Freedom House is a U.S.-based non-governmental organization (NGO) founded in 1941 by Eleanor Roosevelt and Wendell Willkie to promote democracy and human rights. It is best known for its annual Freedom in the World report, along with Freedom on the Net and Nations in Transit. The organization conducts research, advocacy, and grantmaking. It is primarily funded through federal grants from the U.S. government. ¹

History and Background

Freedom House was formed in 1941 to promote support from America to the Allied Powers in World War II before the attack on Pearl Harbor by countering isolationism spread by the America First Committee. Its first honorary co-chairpersons were then-First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt and Wendell Willkie, the Republican Party presidential nominee who ran against President Franklin Roosevelt in 1940. The organization was founded on bipartisan principles but has been criticized for taking a left-wing turn since the end of the Cold War. ^{2 3}

Freedom House launched its “Freedom in the World” report in 1973. The report assessed “the level of freedom” in every country in the world, by assessing a country’s political rights and civil liberties, and used a ranking system to determine if a country was “Free, Partly Free, or Not Free.”  ⁴

Financials:

Freedom House had a total revenue of $90.3 million in 2024, of which 88% came from government grants. In the same year, the NGO expended $88.8 million. This includes $45.9 million on grants and other assistance to recipients, domestic and foreign; $27.9 million in wages, benefits, and payroll taxes; and $1.9 million on fundraising. Twenty-two officers, key employees, and highest-compensated staff received total compensation ranging from $380,000 to $164,000. ⁵

Revenue increased from $28.8 million in 2016, peaking at $103.8 million in 2022 and $93.5 million in 2023, before declining to $90.3 million in 2024. ⁶

Funding:

Freedom House’s primary funding came through United States Agency for International Development (USAID) prior to its dissolving in 2025, and the U.S. Department of State. ⁷

The group received funding from several left-of-center organizations including the Open Society Foundations (OSF), which provided $5.75 million between 2021-2023, ⁸ and the Ford Foundation, which made three grants earmarked for “equality and social justice” totaling $2 million between 2021-2025. ⁹

Freedom House also acknowledges financial support from the Dutch Postcode Lottery, Google, the Hurford Foundation, the Jyllands-Posten Foundation, the Merrill Family Foundation, Meta Platforms, Inc., and Robert Tuttle & Maria Hummer-Tuttle. ⁷ It credits the Achelis and Bodman Foundation and the National Endowment for Democracy for funding its Transnational Repression project. ¹⁰ Previous donors listed include Amazon, Golden Frog, Internet Society, Lilly Endowment, the New York Community Trust, Schloss Family Foundation, X (formerly Twitter), the U.N. Democracy Fund (UNDEF), Verizon, and Yahoo. ⁷

The Netherlands Ministry of Foreign Affairs has made annual contributions to the organization between 2017-2024; within that timeframe, government-linked funders from Canada, Taiwan, and Sweden have made similar contributions. ¹¹

Political Activities:

Freedom House’s primary work consists of its flagship annual reports, Freedom in the World and Freedom on the Net, which assess countries on political rights, civil liberties, and internet freedom. These ratings classify nations as “Free,” “Partly Free,” or “Not Free.” ⁴

These reports are widely used in U.S. foreign policy debates and congressional hearings, and the Millennium Challenge Corporation has relied on them to help determine eligibility for over $15 billion in foreign aid since 2023. ¹² Policymakers, journalists, and international organizations also cite Freedom House rankings as benchmarks in discussions of democracy and human rights. ¹³

Since 2017, Freedom House has incorporated the United States into its Freedom in the World ratings, citing what it describes as “democratic backsliding.” ¹⁴

In addition to its reports, Freedom House runs field programs in more than 60 countries. These include training and support for civil society organizations, grants to human rights defenders, election monitoring, and initiatives to promote internet freedom and counter digital censorship. ¹

1. “About Us.” Freedom House. Accessed October 16, 2025. https://freedomhouse.org/about-us.
2. “About Us – History.” Freedom House. Accessed June 7, 2022. https://freedomhouse.org/about-us/our-history.
3. “Freedom House Turns Partisan.” The Heritage Foundation. Accessed June 7, 2022. www.heritage.org/global-politics/commentary/freedom-house-turns-partisan.
4. “Freedom in the World Research Methodology.” Freedom House. Accessed October 16, 2025. https://freedomhouse.org/reports/freedom-world/freedom-world-research-methodology.
5.  Freedom House, Return of Organization Exempt from Income Tax (Form 990), 2024, Part I-XI.
6. Freedom House, Return of Organization Exempt from Income Tax (Form 990), 2016-2024, Part I.
7. “Freedom on the Net.” Freedom House. Accessed October 16, 2025. https://freedomhouse.org/report/freedom-net
8. Foundation to Promote Open Society, Return of a Private Foundation (Form 990-PF), 2021-2023, Part XIV.
9. Ford Foundation, Return of a Private Foundation (Form 990-PF), 2021-2025, Part XIV.
10. “Transnational Repression.” Freedom House. Accessed October 16, 2025. https://freedomhouse.org/report/transnational-repression.
11. Freedom House, Finances and Independent Auditors Report, 2017-2024, Schedule of Expenditures of International Public Agencies.
12.  “Executive Summary.” Millennium Challenge Corporation. Accessed October 16, 2025. https://www.mcc.gov/resources/story/story-cbj-fy2023-executive-summary/.
13. “Freedom House Turns Partisan.” The Heritage Foundation. Accessed October 16, 2025. https://www.heritage.org/global-politics/commentary/freedom-house-turns-partisan.
14. “United States: Freedom on the Net 2024 Country Report.” Freedom House. Accessed October 16, 2025. https://freedomhouse.org/country/united-states/freedom-net/2024.