Jack Dorsey's #startsmall Becomes Newest Bellingcat Funder
Amsterdam, May 16, 2024
Bellingcat envisions a world where the power of open source research and investigation is wielded by an ever-expanding community of engaged citizens. In November 2022 Bellingcat gained a 501(c)(3) status in the United States. This has served as a catalyst for new funding partnerships in support of our vision and helped us grow our strategic pillars of Investigation, Education, Justice & Accountability, and Tech.
We are pleased to announce that most recently #startsmall, Jack Dorsey’s philanthropic initiative to fund global crisis relief, girls’ health and education and open internet development, has contributed a generous donation to Bellingcat. Jack Dorsey is the co-founder and CEO of Block Inc. (SQ) and the co-founder and former CEO & Chairman of Twitter, now known as X. The details of the grant will be publicly reflected in our annual report, which is published on our website each year. Along with our other incredible supporters based in the US, and around the world, this contribution will help bolster Bellingcat’s global footprint, enabling expansion and amplification of our mission. This generous amount will be used across several years to fund our strategic pillars, including of course our investigative research based solely on open sources: Bellingcat uses only ethical research methods.
We welcome this donation and we continue to welcome individual contributions from people who like what we do and want to help us do more of it. We will remain committed to full editorial independence, no donors or grants of any size have any editorial influence over the content or nature of our research. You can see our list of funders and annual accounts here.
Anyone can contribute to Bellingcat – we are and will always be grateful for any contribution, however big or small – to ensure Bellingcat continues to go from strength to strength.
Eliot Higgins, Founder and Creative Director of Bellingcat:
“Securing 501(c)(3) status opens a transformative chapter for Bellingcat, enabling us to engage more deeply with our US audience and supporters. It’s not just an administrative milestone; it’s a promise of innovation, collaboration, and empowerment. We’re now better positioned than ever to mobilise the power of open-source investigation, creating positive change across societies worldwide.”
As Bellingcat strides into this new chapter, our unwavering commitment to fostering a transparent, accountable, and facts-based society remains resolute. We’ll continue to approach our work with passion, precision and perseverance tackling global crises and underreported events. Join us.