Courage Foundation

The Courage Foundation is an international organisation based in Germany, the UK and the US that supports whistleblowers and journalists by fundraising for their legal defence.

Founded on August 9, 2013, as the Journalistic Source Protection Defence Fund by Gavin MacFadyen, Barbora Bukovska and Julian Assange it later rebranded in June 2014.

WikiLeaks section editor Sarah Harrison served as acting director from 2014 until April 2017, when WikiLeaks became a Courage beneficiary and Naomi Colvin began serving as director. Colvin served as director until 2018. The trustees include Pentagon Papers whistleblower Daniel Ellsberg, former NSA executive Thomas Drake, former MI5 British intelligence officer and whistleblower Annie Machon, Vice President of the Wau Holland Foundation Andy Müller-Maguhn, Guatemala human rights lawyer Renata Ávila, and some members of Pussy Riot.

The Courage Foundation supports Julian Assange and WikiLeaks. The Courage Foundation supported Edward Snowden (NSA whistleblower), Jeremy Hammond (Stratfor hacktivist), Matt DeHart, Lauri Love and Chelsea Manning.

The Courage trustees are Susan Benn, and John Pilger. Renata Ávila was a trustee before retiring in April 2018 and Dame Vivienne Westwood was a trustee before she died.

In October 2019, a former Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) employee later identified as Brendan Whelan presented his dissent with the OPCW's findings about the investigation of the Douma chemical attack. Members of the Courage Foundation who attended included Kristinn Hrafnsson, Jose Bustani, Helmut Lohre and Gunter Meyer. Courage Foundation published the Statement of Concern at the same time as "Berlin Group 21", which was allegedly created as a front for the Working Group on Syria, Propaganda and Media. Whelan later leaked OPCW documents to WikiLeaks.

In November 2022, the Courage Foundation's website went offline.