Future Proofing Feminist Funding in an Uncertain World

In parallel to the AWID global forum (https://forum.awid.org/) in Thailand, the Equality Fund hosted Future Proofing Feminist Funding, a gathering of more than 100 grantee partners, funders, donors, activists, and allies from across the globe.

The dialogue was a chance to explore the progress of our first five years and connect with movements on what lies ahead. In a time marked by backlash, volatility, and interlocking crises, steady resourcing for feminist movements has never been more fundamental. In ways we could not have imagined when we got our start five years ago, the Equality Fund was built for this moment. 

As our CEO Jess Tomlin said, 

Fundamentally, what we’re here to do is to create a scaled, sustainable, autonomous mechanism that is deeply accountable to movements that will stand the test of time regardless of the political winds or philanthropic trends that take and give money away to our movement work.

This gathering was part of our longstanding commitment to explore those questions in community with feminist movements. Most of all, it was a chance to see and celebrate what we’ve all built together, and what we must make possible ahead.

We’re grateful to our host, Sarah-Anne Gresham, co-founder of Intersect Antigua-Barbuda (https://www.intersectantigua.com/), an Equality Fund grantee partner and Naree Wongsachon, an Indigenous Land Rights Defender from the Urak Lawoi community in Krabi Province, Thailand, who led a powerful blessing. Our discussion was moderated by Angelika Arutynova, with panellists Theo Sowa, Equality Fund Board co-chair, Misun Woo, Regional Coordinator of APWLD (https://apwld.org/), and Jess Tomlin, our CEO.

Our global impact

At our five year mark, Equality Fund resources are surging across a vast tapestry of activism around the world. The numbers illuminate our impact:

• $100 million is flowing to 1,000 partners across 100 countries, showing the promise of our model in action. 
• Eighty percent of our funding supports self-led organizations, and one-third are unregistered or emerging groups—critical metrics that demonstrate our ability to reach organizations doing the most innovative work with the least access to traditional funding.
• A key part of our model is our investment program, which is core to creating a sustainable and independent source of resources for our movements. Since 2019, our gender-lens investment program has generated $29 million, fueled by a 6 percent rate of return per annum from our investment pool now totalling $330 million (as of September 2024).

Go inside the impact of our journey to date

Grappling with complexity and tensions

With this innovative model, there are multiple tensions to be held. One such tension: How do we meet urgent needs now, while also delivering on our core purpose to be a long-term partner to movements for years to come?

As our board chair Theo Sowa noted, our work is inherently challenging, Because part of the Equality Fund commitment is to increase the size of the pie of resources for movements rather than actually just slice everything thinner.” That demands really different ways of looking at resource mobilization.

Because part of the Equality Fund commitment is to increase the size of the pie of resources for movements rather than actually just slice everything thinner.” That demands really different ways of looking at resource mobilization.

Our investment program was born for that purpose. There’s no doubt that global financial and capitalist systems have been harmful and exploitative—as well as unreliable. Yet influencing and shifting those systems is key to unlocking net new resources and finally expanding the pie.

“Our gender-lens investment program brings us the money that helps us fund our regular, consistent, autonomous basis to our movements,” noted Sowa. “But also we’re hoping that even if we can move the investment sector by five percent into looking at gender lens investment…then actually that unlocks trillions of dollars that we otherwise have no access to at all.” 

Other forms of resource mobilization are also essential. This includes partnering with governments and engaging bilateral funding to resource movements. As we navigate those relationships, what is our north star? As Jess Tomlin said, “We do not measure ourselves on our ability to raise money for the Equality Fund. We measure ourselves on the ability for the Equality Fund to raise money for movements writ large, and that is a key performance indicator in our very complex and beautiful relationship with our government partners.”

A partner perspective: flexibility to focus on what matters most

As our work expands, what is it like to partner with the Equality Fund? How are grantee partners using our resources for maximum impact? Misun Woo, of Asia Pacific Forum on Women, Law and Development, explained how flexible funding gave her organization the freedom to decide where resources were needed most. And for them, the priority was clear: the power of convening. APWLD channeled their grant resources to support the fourth Asia Pacific Feminist Forum (https://apwld.org/events-page/apff/), where over 550 feminists and women’s activists gathered together from 35 countries and territories across the region.

“We don’t really have [many] donors to provide resources for us to convene, and that was very politically important for us,” noted Woo. “Women’s rights organisations and their movements need spaces, time, and resources to really think about what our solutions are.” Core funding to support the facilitation and planning of the forum was really important to us, she added. 

Highlighting what’s ahead

As our grantmaking continues to grow and evolve, our team also had a chance to share more about our grantmaking streams, including a new effort launched last year: Prepare. 

Guided by a dynamic advisory group, this funding is part of our broader Prepare, Respond and Care grantmaking stream to resource feminist movements as they focus on the foundational causes of crises, and collectively create innovative solutions. To date, we have funded approximately $10 million CAD to emerging and evolving responses globally addressing disasters, armed conflict, and war, as well as other crises in fragile contexts.

Drawing from an overwhelming response to our call for interest last June, our goal is to support initiatives that are contextually relevant, collaborative, and sustainable, ensuring that the solutions extend far beyond immediate needs. Stay tuned for more updates on Prepare and all of our grantmaking in the critical months ahead.

A continuing journey—and dialogue

We are proud of what we have achieved—together—in building the world’s largest feminist fund committed to resourcing movements at scale and over the long term. Even more, we are proud of the work of our grantee partners in holding the line and breaking new ground on a range of issues to support the lives, rights, and wellbeing of women, girls, and gender expansive people. Through it all, our shared learning and accountability with feminist movements will be our guide and our grounding. 

Want to join the conversation? We’ll be at the upcoming Commission on the Status of Women/Beijing +30 (https://www.unwomen.org/en/how-we-work/commission-on-the-status-of-women/csw69-2025) and we are excited to continue our dialogue.