Frequently asked questions

  • How was the idea of FIND conceived?

    FIND grew out of Louisa Leeper’s efforts to assist UK-based charities with anti-trafficking and international crimes work. Realising the impact of commercial investigative experience in the human rights space, Louisa connected with former colleague Nick Bortman who had previously consulted for the International Criminal Court on a pro-bono basis, as well as co-founded Raedas Consulting Ltd, a top ranked London-based investigations firm specializing in complex disputes work. Louisa and Nick raised the idea with Simon Lawton, an entrepreneur with an extensive track record as a finance director and as the founder of the charitable arm of an educational services company. Together they set up FIND in 2020, thanks to a start-up donation from Raedas of £22,000. Chris Delaney joined the team in 2021 and runs the organisation with Louisa on a day-to-day basis.

  • What is the relationship between FIND and Raedas today?

    FIND operations are distinct from Raedas, which nonetheless provides charitable, in-kind support as well as pro-bono hours contributed by its staff. FIND is grateful for this ongoing support.

    As FIND grows, it has ambitions to involve other individuals and firms with private sector investigative experience.

  • What makes FIND a non-profit organisation?

    FIND is a company limited by guarantee without share capital, a common structure for non-profits, registered in England and Wales. Its non-profit status is written into its articles of association, which also state that on dissolution, FIND’s net assets must be transferred exclusively for charitable purposes.

    In November 2021, FIND was certified as equivalent to a US public charity.

  • How does FIND fund itself?

    FIND is funded through its investigative and training work which is charged out at cost, in addition to grant funding from Open Society Foundations.

  • How does FIND charge for its services?

    FIND charges its time at cost making its services as accessible as possible. FIND has a fixed day rate which is broken down into investigators’ salaries and on-costs, and overheads. Expenses for its investigations are charged separately.

  • Does FIND work on behalf of private sector clients?

    FIND works exclusively for charities, NGOs and inter-governmental organisations. In some cases, private sector entities may fund FIND related matters directly or indirectly as part of their own CSR initiatives.