FAQs
Why this strategy, this approach?
A 2012 study of 70 countries over four decades found the mobilization of independent women’s groups had a more direct connection to positive change in communities than almost any other factor, including wealth and political movements. Research undertaken by funders and independent groups shows the benefits of shifting decision-making power to those who best understand the local context. And yet, this shift to local initiatives is not the norm. Typically, only 2% of donor funding reaches grassroots organizations that really make a difference in communities. Seventy-seven percent (77%)of your donation to Women First goes directly to programs costs.
We believe—and research confirms this(is this true?)—that if we combine grant funding with networking, true collaboration and targeted capacity-building,(are the words collaboration and capacity-building sufficient to describe what we will be doing?) grantees will be positioned for greater impact as they lead the implementation of local solutions to gender inequity in their communities.In other words, we are utterly focused on what we know works.
Ultimately, real success depends on far more than money. Women First strives to increase the grantee’s sustainability by convening grantees in their geographic regions to share lessons learned and explore ways to advance gender equity and achieve even greater impact! Grantees learn to tell their story, increase their credibility and document their effectiveness. Together, we are stronger.
Yes, we measure success and impact
Your dollars are valuable to you, to us and to our grantees. You deserve to know if your contribution is well spent. We involve our grantees, staff, and Board in our Monitoring, Evaluation, and Learning framework and come back to you with deliverables:
We have developed a program theory of change with indicators to capture measurable progress and the changes we seek to influence.
We collect both qualitative and quantitative data across our grant portfolios to prove that the empowerment of women and girls impacts local conditions.
We support the collaborative development of toolkits for monitoring, evaluating, and learning for use by grantees to increase their own sustainability as well as design and deliver in-person and online workshops on developing a theory of change and monitoring and evaluation topics.This is revolutionary for us and for the field. As these programs develop over time, we will measure direct outcomes and progress in three major domains:
Power and agency(increased self-confidence and economic rights, changes in behavior of adolescent girls)
Economic advancement (improved skills, results, economic participation)
Enabling environments (changes in gender norms, laws/policies)
Why have we focused on women and girls? And why Africa and India?
As noted earlier, the mobilization of independent women’s groups had a more direct connection to positive change in communities than almost any other factor, yet funding for women and girls in developing economies is limited. Over one-third of foundation funding for women and girls stays in North America. We applaud those initiatives. We also believe other women and girls in the world should not be ignored. The truth is that, in developing economies, organizations working towards gender equity have little to no access to funding from their own governments and citizens. Gender inequity stymies growth, perpetuating global power imbalances that can contribute to political instability, diminished global trade and increased violence – even feeding into cycles of terrorism and war.
We are not so large that we can be everywhere at once; therefore, adopting a geographic focus as part of a grantmaking strategy brings benefits to both funder and grantees. For example, focus:
allows us to better understand the areas where our attention is sharp, ultimately, positioning us as thought leaders on trends and priorities in these areas due to our critical mass of grantees. This makes us a stronger and a more locally recognized partner to grantees.
promotes more chances for our grantees to interact with us, our strategic partners, and each other because the geographic reach is not so wide, creating deeper trust and more profound relationships. More site visits equal a greater exchange of know-how and coaching; that is, a more robust program.
opens doors for targeting strategic partners and creating important relationships with important public figures, embassy representatives and companies with operations in the area. These relationships offer mutual benefits. Hiring locally led capacity-building firms, for example, helps us offer more training resources to grantees specific to their context.
improves our information gathering that supports our targeted evaluation strategy allowing us to demonstrate our impact as a funder.
finally, on the global stage, gives Women First a stronger voice when collaborating with like-minded organizations to share ideas, offer our own experiences, and co-create strategies so philanthropic practices are continually improved.
The results:
More streamlined reporting templates and shared tools for measuring capacity-building.
More connections with other funders that allow us to leverage knowledge in the field
Why should I give to Women First, rather than to these organizations directly?”
Women First has a thorough due diligence process, which ensures that potential new grantees are transparent, responsible, and capable of implementing proposed programs. For added accountability, we rely on in-country networks, relationships with other funders, and sometimes, on-site visits by staff.
Our application and due diligence processes eliminate applications that are a poor fit with our mission, or which raise concerns around legitimacy or viability. Before grants are awarded, staff complete web checks, review references from local contacts and previous donors, review organizations’ bylaws, and interview key staff.
Ongoing communication over years of partnership, combined with on-site visits, builds trust and mutual accountability.
Many of our grantees are small organizations without the staffing or infrastructure to promote themselves or solicit funds from foreign donors.
Many are ineligible to receive tax-free donations directly from US individuals.
We maximize your dollars by connecting our grantees to funding opportunities at peer foundations.
