How We Work

Investment

Growing resources and transforming capital

To grow our fund, we follow a golden rule of investment – diversify. We can’t rely solely on governments with changing priorities, nor on philanthropy (which represents 2 per cent of GDP in the US – women and girls receive less than 2 per cent of that).

We must use all tools available, which is why we invest in public and private markets while improving those very mechanisms.

Our gender-aligned investment strategies are designed to work on many levels, including improving working conditions and increasing access to capital in a global financial ecosystem that has historically excluded women and LGBTQI+ people. We work with women-led firms in public and private equity, including venture capital, which powers start-ups with impact in regions where our grantmaking dollars also flow.

At the Equality Fund, we believe in systems and financial tools that protect good health, safety and security for everyone, not just the rich. By investing assets with a 100 per cent gender-aligned strategy, we invest in people and our future.

Learn more about investing

Policy and Strategic Partnerships

Unlocking money for people-powered movements

The goal of Policy and Strategic Partnerships is to advocate for systemic change by growing investments into local leaders driving social change. We achieve this through strategic discussions on policy with governments and foundations, leading with a feminist perspective.

By highlighting the critical role played by women, girls and trans-led groups, these conversations unlock funding for further investment into their work of increasing democracy, advancing human rights and addressing the most pressing challenges of our time.

The Equality Fund launched in 2019 with an investment from the Canadian government. The UK government followed their lead and we have since secured a new partnership with a third G7 country. We have also established partnerships with at least two dozen global foundations, including Ford Foundation, Oak Foundation, and Fondation CHANEL.

Our partnerships are creating new pathways to fund grassroots organizations. We have successfully advocated for increased climate funding to the Middle East and North Africa region and flexible, humanitarian resources to women in Sudan. Women’s and feminist groups challenge harmful norms and behaviours, provide critical interventions and help make climate advances stick. We make clear cases of support through highlighting impact, data and political context to create new opportunities for funding, getting the money to where it’s needed most.

Learn more about Policy and Strategic Partnerships

Philanthropy

A community of changemakers

At the Equality Fund, philanthropy is about solidarity and shared purpose. Coming together to raise and move money is essential. It’s how we can help sustain people-powered movements. In a time of massive disruption to foreign aid, we offer individuals from all walks of life a way to step in and act.

Through philanthropy, we can advance our common goals and improve human rights for women, girls and trans people around the world.

Philanthropic funding plays a distinct role:

• It moves first and fast: Philanthropy can respond quickly when help is needed, without the delay or limits that often come from large funders and governments.
• It backs bold ideas early: Philanthropy can support local solutions before others are ready to fund them — helping show what’s possible and attract wider support.
• It gets money where it’s needed most: Flexible giving allows support to reach partners quickly, when and where it matters.

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Grantmaking

Putting money in the hands of people with local solutions

Our organization exists to move resources to women, girls and trans people in the Global South, specifically ODA countries, because gender equality is an evidence-backed strategy for prosperity and peace. Abundant funding is one element that strengthens people-powered movements.

There is no shortage of global crises, nor local women leaders who have solutions. They are already doing the work but they need more resources to scale their effort.

Our grantmaking dollars flow directly to organizations or to local, regional and global funds such as the African Women’s Development Fund, a foundational partner. We direct resources to organizations with gender equality at their core, which remain underfunded and often shut out by other, more restrictive funding models.

The money we flow is flexible and multi-year and put to work in the following ways:

• Fighting gender-based violence
• Sexual and reproductive health and rights
• LGBTQI+ rights
• Crisis response
• Democracy and political participation
• Climate and Indigenous land rights

Read Stories of Impact

Convenings

When we move together, we move the world

If we want a just, sustainable and thriving future for everyone, we need to work together. This is complex and multifaceted work. It simply won’t happen if we stay in silos. This is why we prioritize building connections and relationships, including with our local, regional and global fund partners.

Increasingly, our world is losing touch with the power of in-person gathering. However, innovation can only come from one source – people. We are committed to surfacing ideas from the margins of power to build on solutions, accelerate field-building and create systems change.

This is why we dedicate funding to the work of convening people, bringing together unlikely allies from activism, finance and policy, to share strategies on social justice and human rights. Achieving gender equality will require work between individuals, groups and nations. We power that work together, one convening at a time.

Read more about our events