webinars on child domestic work and commercial sexual exploitation of girls.
  • Supply Chain Labor Rights Investigation and Advocacy 1 activity
    • Research on modern slavery and exploitation
      Conducted investigations into financial and corporate links to labor abuses, leading to corrective actions, and commissioned research such as the 'Through her eyes' study on commercial sexual exploitation of girls in Dhaka, Bangladesh.
  • Women's Microenterprise and Livelihood Development 1 activity
    • Survivor and community economic empowerment
      Supported the creation of over 47,000 micro-enterprises through seed grants, business literacy training, and vocational programs. Provided women with agricultural inputs and training in climate-smart farming, and strengthened Village Savings and Loan Associations (VSLAs) for survivors and vulnerable girls.
  • Uncategorized 3 activities
    • Advocacy for policy and systemic change
      Contributed to over 370 changes in public policy related to anti-slavery efforts since 2014, enabled hundreds of enforcement actions including prosecutions and convictions, and secured improved supply chain transparency by obtaining cattle movement data in Pará, Brazil. Conducted advocacy to secure government recognition of bonded labor and access to public benefits.
    • Liberation and direct support for survivors of modern slavery
      Directly liberated over 37,000 individuals from modern slavery between 2014 and 2025 and provided shelter, medical treatment, psychiatric support, and reintegration services to survivors and returnees. Supported over 8,300 legal cases related to slavery and enabled over 1.1 million individuals to access social and legal services.
    • Resilience-building at scale
      Impacted over 1.7 million lives through anti-slavery programs and helped an estimated 10.4 million people become more resilient to slavery since 2014 through hotspot interventions across Asia, Africa, and Latin America.
financials · form 990 · fy2023
revenue
Total revenue$16.75M
Contributions & grants$15.65M93%
Program service revenue$00%
Investment income$1.10M7%
Other revenue$0
expenses
Total expenses$22.50M
Program expenses80%
Admin / overhead11%
Fundraising9%
Salaries & benefits$5.48M
Grants paid out$10.72M
Largest expense lineCompensation
balance sheet
Total assets$40.90M
Cash$6.86M
Investments$31.11M
Liabilities$1.44M
Net assets$39.45M
Liquid reserves20.3 mo
3 years on record · 2020–2023 · YoY revenue +24.3%
leadership · form 990 part vii · fy2023

Who runs it

paid leadership · 7
NameTitleHours/wkCompensation
NICHOLAS GRONO CEO/PRESIDENT 40 $337K
AMY RAHE MANAGING DIRECTOR OF NORTH AMERICA 40 $240K
DAN VEXLER MANAGING DIRECTOR OF PROGRAMS 40 $148K
ZOE MARSHALL DIR. OF FINANCE/SECRETARY 40 $143K
ERIN PHELPS SENIOR ADVISER TO THE CEO 40 $140K
HAVOVI WADIA DIRECTOR OF PROGRAMS 40 $122K
YUKI LO HEAD OF RESEARCH AND EVALUATION 40 $113K
board members · 9
  • ALAN MCCORMICK THRU NOV — CHAIR
  • ANDREW DOUST — TRUSTEE
  • FELICITY GOODING THRU NOV — TREASURER
  • GRACE FORREST THRU NOV — TRUSTEE
  • KATHARINE BRYANT FROM NOV — TRUSTEE
  • MAHENDRA PANDEY — TRUSTEE
  • MOLLY GOCHMAN — TRUSTEE
  • NATASHA DOLBY — TRUSTEE
  • PHILIPPE SION THRU NOV — TRUSTEE
relationships · 29

