PLATINUM2023

Thorn

Until every child can simply be a kid.

aka Thorn: Digital Defenders of Children   |   El Segundo, CA   |  www.thorn.org

Mission

Thorn builds technology to defend children from sexual abuse. We believe that every child has the right to be safe, to be curious, to be happy. We work with the sharpest minds from tech, non-profit, government and law enforcement to stop the spread of child sexual abuse material, stand up to child traffickers and uncover new kinds of abuse. Technology is a powerful tool. We choose to use it for good. Our programs and products find child abuse victims faster, make online environments safer, and deter criminal behavior.

Ruling year info

2010

CEO

Julie Cordua

Founder

Ashton Kutcher

Main address

222 Pacific Coast Highway 10th Floor

El Segundo, CA 90245 USA

Show more contact info

Formerly known as

The Demi and Ashton (DNA) Foundation

EIN

27-0943677

NTEE code info

Victims' Services (P62)

IRS filing requirement

This organization is required to file an IRS Form 990 or 990-EZ.

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Communication

Blog

Programs and results

What we aim to solve

SOURCE: Self-reported by organization

The rise of the internet has done for child sexual abusers the exact same thing it has done for everyone else - made it easier to share images, and build a community. There is a small group of people abusing our children, and we are a large community standing in strong opposition. We believe that technology is a tool, one we can use for incredible good. Thorn is a team of issue experts, business leaders, and engineers who build technology to defend children from sexual abuse. We are dedicated to ending child sex trafficking and eliminating child sexual abuse from the internet, and we won’t stop until every child can simply be a kid.

Our programs

SOURCE: Self-reported by organization

What are the organization's current programs, how do they measure success, and who do the programs serve?

Research

Research programs to better understand the role of technology in child sex trafficking.

Population(s) Served
Children and youth

Thorn runs the country’s most extensive online deterrence program, communicating directly with people searching for CSAM, disrupting their sense of anonymity and encouraging them to seek help.

Population(s) Served
Adults

In 2013, we published the first version of The Thorn Sound Practices Guide, which educates companies about proven practices, tools and resources that exist to identify, remove, report and prevent child sexual abuse material and abusive behavior on their platforms.

Population(s) Served
Adults

Law enforcement doesn’t have enough time to navigate the online commercial sex market to find children and identify their traffickers. Our tools take massive amounts of data and turns it into an asset for law enforcement.

Population(s) Served
Children and youth

Where we work

Our results

SOURCE: Self-reported by organization

How does this organization measure their results? It's a hard question but an important one.

Number of customers

This metric is no longer tracked.
Totals By Year
Related Program

Facilitating Industry Collaboration

Type of Metric

Output - describing our activities and reach

Direction of Success

Increasing

Context Notes

Our product Safer is the first holistic solution for tech companies to detect, remove, and report child sexual abuse material at scale.

Number of child sexual abuse material files identified, removed, and reported

This metric is no longer tracked.
Totals By Year
Related Program

Law Enforcement Tools

Type of Metric

Outcome - describing the effects on people or issues

Direction of Success

Increasing

Context Notes

Viral child sexual abuse material is removed from the internet to end the cycle of trauma.

Number of children victims identified

This metric is no longer tracked.
Totals By Year
Related Program

Law Enforcement Tools

Type of Metric

Outcome - describing the effects on people or issues

Direction of Success

Increasing

Context Notes

Abused children are identified and removed from harm and their abusers are held accountable. Numbers are to date since the launch of our tool in 2014.

Percentage of agents' investigation time saved

This metric is no longer tracked.
Totals By Year
Related Program

Law Enforcement Tools

Type of Metric

Outcome - describing the effects on people or issues

Direction of Success

Increasing

Context Notes

Our tool Spotlight accelerates law enforcement’s ability to identify victims of child sex trafficking.

