I know first hand how it feels to be awarded an unrestricted gift. It’s an endorsement of your organisation, your institutional leadership and your work. It’s a recognition of years of effort by hundreds of frontline workers, teachers, children, and community members. It’s very difficult to overstate the significant impact this has on morale, momentum and motivation.
When the Freedom Fund launched the Elevate Grant in 2022, I firmly believed that we were doing something that was not only impactful, but potentially transformative, for frontline organisations. A recent review of the grants confirms what we always believed: trusting our partners with flexible funding is one of the most powerful investments we can make.
The Elevate Grant is a one-time grant of US $50,000 to partners that have demonstrated impact and integrity over multiple years in partnership with the Freedom Fund. As a collaborative fund we have been flexible funders for over a decade, working with organisations that are embedded in communities and have deep expertise on the interconnected issues that result in modern slavery. However, the Elevate Grant took that flexibility a step further. We asked for no proposal, no regular updates, and gave no specific duration for the funds to be spent down. There’s just one report that we ask for, to enable reporting to our board and donors.
Since establishing the Elevate program, 22 long-term partners across Brazil, Ethiopia, Myanmar Nepal, and Thailand have been awarded the grant.
The current funding landscape for frontline NGOs is incredibly challenging, making flexible, unrestricted support more important than ever.
This kind of flexible support is a rare commodity, at a time when organisations need to be nimble. While the power of unrestricted grant-making is increasingly recognised in philanthropy, very little of this funding is making its way to grassroots organisations in the Global South. In fact, eight out of ten interviewed partners had never received an unrestricted grant before. This finding underscores the systemic need that Elevate is designed to address.
The stories of how our partners are leveraging this flexibility are truly inspiring. They are investing not just in their programs, but in their future.
Expectedly, a strong theme that emerged is the focus on financial stability. Partners used the grant strategically and wisely. Partners like the Organisation for Prevention, Rehabilitation, and Integration of Female Street Children in Ethiopia and Shripurraj Community Development Centre in Nepal invested in income-generating activities—a garment production facility and a ‘Mango Hub’ training centre, respectively—to create sustainable revenue streams. Other organisations, like Stella Maris in Thailand, successfully leveraged the funding for proposal development, directly leading to new grants from other respected institutions like the ILO.
Elevate funds are also being used to build stronger, more resilient organisations. Beza Posterity Development Organisation (BPDO) in Ethiopia and Community Improvement Centre in Nepal are upgrading outdated policies and systems across human resources, finance, and safeguarding. This isn’t glamorous work, but it is foundational—a benefit that has already led to new funding for BPDO.
Beyond sustainability, the grant’s flexibility has enabled innovation and emergency response. Raks Thai was able to launch a vital new labour rights advice and legal aid service that could not be funded elsewhere. Crucially, Elevate’s design allows for immediate action in a crisis. This was vividly demonstrated when the Foundation for Education and Development in Thailand re-allocated 50% of its remaining Elevate funds to provide emergency relief to migrant workers severely affected by the November 2025 flooding.
But perhaps the most profound impact is how partners feel. Partners have described a significant boost to staff morale and wellbeing. Knowing that funds are held in reserve for organisational emergencies, as is the case for the Kachin Women’s Association Thailand, has provided staff with a sense of reassurance and confidence. The knock on effects in terms of their overall well-being are, I am sure, significant.
The Elevate grants reinforce our strategic direction as set out in our revised strategic plan. They demonstrate that when we allow our partners to be architects and visionaries, rather than only being execution focused, the impact is comprehensive and lasting. This review is not an endpoint, but a milestone as we seek new and more effective ways to support our partners in their critical work.
