Call for Applications: Young African Feminist Fund

Deadline: Ongoing Opportunity

Through Young African Feminist Fund, the African Human Rights Network (AHRN) is providing support to numerous young feminist movements across 14 African countries, both registered and non-registered.

The African Human Rights Network (AHRN) is a dedicated organization that empowers and supports individuals and organizations committed to human rights and activism throughout Africa.

In the efforts to support feminists, they prioritize the nurturing of young feminist founders who are engaged in impactful projects and initiatives. They actively seek out individuals who have demonstrated a track record of success but face limited access to funds or require additional skills in areas such as communication, fundraising, and project implementation. To address these needs, they provide comprehensive training to these young feminists and subsequently invite them to apply for funding through the closed funding opportunities.

At the core of the mission is the advancement of women’s rights and the empowerment of young activists, including land rights and environmental defenders throughout Africa. They offer comprehensive training on human rights and assist participants in drafting and implementing their own human rights projects. Following the training, they provide financial support and ongoing guidance to grassroots organizations and individual human rights defenders, helping them bring their projects to fruition.

Fund Mission

The mission of AHRN Fund is to support and empower grassroots movements or individual activists who work and/or are part of marginalized groups, particularly women, and indigenous communities to have a voice in decision making processes related to environmental and any other human rights issues and are able to advocate for policies that priotize their needs. The goal is to create a sustainable equitable, inclusive real impact on the lives of these marginalized communities by providing resources and support to help them advocate for their rights and well-being.
The fund aims to support projects and initiatives led by young feminist women that promote sustainable development, clean energy and conservation of natural resources, sexual reproductive health and education. They believe in the power of grassroots young women-led solutions and they priotize funding opportunities that involve empowering grassroots feminists in Africa. Additionally, they will focus on supporting education and awareness programs that educate people about the importance of environmental stewardship and the impact of the actions on the planet.

Vision: To create a world where all people have equal access to the benefits of healthy environment, sexual reproductive health, education and a sustainable future.

Objectives

Objective 1: Empower and support young feminist movements:
- The first objective of the Young African Feminist Fund is to empower and support young feminist movements across Africa. This involves providing financial support, comprehensive training, and ongoing guidance to young feminist founders who are working on impactful projects and initiatives. By nurturing these movements and addressing their needs, they aim to strengthen their capacity to advocate for women’s rights and contribute to social change.
Objective 2: Foster a vibrant community of young activists:
- AHRN is deeply committed to fostering a vibrant community of young activists throughout Africa. Through initiatives like the Young African Defenders in Actions (YADA Network) and the Activist Lab – Africa, they create platforms for young activists to connect, collaborate, and share their experiences. These networks serve as essential channels for identifying and engaging with beneficiary partners, fostering a sense of community, and amplifying the voices of young activists across the continent.
Objective 3: Advance women’s rights and empower young activists:
- At the core of AHRN’s mission is the advancement of women’s rights and the empowerment of young activists, including land rights and environmental defenders. They offer comprehensive training on human rights and assist participants in drafting and implementing their own human rights projects. By providing financial support and ongoing guidance to grassroots organizations and individual human rights defenders, they aim to help them bring their projects to fruition and create lasting impact in their communities. Through these efforts, they strive to uphold equality, justice, and dignity for all.

Funding Approach

As a feminist fund or women-led fund the organization priotizes funding for grassroots feminist organization that are led by and serve marginalized communities. They take an intersectional approach to funding, meaning that they recognize and address the ways in which different forms of oppression, such as racism, intersect and impact the experiences of individuals.
In practice this means that the funding priotizes and ensures that decision making processes are informed by an understanding of the intersections of race, class gender, sexuality, ability, and other identities. They actively seek out and prioritize funding for organizations that are led by individuals from marginalized communities, and that are working to address the specific and unique needs and struggles of those communities.
Additionally, they make sure to engage with the grassroots young women led feminist organizations they fund and their communities through meaningful consultation and feedback to support their self-determined goals and priorities, and are open and responsive to feedback and criticism on the funding practices and policies.

Funding Mechanism

The funding mechanisms include a combination of individual donations and foundation grants. The organization specializes in providing funding to grassroots young women-led feminist organizations that are working towards gender equality, climate justice and the empowerment of marginalized communities.
The grantee partners are typically small to medium-sized organizations that are led by young women and focus on grassroots activism and community-based work. They work in areas of climate justice, gender-based violence prevention, and economic empowerment for marginalized communities.
They manage accountability and reporting through a thorough grant application process, where grantee partners are required to submit detailed project proposals, budgets, and measurable outcomes. Additionally, they conduct regular check-ins and evaluations to ensure that grantee partners are meeting their project goals and using funds appropriately.
They also have two types of application calls where grantees choose whether the funds they are applying for is rapid or general funding and once the fund is approved to meet the rapid requirement they give out the funds in a period of 5 days.
Once a decision has been made for the general funding they are able to quickly disseminate funding within a timeframe of 2-4 weeks. All this is done to ensure that grantee partners can begin their work as soon as possible and make a meaningful impact in the communities they serve.

Eligibility Requirements

A feminist movement/group/organization both registered or unregistered
Alignment with the Fund’s Mission
Innovative approach that shows impact and sustainability
Capacity building needs with potential for collaboration

Selection Criteria

The selection criteria for the Young African Feminist Fund are based on the following factors:

Alignment with the Fund’s Mission: The projects and initiatives being considered for funding should align with the mission of the fund, which is to support grassroots movements or individual activists who work and/or are part of marginalized groups, particularly women, and indigenous communities.
Young Feminist-Led: The fund prioritizes projects and initiatives that are led by young feminists, particularly young women. The applicants should demonstrate a commitment to feminist principles and the advancement of women’s rights.
Impact and Sustainability: The fund seeks projects that have the potential for real impact and can contribute to sustainable development. The applicants should demonstrate how their projects address critical issues, create positive change, and have a lasting impact on the lives of marginalized communities.
Innovative Approach: The fund values innovative and creative approaches to addressing social issues. The applicants should present unique and effective strategies that challenge existing norms and systems of oppression.
Capacity Building Needs: The fund looks for individuals or organizations that have demonstrated a track record of success but face limited access to funds or require additional skills in areas such as communication, fundraising, and project implementation. The applicants should be open to receiving comprehensive training and capacity building support.
Intersectionality: The fund recognizes and addresses the intersections of various forms of oppression, such as racism, classism, gender discrimination, and ableism.
Financial Accountability: The fund expects applicants to demonstrate financial accountability and transparency.
Community Engagement: The fund values meaningful consultation and engagement with the communities being served. Applicants should demonstrate a strong connection and involvement with the communities they work with, and their projects should reflect the self-determined goals and priorities of those communities.
Potential for Collaboration: The fund encourages collaboration and partnership among organizations and activists.
Evaluation and Learning: The fund seeks applicants who are open to feedback and willing to engage in continuous learning and improvement.

For more information, visit AHRN.