Where is the Money for Women

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Where is the Money for Womens Rights?
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An AWID Action-Research Project in collaboration
with Just Associates
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Objectives

• Clarify how womens organizations are faring in
  the current funding context
• Highlight key trends, challenges, opportunities
  within different funding sectors
• Provoke deeper dialogue on how womens
  organizations and donor allies can position
  themselves to make the contradictions of the
  current moment work to their advantage and
  contribute to building strong movements

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What is happening to womens organizations?Our
2006 survey results
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Regional Distribution
In what country is your organization based?
(Recoded from country)
N 299
N 244
N 139
N128
N 84
N38
Base 958 Respondents
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Five-year Trend in Organization Funding- Among
only those who existed five years ago -
Compared to five years ago (2000), what is the
funding situation for your organizations work?
Excludes organizations less than five years old.
Base 836 respondents
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Budget Size What was your organizations total
income in 2005?
US Dollars
Sample 845 respondents
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Budget sizes - 1995 to 2005
Under 10k 10k to 50k 50k to 100k 100k to
500k 500k
N218
N261
N285
N84
N167
N268
N33
N64
N100
Note that these figures are absolute dollars and
do not reflect changes in inflation and
purchasing power over the study period.
N31
N84
N157
N13
N22
US Dollars
N35
Sample 379/598/845 respondents
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Overall Revenue Ranges by Region 2005
Respondents Region
Sample 845 respondents
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Big challenges

• Womens organizations are in a state of survival
  and resistance
• When asked in August, most say they would need to
  double their budget to do everything they hope to
  do this year
• Womens rights work is made much more difficult
  given dominant conservative agendas,
  neoliberalism, growing violence, and destruction
  of the social fabric
• Compared to other social movements and sectors,
  womens organizations have very small budgets
• Capacity, leadership, and vision to mobilize
  large resources is also a challenge

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But opportunities exist

• The pendulum seems to be swinging, opportunities
  are opening up and the pool of available
  resources may become larger than ever before. The
  question is how can they be harnessed?
• Womens organizations around the world are
  strategizing about expanding the resource base
  for womens organizations and movements

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Where has the money come from? Income 1995 - 2005
Percentage of all revenue in 1995, 2000 and 2005
which came from each source. (Totals to 100)
Sample 454/504/729 respondents
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How well resourced are we together?Total Revenue
1995 2005- All Organizations, All Sources
Average 106,394 per organization
Average 86,407 per organization
Average 86,222 per organization
Total Revenue to All Participant Organizations.
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The funding landscape
Government sources

• Bilateral and Multilateral Development Agencies
• Large Private Foundations
• Individual Giving, Small Private Foundations
• Corporate Philanthropy
• Public Foundations / INGOs
• Womens Funds

Private foundations and philanthropy
Public Foundations
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Top 20 Donors 2005
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20
Total Donations to All Participant Organizations
Combined revenue is USD 77.5 million
Base 729 respondents
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• Bilateral and Multilateral Development Agencies

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Bilateral and Multilateral Funding

• What is it? Public monies, channeled through
  Official Development Assistance (ODA) (e.g.
  Dutch government, SIDA, EU, NORAD, DANIDA,
  UNIFEM, Inter American Development Bank)
• ODA was mentioned by 35 of AWID survey
  respondents as a source of revenue in 2005 (down
  slightly from 2000)
• Bilateral and multilateral funding accounts for
  23 of combined revenue in 2005 for AWID
  respondents this is unchanged from 2000

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• Total ODA funding in 2004 was USD 79 billion
• Of the 79 billion USD, only 4.2 went directly to
  NGOs, or 3.3 billion dollars
• Most of the NGO money flows to INGOs, a minority
  goes directly to global South
• European Commissions support to NGOs in 2004 was
  9 (USD 877 million) of total external aid, of
  which 50 went to humanitarian aid and relief
  operations

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• How much goes to gender equality? Roughly only
  six percent is tracked with a gender equality
  marker in other words it is hard to hold to
  account governments on how much they actually
  contribute to gender equality
• Of what we know, only 0.1 percent of this funding
  goes explicitly to women in development, and
  another 3.6 has gender equality as a significant
  or principal objective (this is the average based
  on analysis of 1999-2003 data)