Number of youth reached with our prevention program

This metric is no longer tracked.
Totals By Year
Related Program

Deterrence

Type of Metric

Output - describing our activities and reach

Direction of Success

Increasing

Context Notes

Our brand NoFiltr reaches youth directly with prevention and support messaging to help them better recognize online grooming.

Goals & Strategy

SOURCE: Self-reported by organization

Learn about the organization's key goals, strategies, capabilities, and progress.

Charting impact

Four powerful questions that require reflection about what really matters - results.

Our work has three pillars and one guiding vision. To build the world we believe in, we know we must: 1) Accelerate Victim Identification 2) Make Digital Environments Safer and 3) Deter Predatory Behavior. We do all of this so every child can be safe, curious, and happy.

We are only one player in a critical ecosystem working on behalf of our children. Building is a core value that informs every strategy in our organization. We build products and tools, partnerships and communities, that support and accelerate the impact and intentions of many people who are dedicated to defending children from sexual abuse.

In addition to a powerful team of experts, we work with the sharpest minds from tech, non-profit, government, and law enforcement to stop the spread of child sexual abuse material, stand up to child traffickers, and uncover new kinds of abuse. Half of our 26 person staff are engineers and product managers focused on technology innovation and deployment. Our products would not be successful without the partnership we receive from the law enforcement users in every state, at every level of government, and in 37 other countries who use our products, give us feedback, and work tirelessly to identify children.

In the last five years, we have reached more than 2.6 million people globally through our child pornography deterrence program. Our tools are currently used by over 8,000 law enforcement officers in 37 countries, resulting in the identification of 10,000+ child sex trafficking victims and 847+ victims of child sexual abuse material.

Financials

Thorn
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Operations

The people, governance practices, and partners that make the organization tick.

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Connect with nonprofit leaders

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Build relationships with key people who manage and lead nonprofit organizations with GuideStar Pro. Try a low commitment monthly plan today.

  • Analyze a variety of pre-calculated financial metrics
  • Access beautifully interactive analysis and comparison tools
  • Compare nonprofit financials to similar organizations

Want to see how you can enhance your nonprofit research and unlock more insights? Learn More about GuideStar Pro.

Thorn

Board of directors
as of 08/08/2023
SOURCE: Self-reported by organization
Board chair

Ashton Kutcher

Thorn

Ashton Kutcher

Ray Chambers

Suzanne Bell

Ernie Allen

Vanessa Kanu

Neelie Kroes

Board leadership practices

SOURCE: Self-reported by organization

GuideStar worked with BoardSource, the national leader in nonprofit board leadership and governance, to create this section.

  • Board orientation and education
    Does the board conduct a formal orientation for new board members and require all board members to sign a written agreement regarding their roles, responsibilities, and expectations? Not applicable
  • CEO oversight
    Has the board conducted a formal, written assessment of the chief executive within the past year ? Yes
  • Ethics and transparency
    Have the board and senior staff reviewed the conflict-of-interest policy and completed and signed disclosure statements in the past year? Not applicable
  • Board composition
    Does the board ensure an inclusive board member recruitment process that results in diversity of thought and leadership? Not applicable
  • Board performance
    Has the board conducted a formal, written self-assessment of its performance within the past three years? Not applicable

Organizational demographics

SOURCE: Self-reported; last updated 6/9/2021

Who works and leads organizations that serve our diverse communities? Candid partnered with CHANGE Philanthropy on this demographic section.

Leadership

The organization's leader identifies as:

Race & ethnicity
White/Caucasian/European
Gender identity
Female, Not transgender (cisgender)
Sexual orientation
Heterosexual or straight
Disability status
Person without a disability

The organization's co-leader identifies as:

Race & ethnicity
White/Caucasian/European
Gender identity
Male, Not transgender (cisgender)
Sexual orientation
Heterosexual or straight
Disability status
Person without a disability

Race & ethnicity

No data

Gender identity

No data

 

No data

Sexual orientation

No data

Disability

No data