The Foundation supports research and investigations into the causes and effects of the exploitation of natural resources by public and private entities throughout the world, specifically where such exploitation is used to fund conflict, human rights abuses and corruption.
These objectives are fulfilled by donating funds to Global Witness.
All USD donations made to the Global Witness Foundation will be tax-deductible to the full extent allowed by law. Global Witness Foundation will provide acknowledgement of the donation for the donor's tax records.
The IRS form 990 for Global Witness Foundation can be viewed here.
The Foundation has three directors, one of whom is also a director of Global Witness.
Stafford Matthews, Chair of the Global Witness Foundation
Stafford Matthews represents technology and industrial companies in the strategic development and exploitation of intellectual properties and products, complex contract negotiations and dispute resolution. His practice focuses on the licensing and transfer of IP rights and technologies in domestic and international markets; providing forensic advice on contentious contractual issues; establishing and enforcing distribution systems for products and services; antitrust and unfair competition matters in the US and the European Union; and the negotiation of cross-border alliances and other business structures. He also focuses on representing emerging growth technology companies in venture financing and strategic transactions.
Stafford is dual qualified as an English solicitor and a US lawyer and has extensive experience in both European and Asian markets.
He is the managing partner of the Silicon Valley office of Dentons.
Bennett Freeman
Over the last 15 years of a three decade-long career, Bennett Freeman has worked at the intersection of multinational companies, responsible investors, NGOs, governments and international institutions to promote corporate responsibility, sustainability and human rights around the world. An innovative leader in the fields of business and human rights, natural resource governance and responsible investment, he has played key roles in developing and leading several now well-established multi-stakeholder initiatives and global standards.
Bennett is the current chair of the Global Witness Advisory Board.
Patrick Alley
Since co-founding Global Witness and posing as a timber buyer in Global Witness's first investigation into the Thai Khmer Rouge timber trade in 1995, Patrick has taken part in over fifty field investigations in South East Asia, Africa and Europe and in subsequent advocacy activities.
Patrick has worked on Global Witness’s campaigns on conflict resources, notably former Liberian President Charles Taylor’s ‘arms for timber’ trade, the minerals trade in Eastern DRC and more recently the Central African Republic, as well as providing strategic direction for Global Witness’s work on forest issues, especially challenging industrial scale logging and land grabbing in the tropics.
Patrick is currently leading Global Witness's research into the failure of the predominant economic model to address inequality and environmental damage - two of the most urgent and critical issues of our time. In addition, he is involved in the strategic leadership of Global Witness.
Photo credit: "US Capitol" by Katie Harbath / CC BY-NC-SA 2.0