Inside the Complex Financial World of Women’s Organizations

Association for Women’s Rights In Development (AWID) has produced a series of reports on the state of fundraising and money in women’s rights organizations . The series, called Where is the Money for Women’s Rights, explores the complexities in obtaining adequate funding for organizations across the globe.

One of the striking paradoxes of this moment is that the spotlight on women and girls seems to have had relatively little impact on improving the funding situation for a large majority of women’s organizations around the world. The ‘leaves’—the individual women and girls—are receiving growing attention, without recognizing or supporting ‘the roots’ – the sustained, collective action by feminists and women’s rights activists and organizations that has been at the core of women’s rights advancements throughout history.

Goals of the research effort were to generate knowledge and analysis of the current financial situation of women’s groups as well as the overall state of fundraising. By doing so, they hope to increase the overall amount and the quality of resources available to women’s organizations. The report also talks about collaborating and strategizing together as part of the overall feminist movement. The report goes on to discuss the myriad and often complex obstacles that prevent most women’s organizations from growing both physically and financially. Of particular note is the sometimes polarizing role that Private Foundations and International NGOs play in the world of women’s organizations.

You can read the whole report, here.

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