The practice of feminist organizational development anchored the work of two collaborations: Calala Fondo de Mujeres and Mediterranean Women’s Fund: Because both funds face similar movement contexts and demands for stronger feminist funding infrastructure, they focused on what they could learn together about the contribution of transformative feminist leadership to organizational evolutions. Astraea Lesbian Foundation for Justice, International Indigenous Women’s Forum, and Women Win: These funds focused on collective learning to embed intersectional feminism and decolonization in their organizational structures, processes, operations, grantmaking, advocacy, and programs.
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Feminist Funds Database
Two collaborations aimed to enhance grantmaking by systematizing processes through the use of cloud-based customer relationship management software. The Global Fund for Women, alongside the Secretariat of the Prospera International Network of Women’s Funds, developed the open-source system to facilitate women’s funds to make grantmaking and data analysis more efficient and accessible. Initially, this group was set up as one large collaborative, but discussions emerging from initial meetings demonstrated the need to divide the group based on their needs and knowledge of the topic.
Resource Mobilization
Two collaborations were formed on resource mobilization. The Collaborative Learning on Resource Mobilization brought together Calala Fondo de Mujeres, Women First International Fund, Reconstruction Women’s Fund, Ecumenical Women’s Initiative, ELAS+, and Doria Feminist Fund to enhance resource mobilization strategies, focusing particularly on ethically aligned corporate partnerships. A second collaboration involved three diverse funds strategizing on resource mobilization approaches in restrictive political contexts.
Feminist Monitoring, Evaluation, Accountability, and Learning
The Feminist Monitoring, Evaluation, Accountability, and Learning (FMEAL) Collaboration Initiative brought together four national women’s funds and eight partners, with two from each fund. The decision to include movement partners was unique in the Collaboration Labs. The results demonstrate the value of broader stakeholder participation and the ability to work together with movement partners to generate knowledge, share power, and take action.
Collective Care
In the context of a polycrisis, many partners recognized the importance of connection, relationship building, and seeding their commitment to collective care. Collective care challenges dominant ideologies and promotes radical transformation. Feminist perspectives argue that well-being is essential for activism and movement building. Collective care involves transforming systems of oppression and should be flexible to local contexts. Four Fenomenal Funds Collaboration Labs focused on collective care and feminist healing.
The Impact of Shared Narratives: What We Learned from Collaboration
As part of the Fenomenal Funds Collaboration Grants (link to the intro blog), FemFund (Poland), Women’s Fund Armenia, and Women’s Fund in Georgia came together to form a collaborative on healing spaces. In this blog post, we tell you all about this collaboration and what it hopes to achieve. The work of this group is also connected to the broader theme of collective care, which is being addressed by three other collaboratives.
Slipping Into A Virtual Void: The Pitfalls of Online Facilitation
As part of the Fenomenal Funds Collaboration Grants (link to the intro blog), FemFund (Poland), Women’s Fund Armenia, and Women’s Fund in Georgia came together to form a collaborative on healing spaces. In this blog post, we tell you all about this collaboration and what it hopes to achieve. The work of this group is also connected to the broader theme of collective care, which is being addressed by three other collaboratives.
Out of Depth: The Challenges of Creating Collaborations Virtually
As part of the Fenomenal Funds Collaboration Grants (link to the intro blog), FemFund (Poland), Women’s Fund Armenia, and Women’s Fund in Georgia came together to form a collaborative on healing spaces. In this blog post, we tell you all about this collaboration and what it hopes to achieve. The work of this group is also connected to the broader theme of collective care, which is being addressed by three other collaboratives.
Feminist Evaluation and Learning
How do feminist perspectives transform the concepts, practices, and relationships in evaluation and learning? In this unique collaboration, eight movement partners and four national women’s funds explore a feminist approach to evaluation and learning to deepen insights into how gender equality change happens.
Collective Care as Politics and Practice
As part of the Fenomenal Funds Collaboration Grants (link to the intro blog), FemFund (Poland), Women’s Fund Armenia, and Women’s Fund in Georgia came together to form a collaborative on healing spaces. In this blog post, we tell you all about this collaboration and what it hopes to achieve. The work of this group is also connected to the broader theme of collective care, which is being addressed by three other collaboratives.