The Heat Initiative is a fiscally sponsored project of the nonprofit Hopewell Fund, a nonprofit managed by philanthropic consulting firm Arabella Advisors. ¹

The organization launched a high-profile campaign against Apple’s encryption policies, advocating for scanning iCloud files to detect child sexual abuse material (CSAM). Critics argue that this campaign represents an effort to undermine consumer privacy and expand surveillance capabilities, with significant implications for civil liberties. Apple rejected Heath Initiative’s proposal, warning it would create dangerous backdoors into user data. ²

Campaigns

As part of Heat Initiatives efforts to combat online child abuse, the group co-signed a letter on AI and children’s safety, entitled the National Declaration on AI and Kids’ Safety. ³

Heat Initiative’s Apple Campaign seeks to pressure the tech company by running a multifaceted campaign including aerial banners, full-page ads in the New York Times, as well as mobile billboards urging Apple to scan its users’ private data. ^{1 4}

The Heat Initiative’s campaign against Meta, the parent company of Facebook and Instagram, calls for stronger protections for children online. Their demands include stopping the promotion of harmful content to kids, preventing sexual predators from accessing Meta platforms to exploit minors, and ensuring prompt, transparent responses to children’s reports of unsafe content or interactions. ⁵

Financials

The Heat Initiative launched in 2023 with a budget of $2 million from donors such as the Children’s Investment Fund Foundation and the Oak Foundation USA. ²

The Heat Initiative is a fiscally sponsored project of the Hopewell Fund. In 2023, the Hopewell Fund reported total revenue of $157,709,416 and total expenses of $156,563,563, resulting in a net income of $1,145,853. The majority of revenue came from contributions, which totaled $152,170,198 and accounted for 96.5 percent of total revenue. The organization reported negative net fundraising income of -$294,990. ⁶

Among its notable expenses, the Hopewell Fund spent $14,899,243 on salaries and wages (9.5 percent of total expenses), $102,967 on professional fundraising fees, and just $6,230 on executive compensation. The organization ended the year with $170,485,420 in total assets and $153,468,332 in net assets after accounting for $17,017,088 in liabilities. ⁶

People

The executive director of the Heat Initiative, as of June 2025, was Sarah Gardner, who is also a co-founder of the organization. ^{7 8}

Lily Rhodes is a co-founder and was working as the Heat Initiative’s director of strategy and operations as of 2025. ⁸

Both Gardner and Rhodes are formerly affiliated with Thorn, a nonprofit co-founded by actors Ashton Kutcher and Demi Moore dedicated to combatting global child sex trafficking and abuse material online. ⁹

1. Washington Reporter. “Arabella Advisors Networks Add New Astroturf Groups to Oppose Trump Tax Cuts, Convince Rural Americans to Vote for Democrats, and Attack Apple.” Washington Reporter, June 17, 2024. https://washingtonreporter.news/p/arabella-advisors-networks-adds-new-astroturf-groups-to-oppose-trump-tax-cuts-convince-rural-americans-to-vote-for-democrats-and-attack-apple.
2.  Brown, Lee Fang. “Group Attacking Apple Encryption Linked to Democratic Dark-Money Network.” The Intercept, October 1, 2023. https://theintercept.com/2023/10/01/apple-encryption-iphone-heat-initiative/.
3. The Heat Initiative. National Declaration on AI and Kids Safety. Accessed July 7, 2025. https://45545229.fs1.hubspotusercontent-na1.net/hubfs/45545229/National%20Declaration%20on%20AI%20and%20Kids%20Safety_Signed.pdf.
4. The Heat Initiative. “Apple.” Accessed July 7, 2025. https://heatinitiative.org/apple/.
5. The Heat Initiative. “Meta.” Accessed July 7, 2025. https://heatinitiative.org/meta/.
6. ProPublica. “Hopewell Fund.” Nonprofit Explorer. Accessed July 4, 2025. https://projects.propublica.org/nonprofits/organizations/473681860.
7. LinkedIn. “Sarah Gardner.” Accessed June 27, 2025. https://www.linkedin.com/in/sarah-gardner-aba90013/.
8. The Heat Initiative. “About.” Accessed July 4, 2025. https://heatinitiative.org/about/.
9. ABC News (Australia). “Ashton Kutcher Resigns from Anti-Child Sex Abuse Organisation Thorn after Backlash over Support for Danny Masterson.” ABC News, September 16, 2023. https://www.abc.net.au/news/2023-09-16/ashton-kutcher-resigns-from-thorn/102864702.