Feminist Alchemy

In 2020, while the world reeled from the new reality of the Covid-19 pandemic, the crises continued compounding: Gender-based violence skyrocketed. Access to abortion shrank. Conflicts erupted. Climate disasters struck. Faced with a world in crisis, feminists came together to answer an urgent question: How do we meet the immense needs emerging in this moment?

Out of these conversations, Feminist Alchemy was born.

Feminist Alchemy is a diverse community of practice that includes fifteen global, regional, and national feminist funds who respond to crises. We know that none of us can take on the world’s crises alone. But together, we are setting in motion the strategies and actions to not only meet immediate needs, but to transform the conditions that cause and exacerbate crises in the first place.

Feminist Crisis Response Blueprint

To better understand feminist crisis response within the humanitarian and crisis response sectors, Feminist Alchemy engaged in a research process to ground its work. Through this research, we sought to answer: What does it mean to respond to a crisis with a feminist lens? What role do feminist funders play in crisis response? And how can others in the humanitarian aid sector learn from and integrate feminist crisis response practices into their work?

After years of work, we are excited to announce the launch of our report: A Blueprint for Feminist Crisis Response.

This report explores how feminist principles can enhance crisis response within humanitarian and crisis sectors by analyzing research from 73 organizations. It aims to clarify the role of feminist approaches in crisis response and guide integration of these principles across the sector.