posted on: Tuesday, October 02, 2012



Photo by Paula Stromberg.

 By Meredith Brodbeck

The year 2012 marks some significant anniversaries in the world of feminist philanthropy. Global Fund for Women and the New York Women’s Foundation both celebrate their 25th anniversary, and Mama Cash, the oldest international women’s fund, celebrates their 30th.

This exciting time encouraged Kellea Miller and Caitlin Stanton of Global Fund for Women, with Esther Lever of Mama Cash, to share their collective wisdom and look forward to the next generation of grantmaking for women’s rights in “5 Principles of Global Feminist Philanthropy.”

In hopes of becoming “more effective, responsive and respectful grantmakers for laying bare our assumptions and our vision for the future,” the authors offer five principles. Among them are:

• Own the “How.” The medium of how work is done is vital and “makes the difference between top-down, one-off investments and long-standing social transformation,” even though it is the least noticeable and the most difficult to measure.
• Know Your Power. Use it. “The best feminist philanthropies don’t just work for the rights of women and girls; they understand their strategic power as donors.” They resist traditional donor-grantee relationships and engage donors in a movement for women’s rights.
• Fund Connected Activism. Choose a funding approach that prioritizes grassroots and marginalized communities and encourages their visions of change. “This takes an in-it-for-the-long-haul commitment and relationship building, even when it might feel less efficient. It means thinking different about concepts like ‘impact’ and ‘sustainability.’”

To read the rest of the authors’ principles and explore how feminist philanthropy deals with money, power, access and more, read the full text of “5 Principles of Global Feminist Philanthropy.”

Meredith Brodbeck is communications associate at the National Committee for Responsive Philanthropy (NCRP).