Dear Friends and Colleagues,

As we embark on our final year of Fenomenal Funds’ journey, we are thrilled to re-introduce the Resilience Grants report, and new graphic explainers, a testament to the power of collaboration, trust, and solidarity in feminist funding. This report showcases our bold, ground-breaking participatory grantmaking experiment and highlights the value of providing flexible, core multi-year support to women’s and feminist funds.

The Resilience Grants are a cornerstone of Fenomenal Funds’ work, born out of a desire to reimagine power dynamics in feminist funding. With the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, compounded by the devastating impacts of wars, climate crises, the rise of anti-rights movements, and widespread economic disparities, the Resilience Grants underscored the critical importance of flexible, responsive funding.

In the face of this polycrisis, women’s funds demonstrated remarkable agility and resilience, swiftly adapting their strategies and interventions to meet the urgent and evolving needs of their communities. The Resilience Grants have and continue to play a crucial role in supporting women’s funds to navigate these turbulent times, ensuring access to necessary resources and the autonomy to respond effectively to the challenges affecting the lives of women, girls, and gender-diverse people across the globe.

This has been a transformative journey for all involved, enabling women’s and feminist funds to invest in their organizational infrastructure and build resilience in the face of unprecedented challenges. From investing in staff well-being and remote work infrastructure to expanding their resource mobilization efforts and establishing financial reserves, these organizations have shown remarkable adaptability and strategic foresight. 

Together, we have demonstrated that by reimagining power dynamics and embracing a feminist, participatory approach to grant-making, we can build a more resilient and equitable future for all.

Moving forward, we invite you to continue to engage with the insights and ethos of Fenomenal Funds, acknowledging the crucial role philanthropy plays in resourcing and sustaining the feminist funding ecosystem. Join us in celebrating the achievements and learnings of this extraordinary initiative as we enter our sunset year. Through a series of events, webinars, publications, and digital campaigns, we will showcase the enduring impact of our collaborative efforts and share valuable insights with the broader philanthropic community. Our hope is that the experiences and wisdom of the women’s and feminist funds and the movements we serve will inspire grantmakers and funder-organizers to push boundaries, challenge norms and work to fund and sustain gender justice work around the world.

We are grateful for your continued support and look forward to making the most of our final year with optimism and determination

With gratitude and hope,

Phoebe and Shama
Co-Leads, Fenomenal Funds