Preparation and planning
We created this toolkit to share the process of the Collaboration Grants: how Fenomenal Funds supported and accompanied the women’s fund members of the Prospera International Network of Women’s Funds to form Collaboration Groups, co-create collaboration plans, and implement them together. The process was completed over nine months in 2022, culminating in the formation of 13 Collaboration Groups ¹, which then received funding to collaborate over 24 months beginning in 2023.
The Collaboration Grants process served as a powerful experience for women’s funds, and both those who participated and those who heard about it wanted a how-to guide to facilitate similar processes—and so this is our offering.
While initially designed for grantmakers, the principles and strategies outlined in this toolkit are broadly applicable to non-funders interested in supporting or developing collaborative initiatives. This adaptability makes the toolkit a versatile resource for a wide range of organizations and individuals committed to fostering impactful collaboration.
The toolkit provides an overview of each component of the Collaboration Grants process in three downloadable sets of documents:
Preparation and Planning Guidelines
Creating Space for Exploration (Discover), Co-Creation (Define), and Finalization (Refine)
Supporting, Reflecting, and Learning Guidelines
In these documents, you will find the rationale and guidelines to create your own process, and for inspiration, we have included the tools we used along the way, which can be adapted for use.
We hope you find this useful as you consider how to support your partners to collaborate!
¹In 2022, the Collaboration Grants process resulted in the formation of 13 Collaboration Groups. In response to increased interest and a shift in funding strategy, two pre-existing collaboratives—On the Right Track and the Alliance of Women’s and Feminist Funds of Latin America and the Caribbean—were awarded Collaboration Grants funding in January 2023 to support their ongoing work, without participating in the Collaboration Lab process.
Preparation and planning
Creating space for exploration (discover), co-creation (define), and finalization (refine)
Supporting, reflecting and learning guidelines
Fenomenal Funds is a feminist funder collaborative using pooled funding, a shared governance model, and participatory grantmaking to support the resilience of the women’s funds who are members of the Prospera International Network of Women’s Funds. Cite as: Fenomenal Funds. (2025). Fenomenal Funds Collaboration Grants: A resource toolkit for supporting and funding collaborative initiatives. Washington, DC: Fenomenal Funds.
We would like to acknowledge and thank the Fenomenal Funds community for their contributions to the design and implementation of the Collaboration Grants:
1. The staff team, who operationalized and supported this process: Ledys Sanjuan Mejía, Phoebe So, Shama Dossa, and Zanele Sibanda
2. The facilitation and documentation team, who held the space for the women’s funds:
3. The graphic illustrators, who captured the ideas and concepts of the Collaboration Groups beautifully: Carlotta Cataldi, Pei Yu Lee, Zulma Sofía Patarroyo, Naadira Patel, and Fernanda de Uriarte
4. The translators and interpreters, who made it possible for the women’s funds to connect to each other in rich and meaningful ways
5. Ubolsiri Racharaks (Ja), who meticulously copyedited the toolkit and maintained consistency between the sections
6. Communications Specialist, Amanda Mercedes Gigler, and Coordinator, June Ko, who provided valuable inputs and designed the layout of the toolkit, ensuring that it was accessible and visually engaging
7. Rochelle Jones, who thoughtfully edited this toolkit and brought this resource to life