The Bertha Foundation is a South African left-of-center grantmaking organization that funds activism, legal services, and documentary films. ¹ It was co-founded in 2009 by Tony Tabatznik, a South African billionaire, filmmaker, and former CEO of the pharmaceutical manufacturer, Arrow Generics.  ^{2 3 4}

Activities

The Bertha Foundation runs the “Bertha Challenge,” a fellowship that sponsors the projects of activists and investigative journalists. Events for the “Bertha Challenge” are hosted at the “Bertha retreat” in Franschhoek Valley, South Africa, and the “Bertha house” in Cape Town.  ⁵

The Bertha Foundation is partnered with the Watershed Center, a group that began after the decline of the Occupy Wall Street movement. The Watershed Center holds events in partnership with the Bertha Foundation that host left-0f-center groups and activists. These events have included notable groups and people such as Code Pink co-founder Jodie Evans, LeftRoots, Make the Road New York,  The Working World, and  UndocuBlack Network.  ⁶

The group runs the Bertha Justice Initiative, which focuses on advancing accountability for governments and corporations around the world. ⁷ The initiative sponsors aspiring lawyers through the Bertha Justice Fellows program. Included in this initiative is the Bertha Justice Partners, a coalition of law centers scattered around over 20 countries including ⁸ Bureau De Avocats International; the Center for Constitutional Rights; the Centre for Applied Legal Studies; Centro De Estudios Legales y Sociales; Colectivo de Abogados Jose Alvear Restrepo; Earthrights International; the Equal Educational Law Centre; the European Center for Constitutional and Human Rights; the Foundation for Fundamental Rights; the Hungarian Civil Liberties Union; the Institute for Justice and Democracy In Haiti; the Legal Resources Centre; Lembaga Bantuan Hukum Masyarakat; Michael Sfard Law Office; the Palestinian Centre for Human Rights; Proyecto De Derechos Economicos, Sociales, y Culturales A.C.; Reprieve; the Socio Economic Rights Institute of South Africa; and the Zimbabwe Environmental Law Association.  ⁹

People

Laura Horowitz is president and chief executive officer of the Bertha Foundation. Prior to her work with the Bertha Foundation, Horowitz worked as vice president of education at the Columbia/Willamette branch of Planned Parenthood. ¹⁰

Rebecca Lichtenfeld is the director of social impact media at the Bertha Foundation. She is also a music curator at TED, and was the advocacy director at the international human rights group WITNESS. ¹¹

The Bertha Foundation was co-founded in 2009 by Tony Tabatznik, a South African billionaire, filmmaker, and former CEO of the pharmaceutical manufacturer Arrow Generics. Tabatznik sold Arrow Generics to a U.S. firm for $1.75 billion. ^{12 13 14}

Grantmaking

The Bertha Foundation has made grants to groups including Equal Education and the United Workers Association. ¹⁵

1. “Home.” Bertha Foundation. Accessed August 21, 2024. https://berthafoundation.org/.
2. “The Battle for Narrative:” Bertha Foundation. Accessed August 21, 2024. https://berthafoundation.org/story/the-battle-for-narrative/.
3. CA Global. “South African Billionaires on the UK Rich List 2019.” CA Global. Accessed August 21, 2024. https://www.caglobalint.com/post/south-african-billionaires-on-the-uk-rich-list-2019-1/.
4. “How the Bertha Foundation Has Transformed the Global Nonfiction Media Landscape.” International Documentary Association, December 7, 2015. https://www.documentary.org/online-feature/how-bertha-foundation-has-transformed-global-nonfiction-media-landscape.
5. “Activists.” Bertha Foundation. Accessed August 21, 2024. https://berthafoundation.org/activists/#berthachallenge.
6. Sammy. “The Watershed Center: A Home for Movements.” Bertha Foundation, February 21, 2018. https://berthafoundation.org/watershed-center-home-movements/.
7. “Lawyers.” Bertha Foundation. Accessed August 21, 2024. https://berthafoundation.org/lawyers/
8. “Lawyers.” Bertha Foundation. Accessed August 21, 2024. https://berthafoundation.org/lawyers/.
9. “Lawyers.” Bertha Foundation. Accessed August 21, 2024. https://berthafoundation.org/lawyers/.
10. “Laura Templeton Horwitz.” LinkedIn . Accessed August 21, 2024. https://www.linkedin.com/in/laura-horwitz.
11. “Rebecca Lichtenfeld.” Fine Acts. Accessed August 21, 2024. https://fineacts.co/rebecca-lichtenfeld.
12. “The Battle for Narrative:” Bertha Foundation. Accessed August 21, 2024. https://berthafoundation.org/story/the-battle-for-narrative/.
13. CA Global. “South African Billionaires on the UK Rich List 2019.” CA Global. Accessed August 21, 2024. https://www.caglobalint.com/post/south-african-billionaires-on-the-uk-rich-list-2019-1/.
14. “How the Bertha Foundation Has Transformed the Global Nonfiction Media Landscape.” International Documentary Association, December 7, 2015. https://www.documentary.org/online-feature/how-bertha-foundation-has-transformed-global-nonfiction-media-landscape.
15. “Bertha Blog Activists.” Bertha Foundation. Accessed August 21, 2024. https://berthafoundation.org/story/activists-blog/.