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Challenges

• Within the agencies
• Systems for tracking the money and ensuring
  accountability to commitments are very weak and
  inconsistent. So while a policy could be good,
  it is very often not followed up with strong
  programs or funding sometimes referred to as
  policy evaporation
• Gender mainstreaming, as a concept and an
  approach, has been misconstrued and wrongly
  applied. Was always meant to mean a two-track
  strategy integrating gender equality across all
  policies and programs, as well as focus on
  womens empowerment specifically the latter got
  deprioritized and mainstreaming got depoliticized
• Gender specialists, departments and budget lines
  got eroded in the past years since 1995

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More challenges with ODA the changing external
context

• Security agendas have overwhelmed the foreign
  policies of many donor governments (of 79 billion
  in ODA in 2004, 10 billion went to Iraq and
  Afghanistan alongside an overall pressure to
  include military projects into foreign aid
  budgets)
• Bush administration, the largest ODA contributor
  in absolute numbers, has imposed infamous and
  ideologically motivated conditionalities around
  its funding (Global Gag rule, anti-Prostitution
  restrictions, etc)
• The 2005 Paris Declaration on Aid Effectiveness
  (ODAs consensus document) does not acknowledge
  gender equality as central to aid effectiveness
  (unlike environmental sustainability) nor the
  critical role of civil society many donors are
  still trying to figure out how best to do gender
  equality work in this new paradigm

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• Meanwhile success is very often defined as
  measurable results yet we know that not
  everything that counts can be counted. The push
  for measures often means technical approaches
  are taken to political problems. Very linear and
  often apolitical models of social change or
  development still permeate these institutions in
  the forms of discourses or evaluation tools

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ODA Opportunities

• UNIFEM OECD-DAC gender network are undertaking
  research and policy work to link gender equality
  to the Aid Effectiveness agenda concept of aid
  effectiveness has to integrate support for
  womens rights
• Around 10 donors most recently evaluated and
  renewed their commitment to gender equality and
  womens rights (DFID, NORAD, SIDA, Netherlands,
  etc)
• A very recent study of 27 donors identified that
  a key element for the promotion of gender
  equality in the new aid environment is the
  support to independent womens organizations and
  movements. The fact that new approaches have
  resulted in a decrease in funding available to
  civil society and womens organizations needs to
  be compensated by other approaches that guarantee
  womens organizing

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ODA opportunities

• ODA is on the rise 79 billion in 2004, USD 106
  billion in 2005 and could reach USD 130 billion
  by 2010
• ODA support to NGOs is slightly on the rise DFID
  is the largest donor, followed by Netherlands,
  Japan, Sweden, Ireland then Switzerland
• Increasing number of special funds are also
  growing that could potentially benefit womens
  rights groups Global Fund to Fight AIDS, TB
  Malaria, UN Democracy Fund, the recently created
  Safe Abortion Action Fundor the new UN Agency
  for Women??

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• 2. Large Private Foundations

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Large Private Foundations

• Who are they? (e.g. Ford Foundation, MacArthur
  Foundation, Gates Foundation, Open Society
  Institute, Sigrid Rausing Trust)
• In 2005
• These foundations were mentioned by 13 of AWID
  survey respondents as a source of revenue (down
  from 19 in 2000)
• Large private foundations count for 13 of
  combined revenue (down from 20 in 2000)

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Some foundation trends in relation to women and
girls
Based on Foundation Center Data and Open Society
Network Annual Reports
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Challenges

• Were seeing a general downward trend in
  foundation funding for women and girls US
  foundation giving for women and girls was only
  5.2 in 2004, down from 7.3 in 2003
• These foundations themselves describe the
  difficulties of supporting womens groups their
  interest in scaling up translates into funding
  fewer and larger groups, with larger grants

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Challenges

• The Gates Foundation dwarfs other large private
  foundations with Warren Buffetts gift of USD31
  billion, its assets will reach USD 62 billion.
  The second largest foundation is the Wellcome
  Trust with 22.5 billion in assets, followed by
  Ford Foundation, with 11.6 billion)
• Given the size of these powerful players, what
  kind of influence will they have on social change
  processes?
• Will this further privatize what should be
  public services? The US government shifted its
  2007 budget proposal, removing a program to
  develop small schools, specifically citing
  private funding available from Gates and other
  foundations as the reason.
• How can this money be leveraged for womens
  rights?

