Traditional philanthropy can resemble an old boys’ club. Only 0.42%—less than half of 1%—of all foundation grants are dedicated to women's rights. And other historically marginalized groups (especially those led by LGBTQIA+ people, Indigenous people, migrants and refugees, young feminists, and sex workers) are funded even less.
As a feminist funder, we take a different approach. Think less top-down decision making, exploitation, and poverty porn; and more solidarity, trust, and building collective power.
We aim to provide general operating support grants—unrestricted, flexible money—to cover the real costs of social justice work. We offer multi-year grants so that groups can plan long-term. And instead of dictating priorities, we follow grantee partners’ leadership, supporting them in addressing needs, opportunities, and challenges as they arise, on their own terms.
We are flipping the script on traditional philanthropy, and shifting power to historically marginalized communities.
Our movement-led approach
Our movement-led approach recognizes grassroots people power as one of the most effective mechanisms to create and sustain long-term social transformation. Movements have led to more egalitarian workplace regulations, more equitable land rights, better access to financial institutions, expanded legal protections for domestic workers, and stronger laws against sexual harassment. Yet movements are consistently under-resourced, and funders have struggled to effectively meet their needs.
Under our new FY21-24 Strategic Plan, we are doubling down on our mission to provide more money, resources, and decision-making power to movements and shift power toward women, girls, and all marginalized people worldwide.
If you have questions about our approach, please email us at [email protected].