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Dear John,
As you know, in times of acute and on-going crises, feminist movements are often the first responders in their local communities in places like Palestine, Lebanon, Sudan, Ukraine, and Venezuela. They deliver targeted and effective solutions that are contextually relevant and trusted and that address immediate and present needs.
Despite their essential work, feminist activists and their movements are deeply underfunded. For instance, women’s rights organizations, movements, and institutions received just 0.34% of total global aid in 2022.
Earlier this year, the Urgent Action Sister Funds released our groundbreaking new report “Resourcing Strategies in the Age of Permacrisis: Critical Lessons from Feminist Philanthropy.” It looks at the dissonance of the innovative role of feminist movements and their neglect by philanthropy—and what we can do about it. Led by the Centre for Applied Human Rights at York University, the report explores how to effectively scale up the solutions offered by feminist movements and shows what a feminist philanthropic crisis response looks like.
Broken into several concrete strategies and lessons, this report is a blueprint for how to fund the work of and care for feminist activists who are often putting their health, well-being, and safety at risk for rights, democracy, their communities, and the planet.
The main call to action is this: We need a radical shift away from current resourcing models.
Indeed, we must look beyond neutral humanitarianism, rethink capacity and risk from the perspective of local actors, and reshape philanthropy in service of communities and movements.
Feminist activists are doing lifesaving and life-affirming work, and they need resourcing that matches the scale and urgency of their impact. The report shows us how to make this happen. I hope you’ll take the time to read it and share any thoughts you have by responding to this email. I look forward to hearing from you.
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