The vital role of fundraising at the IWF

The fundraising team at the IWF Move for a safer internet event at Pinsent Masons

“It’s a common misconception that the IWF is government-funded, because the work we do is so important,” says Kate Moss, the IWF’s Head of Fundraising. “But in fact, our income depends on funding from our key funders, the generosity of individual supporters and Members.

“It’s vital for us to diversify our sources of income to increase our sustainability and longevity,” says Kate. “We welcome funding from anyone who’s aligned with our mission, vision and values, whether that’s an individual, a trust, a foundation or an organisation.

“Any child who has a smartphone could potentially be a victim of online sexual abuse. By fundraising for the IWF, you are investing in the unsung heroes who are identifying and safeguarding children, protecting them from further exploitation.”

Our income allows us not just to provide consistently high-quality data and services to our Members, but to invest in new bespoke technology, run prevention and protection communication campaigns, lobby for change and provide gold-standard wellbeing support to our analysts.

The landscape of online child sexual abuse is evolving rapidly, and new threats emerge as technology advances. Funding is essential to tackle the escalating scale and sophistication of online child sexual abuse and we are so grateful to everyone who is helping us fight this battle.  

In 2024, these amazing funders supported IWF:

  • Oak Foundation, a philanthropic organisation based in Geneva, gave us a grant of $900,000 over three years to support our communications, advocacy and policy work.
  • Safe Online, a global initiative dedicated to ensuring the digital safety of children and young people, awarded us a grant of $170,000. This will enable us to evaluate our 53 portals that allow 2.7 billion people to report suspected criminal pictures and videos to us.
  • Nominet, the official guardians of .UK domain names registry, gave us a grant of £750,000 over three years from their Countering Online Harms fund to develop a number of bespoke technologies to support our analysts’ vital work. 

Nominet also continued to fund the UK Safer Internet Centre, a partnership between the IWF, Childnet and SWGfL which identifies online threats and develops resources to help young people navigate online life safely.

While income from grants and foundations is destined for specific projects, our corporate fundraising partners provide us with unrestricted funding, which allows us the flexibility to support various projects across the charity.

Last year, we continued our successful partnership with the Cyber Team at Pinsent Masons. Once again, the law firm ran its #MoveForASaferInternet campaign, raising over £22,500 for IWF.

We’re also delighted that Qualcomm Technologies International, a local Cambridge company, donated over £12,000 to support our ‘Think Before You Share’ campaign.

 

Qualcomm Technologies International, a local Cambridge company, donated over £12,000 to support our ‘Think Before You Share’ campaign.

Qualcomm Technologies International donated over £12,000 to support our ‘Think Before You Share’ campaign.

 

 

“I’d like to offer a heartfelt thank you to everyone who’s supported us in 2024,” says Kate. “We’re doing everything we can to stop child sexual abuse online, but we can’t do it alone. We need to work together.”

 

Find out more information for grant funders, trusts and foundations, and see details on fundraising as a company and individual fundraising.