The Trust for TBIJ
The Trust for the Bureau of Investigative Journalism is an independent charity (1179275) established in 2018. It exists to support charitable elements of the Bureau’s work and mission to keep democracy strong, hold power accountable and make societies more just through investigative journalism.
The Trust makes grants to support charitable activities that inform communities and enable people to participate as active citizens. The Trust’s income comes from donations by individuals and grants from trusts and foundations. It is registered with the UK Charity Commission and donations to the Trust can be made tax-efficiently.
The Board of Trustees is chaired by Sir David Bell and its members come from various backgrounds, with one unifying passion for investigative journalism and its significance in relation to transparency at a local, national and global level.
The Trust supports the Bureau in promoting civic values for the good our society, bringing more clarity and public understanding to complex systems and processes, and driving change for affected communities by informing the work of charities and other civil society organisations in the relevant areas.
Editorial independence is guaranteed by the Bureau of Investigative Journalism’s constitution. The Bureau CEO’s decision is final and independent of any influence from funders including the Trust.
You can learn more about the Trust by visiting its page on the Charity Commission website.
For more information please contact Leah Tronel, the Bureau’s Development Director: leahtronel@tbij.com
Meet the Trustees
Sir David Bell: Sir David Bell is a non executive director of the Economist. He retired as a director of Pearson plc and Chairman of the Financial Times at the end of 2009 after thirteen years on the Board.
David was appointed Chief Executive of the Financial Times in 1993 and became Chairman in 1996. In July 1998 he was also appointed Pearson’s Director for People with responsibility for the recruitment, motivation, development and reward of employees across the Pearson Group & in June 2003 he became Chairman of Pearson Inc in New York.
In addition to this he is Chairman of Sadler’s Wells, Chair of Council, Roehampton University, Chairman of the London Transport Museum, Chairman of the Transformation Trust, Chairman, Rare Recruitment, Chair of Bath Mozartfest, Chair of Cambridge University Press, Chairman of Chapel Street Community Schools Trust and Chair of The Institute of War & Peace Reporting Europe. He is also a trustee of the Esmee Fairbairn Foundation, Pearson Group Pension, Worth School, Cornerstone Property Assets, the Bureau for Investigative Journalism, Girl Hub and the Centre for the Study of Financial Innovation {CSFI,} and a member of the Honorary Council of the Royal National Theatre. In 2011-2012 David was an Assessor on the Leveson Inquiry into the Culture, Practice and Ethics of the Press. Between 1995-2002 he was Chairman of the Millennium Bridge Trust, responsible for conceiving the first new bridge across the Thames in the centre of London for 100 years and between 2002-2012 he was Chairman of the national homelessness charity, Crisis.
David received his knighthood for services to industry, the arts and charity.
Geoffrey Robertson KC: Geoffrey Robertson KC has had a distinguished career as a trial and appellate counsel in Britain and in international courts, and as a UN appeal judge, the first president of its war crimes court in Sierra Leone. He is founder and joint head of Doughty Street Chambers, Europe’s largest human rights practice, a master of the Middle Temple and a former trustee of the Institute of Contemporary Arts. His book Crimes Against Humanity: The Struggle for Global Justice has been an inspiration for the global justice movement, and in 2011 he received the New York Bar Association’s Award for Distinction in International Law and Affairs. In 2018, he was awarded the Order of Australia for services to human rights. His autobiography, Rather His Own Man: In Court with Tyrants, Tarts and Troublemakers, was published by Biteback (UK) and Penguin Random House (Australia) in 2018.
Jodie Ginsberg: Jodie Ginsberg is the president of the Committee to Protect Journalists. A journalist by profession, Ginsberg joined CPJ in 2022 from Internews Europe, where she was the chief executive officer. Ginsberg began her career as a graduate trainee with Reuters news agency, working as a commodities reporter before taking up a posting as a foreign correspondent in Johannesburg, South Africa, where she focused on the region’s financial sector. She subsequently worked as Reuters’ chief correspondent in Ireland, based in Dublin, and then bureau chief for the U.K. and Ireland. As bureau chief, Ginsberg managed coverage of the 2008 financial crisis, U.K. riots and 2010 general election, as well as overseeing the merger of the Thomson and Reuters U.K. newsrooms. In 2014, Ginsberg was appointed chief executive of London-based freedom of expression group Index on Censorship, which she led until 2020. An internationally respected campaigner on issues of media freedom and freedom of expression, Ginsberg is a regular speaker on journalist safety and issues involving access to information. From 2020 to 2022, she was chief executive of Internews Europe, a media development non-profit, and has served on the boards of the Global Network Initiative and The Trust for the Bureau of Investigative Journalism and as a Council member of IFEX, the international network for freedom of expression organisations. Ginsberg has a BA in English Literature from the University of Cambridge and a postgraduate diploma in newspaper journalism from City, University of London.
Conor McCarthy: Conor’s practice encompasses public law, civil claims and international law. He is regularly instructed in complex disputes, both public and commercial, across chambers’ core areas of work. He has particular expertise in the areas of competition law, data protection and in claims involving issues of public or private international law or civil liberties.
He has substantial experience of multi-jurisdictional commercial and competition disputes, often being instructed in matters raising issues of jurisdiction, applicable law or international enforcement. He also has expertise in international trade law and sanctions. He has been instructed in cases before both domestic and international courts and tribunals, including the International Court of Justice. He was appointed independent expert to the Council of Europe Parliamentary Assembly Hearing on Sanctions.
Prior to coming to the bar, Conor was a fellow of the British Institute of International and Comparative Law and taught international law at Cambridge University. He has published widely on issues of international law
We are extremely grateful to all those who fund our work through the Trust:
The David & Elaine Potter Foundation
The Hollick Family Foundation
The John Ellerman Foundation