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Opportunities

• International giving among US-based foundations
  is on the rise (grew 19 between 2002 and 2005).
  Total international giving in 2005 was USD 3.8
  billion. The challenge will be to increase the
  share for womens organizations and those based
  outside the US (in 2004, only about 30 of
  international giving went directly to
  organizations outside the US, down from 40 in
  2002)
• Of international giving from foundations in 2002,
  13.7 was designated for women girls (USD 300
  million) as a special target population.

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3. International NGOS/Public Foundations
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3. INGOs/Public Foundations

• Who are they? Hivos, Oxfam-Novib, ActionAid,
  CARE, etc
• According to the AWID Survey INGOs were mentioned
  by 25 of AWID survey respondents as a source of
  revenue (up from 20 in 2000)
• INGOs account for 14 of combined revenue (up
  from 12 in 2000)

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Challenges

• Many INGO allies have been back-sliding on their
  gender equality commitments Face constraints of
  their own funders (governments, individuals,
  faith-based groups) and/or got tired
• The nature of INGO partnerships with national
  organizations is often complex and reflects
  competition for resources
• Many are dominated by their public global
  campaign departments which affect how and with
  whom they work
• Some are criticized for absorbing local capacity
  and fundraising from same sources as local
  womens organizations

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Challenges

• Often used as intermediaries for bilateral donors
  to channel funding to local organizations.
  INGOs get almost 3 times as much ODA as NGOs,
  based in aid recipient countries. This creates
  significant tensions
• When they fund their own ideas and campaigns
  rather than the work happening on the ground
• When they increasingly position themselves as
  leaders on womens rights issues, they also
  attract funding from private sources, raising
  further concern about competition over resources

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Opportunities

• Their money to womens rights is not
  insignificant. In the last year, several INGOs
  have strengthened their commitment to womens
  rights
• In Action Aid, womens rights is 1 of 7 core
  themes. In 2005 they spent USD 8.2 million (EUR
  6,392,000) on grants to organizations working on
  womens rights
• HIVOS core theme gender, women development
  is also 1 of 7 themes. In 2005 USD 10.1 million
  (EUR 7,855,000) for womens organizations. Hivos
  committed to 30 of its overall giving to reach
  womens organizations by 2010
• Oxfams collectively allocate just under 10
  percent to work specifically related to womens
  rights and minority rights in 2005 of total
  budget.
• Oxfam Novibs grants budget will grow from 10 to
  15 in terms of support to womens rights and
  minority rights by 2010
• Oxfam Canada, with a 12 million dollar budget,
  committed to making womens rights its CORE theme

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4. Private Philanthropy Individual Giving
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Individual giving

• In 2005 individual giving was mentioned by 28 of
  AWID survey respondents as a source of revenue
  (up from 26 in 2000)
• Individual giving accounted for 10 of combined
  revenue (similar to 2000)
• Individual giving comes in the form of large
  gifts from wealthy individuals, or through many
  small donations received through mail-in
  requests, pledges, website on-line donations, or
  fundraiser events

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Challenges

• Individual donors of wealth can be challenging to
  contact and cultivate, meanwhile public
  fundraising campaigns are big investments of time
  and money
• Its harder to convince individuals to support
  movement building or the long-term agenda of
  womens rights (they are more likely to be
  interested in addressing a crisis, emergency, or
  someone direct personal needs)
• This money is more accessible for groups based in
  Global North, though there are increasing
  opportunities in the South

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Opportunities

• Yet even small donations from individuals or
  membership fees can help contribute to greater
  sustainability and independence. They also help
  to leverage funding from institutional donors.
• Theres more money overall and more money in the
  hands of women
• Intergenerational transfer of wealth more women
  will inherit than ever before in the trillions.
• Significant increase in international giving
  (those based in the US).
• Possibilities of tapping diaspora giving

