Global Resources

How can donors support gender justice within and through social movements? Private and public donors have always played a part in progressive social movements, in particular by funding organisations that have either been created by movements, that provide services to movement members or the public or that are engaged in movement–building. The relationships between donors and movements, however, can be complex. Legal and policy frameworks around donor funding of civil society activities can affect both relationships within and strategies used by movements. This Policy Brief highlights strategies donors can take to advance women’s rights and gender justice in movements, drawing from successful approaches, such as the Dutch government’s MDG3 Fund, supporting organisations with strong links to women’s movements and grass-roots women’s activism. Such approaches have resulted in significant advances in mobilising women’s goals for collective power for change, building alliances with other movements and organisations and strengthening women’s leadership.