The Movement Strengthening Fund is now closed and we are not approving any more applications at the present time. We will release news of the next round of the fund in 2026.
Purpose of the Movement Strengthening Fund
Womankind believes that initiatives that solely focus on achieving the end goals of feminist movements (national, regional and global policy and legal change and social norm change), often miss an opportunity to strengthen the effectiveness and sustainability of existing movements processes of movement building. Movement dynamics are relational, and it is the connections, trust and understanding forged between, often very different women, girls and people of all genders that can make or break the subsequent collective actions for gender equality they seek to deliver. In this way, collective action is not just what is done together, but how it is done.
The MSF has been designed to strengthen relational dynamics of feminist movements so that the resulting collective actions can be more impactful. It is not seeking to fund targeted advocacy or public awareness campaigns. Those looking for funding for policy, advocacy or campaigning activities can apply to the Her Voice Fund and more information can be found here Her Voice Fund.
Who we fund
The MSF supports opportunities for feminist movement strengthening with existing partners in Womankind’s focus countries and regions. The fund is designed to strengthen critical aspects of feminist organising as broadly outlined in Womankind’s movement strengthening Theory of Change. At the heart of this approach is a focus on building relationships between women, girls and people of all genders, expanding and diversifying movements to reach the most marginalised and centring feminist political thought, practice and analysis at the personal and collective level.
Womankind also understands the critical role other grassroots feminist groups play in movement strengthening but who may struggle to access funding (because of being geographically isolated, because the focus of their work is not attractive to funders, because of their size, because they chose to keep their organising structures more informal, they are unable or choose not to register) (or any mixture of these factors).
We would strongly encourage partners to design initiatives that include these groups in their Movement Strengthening Fund application activities as this will be part of the shortlisting criteria.
These groups, either registered or unregistered, will also be working to advance women’s human rights and will be led by women, girls and people of all genders.
Examples of previous grants include:
Deaf Women Included (DWI) in Zimbabwe used their grant to strengthen the women with disabilities movement in Zimbabwe. This was achieved through human rights and feminist political awareness raising using innovative creative media and creating a position paper to inform transformative disability inclusion in the Zimbabwe feminist movement.1
Minority Womyn in Kenya (MWA) used their grant to strengthen the Lesbian, Bi-Sexual and Queer (LBQ) movement in Kenya. This was achieved by running movement building workshops with frontline organisers across Kenya. Topics included key steps in movement building, feminist leadership, feminist ethics and politicising wellness.
National Indigenous Women’s Federation (NIWF) used their grant to strengthen the indigenous women’s movement in Nepal. Key to this was the establishment of 7 Provincial Coordination Councils to ensure that decision-making and agenda setting for the movement is led by indigenous women.
Read more about the impact of MSF in Nepal, Uganda, Zimbabwe and Ethiopia in Cycle 2 and through the report ‘Nurturing the Beating Heart of Feminist Movements: Lessons Drawn from Womankind’s Movement Strengthening Fund.’.
How we fund:
MSF is allocated to existing Womankind partners on a rolling basis so there are no set deadlines for applications. Applications are reviewed as they are received with a commitment to respond to partners within 4 weeks of receipt.
Initiatives can be implemented over any length of time up to a maximum of 1 year from the contract start date. For example, some partners may just need funds for an activity that starts and finishes within 1 month, whereas another partner may want to carry out activities over the full 12 months.
Applicants must meet the following criteria:
- Clear contribution to movement strengthening in your context, between contexts and/or between movements
- Demonstrates collaboration between women, girls and/or people of all genders
- Includes clear collaboration with an informal group operating in your movement/s
- Adopts an intersectional2 and inclusive feminist approach
- Adopts approaches that build skills and awareness to address imbalances of power and privilege in movements on a personal and/or collective level
How to support The Movement Strengthening Fund
Movement strengthening activities are critical to what feminist movements can achieve, for example:
- Bringing women together in safe spaces to share and build knowledge
- Strengthening the feminist leadership of women of different ages and from different backgrounds can make sure the most marginalised women are able to lead with a strong feminist value base
- Strengthening communications and technology can build and grow a network
- Building relationships with other social justice movements can increase knowledge and create new allies
Are you interested in investing in movement strengthening to build a world where women, girls and people of all genders enjoy equal rights and freedoms?
Get in touch to find out how you can support The Movement Strengthening Fund. Email Martina Hoggart, Director of Fundraising & Marketing martinah@womankind.org.uk