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5. Womens Funds
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Womens Funds

• Who are they? Semillas, Mama Cash, Central
  American Womens Fund, African Womens
  Development Fund, Global Fund for Women,
  Slovak-Czeck womens fund
• They grant only to womens organizations or
  womens rights initiatives
• In 2005
• Womens funds were mentioned by 46 of AWID
  survey respondents as a source of revenue (up
  from 28 in 2000)
• Womens funds account for 5 of combined revenue
  (up from 3 in 2000)

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• In 2005 womens funds (outside of the US, or
  granting outside of the US) collectively earned
  USD 26.5 million in revenue (down slightly from
  2004 due to the Global Fund for Womens large
  campaign the year before)
• In 2005 they spent USD 15 million in grants to
  womens organizations all around the world
• In 2005 they held close to USD 27 million in long
  term assets
• Average grant size varies by size of the Fund,
  between USD 4,000 and USD15,000

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Challenges

• There are some concerns about the role of womens
  funds in relation to other womens
  organizations
• Competition for resources (with larger womens
  organizations)
• Grantmaking is there a shared strategic
  framework? How do the funds contribute to
  movement-building, especially if their grants are
  so small?

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Opportunities

• Womens funds are growing strong
• Growing in numbers (now in around 20 countries)
  and steady growth in revenue. New ones in the
  making in the Middle East, Argentina and Georgia
• Womens funds based in the Global South and East
  have tripled revenue since 2000 raising USD 18
  million. If similar growth path continues they
  will raise 43.5 million in the next 5 years
• The purpose of Womens Funds is to expand the
  resource base for womens organizations
• Many womens funds take the lead in innovative
  ways of raising money and strengthening financial
  sustainability of womens movements especially
  when they are able to raise 34 of combined
  annual revenue from individuals

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• 5. Corporate Philanthropy

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Corporate Philanthropy

• Who are they? e.g. Levi Strauss Foundation, Gap
  Foundation, Nike Foundation. Avon Foundation
• Largest corporate foundation is the Walmart
  Foundation in 2004 it gave out USD154.5 million
• Womens groups are also supported by many local
  businesses and companies that provide in-kind
  donations (for example TV networks supporting
  Puntos de Encuentro broadcast of their TV series,
  or space in newspapers, etc.).
• Funding from the private sector comes from
  diverse sources, with different agendas and
  implications for those they work with
• In 2005
• Corporate Philanthropy was mentioned by 2 of
  AWID survey respondents as a source of revenue
  (up from 1 in 2000)
• Corporate Philanthropy accounts for less than 1
  of combined revenue of AWIDs survey respondents

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Challenges

• There are serious concerns about reconciling
  corporate interests with womens rights
• In some cases, businesses are involved in
  exploitative labour practices or environmentally
  unsound production and seek partnerships with
  NGOs in an effort to clean up their reputation
• A growing number of corporations look for
  increasing their market share by associating
  themselves with good causes this has come
  about through consumer expectations -- and they
  can see that doing good is good for the bottom
  line
• Most programs of corporate giving are still
  add-ons and not linked to broader corporate
  social accountability

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Opportunities

• More money will become available, interesting new
  experiences
• Gap, Nike, and Levi Strauss are examples of
  corporate foundations that have chosen to focus
  on women and girls
• Social justice advocates and organizations are
  working with corporations to launch products
  whose sales generate income for specific causes
  AND help corporations gain market share. Examples
  are (Product) Red for HIV/Aids and Womens
  Brand Philanthropy for womens funds globally
• Smaller corporate foundations at the national
  level in different regions are open in many cases
  to provide resources and in-kind donations to
  womens groups on the ground

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In conclusion

• the challenges ahead are not straight forward
• there are indeed opportunities to tap, but they
  need to be contextualized in local realities and
  considered with particular attention to the
  nature of our work and the future of the womens
  rights agendas
• we need to open our minds, be creative, be
  strategic and be bold in how we think about these
  issues and their implications to our urgent
  agenda in the advancment of womens rights
• this meeting will provide an essential space for
  that collective thinking and strategy development!

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Where is the Money for Womens Rights?