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. What emerged were two collaborations:
Tag: feminist funding
Participatory Grantmaking
The participatory grantmaking (PGM) collaboration involved four women’s funds—Women First International Fund, Women Win, Women’s Fund Asia, and Fondo Semillas. Their work was organic and evolved after the initial 13 groups were formed through the Collaboration Labs.
Narrative Power
Two collaborations—the Alliance of Women’s and Feminist Funds of Latin America and the Caribbean (the Alliance) and On the Right Track (OTRT)—illustrated different approaches to narrative power in feminist movements. The grant enabled the Alliance to document its history and shape the narrative of its contributions, while OTRT supported the work of three European and two Latin American funds. OTRT has worked for five years to shape narratives that expand democracy and oppose fundamentalisms, fake news, and hate speech. Both collaborations were preexisting but support from Fenomenal Funds provided resources to further solidify their relationships, allowing them to intentionally move towards their shared goals and vision.
Feminist Organizational Development
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.
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.
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.
Explorations in Transformative Feminist Leadership by Women’s Funds
This blog brings together the reflections and discussions by the women’s funds working on transformative feminist leadership as part of the Fenomenal Funds Collaboration Grants.