Who they work with

  • Aparejeyo Bangladesh Partner — Provided insights on the realities faced by girls involved in commercial sexual exploitation of children and identified gaps in policies and programs during a Freedom Fund webinar.
  • Climate Rights International Partner — Partner organization that co-published a report linking fashion brands to forced labour in Brazil's cattle supply chains.
  • Comissão Pastoral da Terra Partner — Partner organization that supported survivor Salomão Rodrigues Feitosa with documentation, healthcare, and social benefits.
  • Destructive Fishing Watch Partner — Partner organization that contributed research leading to improved employment regulations in Indonesia's fisheries sector.
  • Food and Agriculture Organization Partner — Collaborates with The Freedom Fund and GARD on agricultural and livelihood resilience initiatives in Napak.
  • Global Peer Learning Group on Child Domestic Work Partner — Co-hosts a webinar with the Global Peer Learning Group on Child Domestic Work to explore education's role in protecting child domestic workers.
  • Grassroots Alliance for Rural Development Partner — Partner organization implementing climate-smart agriculture and economic resilience programs in Napak, Uganda.
  • Harawa-Charawa community Partner — Long-term community partner in Madhesh Province, Nepal, co-designing and implementing anti-bonded labor and livelihood initiatives.
  • Indonesia Ocean Justice Initiative Partner — Partner organization that lobbied the UN Committee on Migrant Workers to recommend reforms in Indonesia.
  • Investing in Children and their Societies Partner — Collaborated with ICS-SP, represented by Executive Director Beatrice Ogutu, in a panel discussion on child domestic work.
  • KPPI Partner — National coalition partner in Indonesia advocating for standardized labour inspections and joint government-civil society inspections in seafood processing.
  • Legatum Partner — Founding donor and long-term funding partner supporting the Freedom Fund's systems change and research initiatives
  • Network of Engaged International Donors Partner — Collaborated with NEID, represented by its Founder and Chair Karen Ansara, in a panel discussion on child domestic work.
  • Population Council Partner — Conducted the study 'Through her eyes: Measuring commercial sexual exploitation of girls in Dhaka, Bangladesh' commissioned by The Freedom Fund.
  • Reporter Brasil Partner — Partner organization that conducted investigations into corporate and financial links to forced labour in Brazil.
  • Serikat Buruh Migran Indonesia Partner — Partner organization that delivered peer training in Fiji and established a migrant worker secretariat in Taiwan.
  • UN Development Programme Partner — Collaborates with The Freedom Fund and GARD on community resilience and anti-trafficking efforts in Uganda.
  • Uganda’s Ministry of Agriculture Government — Government partner in agricultural capacity-building and climate-resilient livelihood programs in Napak.
  • Walk Free Partner — Collaboration between Havovi Wadia and Grace Forrest of Walk Free on shared anti-slavery efforts, including the Global Commission on Modern Slavery and Human Trafficking.
  • anti-slavery experts Partner — Partners with anti-slavery experts to examine and evaluate programs and translate evidence into action.
  • anti-slavery organisations Partner — Works alongside anti-slavery organizations to combine knowledge, capital, and action to end modern slavery
  • frontline organisations Partner — Partners with frontline organizations in slavery hotspots to address root causes and transform marginalized communities
  • governments Partner — Partners with governments to dismantle systems that enable modern slavery
  • grassroots organisations Partner — Convenes networks of grassroots organizations to work collaboratively toward shared anti-slavery objectives
  • leading researchers Partner — Collaborates with leading researchers to evaluate anti-slavery work and ensure evidence is relevant for local communities.
  • stakeholders around the world Coalition — Global stakeholders engaged to join the mission to end modern slavery.
  • survivor-led organisations Partner — Provides flexible support and funding to survivor-led organizations as part of trust-based funding approach
  • survivors and those at risk of slavery Partner — Partners with survivors and individuals at risk of slavery in anti-slavery efforts
  • visionary investors Partner — Collaborates with visionary investors to mobilize resources and knowledge to end modern slavery
strategies · 5

How they approach the work

Named approaches extracted from this org’s sources. Where others share an approach, follow it to see the full set of orgs running it.

  • Evidence-Based Systems Advocacy
    methodology: evidence_building
    By generating and transparently sharing evidence on effective interventions, we mobilize stakeholders and shift policy and funding systems because credible data increases legitimacy, replication, and investment in high-impact anti-slavery strategies.
  • Power-Shifting to Frontline Communities
    methodology: power-shifting
    By shifting decision-making power and resources to frontline organizations and communities most affected by slavery, we produce more effective and sustainable anti-slavery efforts because local leadership ensures culturally grounded, contextually relevant, and trusted solutions.
  • Survivor-Led Movement Building
    methodology: survivor-led_movement_building
    By investing in survivor leadership and enabling survivors to lead anti-slavery movements, we amplify impact and legitimacy because lived experience drives more authentic, effective, and accountable change.
  • Systems Change Through Local Leadership and Knowledge
    methodology: systems_change
    By investing in community-led solutions that shift power dynamics, change policies, and transform social norms, we produce sustainable freedom from modern slavery because systemic structures enabling exploitation are dismantled at their root through locally informed, long-term transformation.
  • Trust-First Community Engagement
    methodology: trust-first development
    By building long-term trust through sustained community support—such as education access and legal advocacy—before introducing economic interventions, we enable greater participation and success in livelihood programs because trust reduces resistance and increases community ownership.