Funding feminist movements: resources for funders
What does it mean to fund feminist movements to tackle gender inequality?
At Lucent, we have had the privilege of working with a range of organisations that are directly challenging gender inequality in the UK and globally. We have been particularly inspired by the impact on women and girls’ lives when donors, services and communities come together in true partnership to tackle the issues people are facing. We’ve also seen the power of feminist movements that are pushing back around the world on increasingly powerful anti-rights forces.
Through our work, we often hear from funders who want to support these progressive efforts, but they don’t know where to start or how to adapt their traditional funding practices.
And we know that it can feel overwhelming when you don’t know where to begin. If you want to learn more and be inspired and challenged, we’d suggest diving into these three resources as a great place to start:
These feminist funding principles from the Astraea give a short but powerful overview of what it takes to support frontline activists achieve social change.
Shake the Table and the Bridgespan Group recently released Lighting the Way, which highlights five actions philanthropic organisations can take to support feminist movements. The report also includes a rich list of further resources.
If you have questions about the impact of feminist movements (and have been too afraid to ask), Mama Cash has a good literature review that looks at the evidence on how feminist activism is advancing women’s rights.
We hope you enjoy finding out more. And if you’d like to take the first steps in funding women and girls’ rights, don’t hesitate to get in touch with us on hello@lucentconsultancy.co.uk.