Legal defense, field support, and digital rights work for journalists, researchers, whistleblowers, and other public-interest voices facing retaliation for documented work.
Independent. Non-profit. Governed by its own board.
Every investigation carries a cost beyond the reporting itself. When journalists, researchers, and whistleblowers face retaliation, the cost is often financial, legal, and personal, all at once. Support usually arrives after the damage is done. The North Star Foundation exists to close that gap.
Retaliation for documented work rarely shows up as a single event. An account gets suspended. A platform demonetizes. A job disappears. The legal bill comes after, once the income already has, and it tends to come at the worst possible moment.
Legal aid for press freedom exists, but it's stretched thin and slow to reach people in the first weeks after they're targeted, exactly when the damage compounds fastest.
The North Star Foundation exists to close that gap. Not to replace the organizations already doing this work, but to move faster, in the window that matters most, for people who documented something true and are now paying for it.
Retaining counsel, covering court costs, and funding appeals for people facing prosecution, detention, or civil suits tied to their documented work.
Safety relocation, medical costs, and basic living support for people who lose income or safety because of their work.
Covering the legal and administrative cost of appealing account suspensions, demonetization, and deplatforming.
The Foundation is governed by its own board, currently being formed. Once seated, the board holds sole authority over how funds are allocated.
We're finalizing our board, governance, and legal structure before accepting donations. Leave your email and we'll let you know the moment we're ready. We'll only use it to send updates about the Foundation.
Thank you. We'll be in touch when donations open.