Who do I contact to contribute? Who do I approach to join the Board?
Kelsey Ottoson, Development Associate at kottoson@vgif.org or 212.213.0622.
For Board membership inquiries, contact Emily Forhman, Executive Director at eforhman@vgif.org o 212.213.0622.
What is your grantmaking model?
Women First has a unique grantmaking model designed specifically to support new and emerging grassroots organizations. Our grants are longer in duration and flexible, more focused on true collaboration, sustainability, capacity-building and outcomes.
Our grantees move through three distinct funding stages—opportunity, investment, and leverage—as their organizations move through ‘emerging’, ‘enhancing’, and ‘established’ stages of development.
Our grants are flexible (a mix of capacity building and programmatic support), and grantees will have the opportunity to receive 6 years of funding up to $95,000.
Our three-stage approach allows us (and our grantees) to benchmark milestones, re-commit to or adjust intended outcomes, take the pulse of our partnership to ensure that it is healthy, and build momentum towards our grantees long-term sustainability.
What are our guidelines for granting funds to applicants?
When we partner with a new grantee, we intend to support them for six years. They must be led by women, girls and/or trans people, focused on economic empowerment and located in one of our current priority countries: Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania, Malawi, or India.
We prioritize emerging organizations that have huge potential, strong local roots, and impressive leaders, but who struggle to secure consistent funding and have capacity gaps that weaken their effectiveness. These organizations have a deep understanding of their local context, experience in their programmatic areas, and a proven track record of impactful programming locally (or are new organizations aiming to implement on a well-researched concept). We seek to continuously evaluate and learn, and we prioritize groups who share this commitment.
We look for organizations who value transparency, collaboration, embrace learning, seek growth, employ a feminist or women’s rights approach, and with whom we share programmatic goals related to our priority area.
We identify new grantee partners in Stage One only. Through this open application, we assess applicants for their fit with our multi-stage partnership model, meaning that they are interested in assessing their organizational capacities and investing time and resources in capacity-building as well as programs*, and are open to collaborating with us and other partners through email, on-site visits, and in-country meetings.
*Our funding is flexible; however, our partners’ budgets reflect a meaningful allocation of funds to both capacity-building and programmatic activities as they work towards outcomes in these two interconnected domains. We recognize that capacity-building efforts not only improve organizational sustainability, but also improve an organization’s ability to deliver effective programs that improve the lives of women, girls and trans-people.
Funding in stages allows us to tell our grantees’ stories over time and showcase their progress as they build impact and sustainability throughout our six-year model. It also allows us to invest in long-term partnerships while bringing in new groups annually.
What do you mean by capacity building? Why do you focus on organizational capacity as well as programmatic capacity?
Women First believes that the strength and sustainability of our grantees’ organizations—or organizational capacity—is just as important as the programs they implement. Short-term impact matters, to be sure, but a failed organization leaves behind an even greater need because hopes are dashed and dreams may fade away. We believe that our grantees are experts in their own contexts and should have more opportunities to take center stage on the issues they address.
Through learning visits, conferences, and online networking forums, we encourage grantees to mentor and learn from each other, and aim to provide opportunities for grantees to lead trainings/workshops in their areas of strength.
Our three-stage, six-year grantmaking model allows grantees to make longer-term plans for their organizations’ growth and sustainability, while providing benchmarks to assess progress and readjust or shift priorities where necessary.
Our flexible funding can be used for capacity building efforts such as leadership training and staff development, hiring consultants, and attending key networking workshops. A collection of relevant tools and resources specifically for grassroots groups is available to grantees through a grantee resource portal, including monitoring and evaluation, marketing and fundraising strtaegies.
We lead grantees through a process of organizational assessment and planning, using a Grassroots Organizational Assessment Tool (GrOCAT) and Capacity Building Plan (CBP) designed specifically with and for our unique grantees.
The third stage of our grantmaking model is intentionally focused on sustainability. We will lead grantees through a sustainability planning process and work together to ensure that grantees graduating from our grant program are financially resilient and connected to opportunities for continued support.
If you are interested in our structure and governance…
Women First brings the shared beliefs, norms, and values reflected in our mission to the internal operations of the organization. We follow best practices to empower both Board and staff to move our organization forward in new and transformative ways. Ours is a Board of up to 25 members that reserves two Board spots for members under 35 and two for members from developing economies, preferably based in countries where we provide grants. Legal and risk management is assigned to the Audit Committee. There is a single Programs Committee and a single Governance and Board Development Committee.
Seven officers are represented on the Executive Committee: President, Executive Vice President, Secretary, Treasurer, Chair of Programs, Chair of Development and Chair of Governance and Board Development. A President-Elect will sit on the committee if filled.