Back in 2001, labor rights activist Zehra Khan began informally organizing a group of home-based women garment workers, in the Sindh province of Pakistan. Mama Cash—the world’s first international women’s fund—supported this grassroots movement from its early days, through and beyond the legal registration of the Home-Based Women Workers Federation (HBWWF) in 2009. 

In 2013, HBWWF introduced a draft law—the culmination of years of incremental advocacy work—that would give home-based workers access to the same rights and benefits as other workers. After another four years of dogged campaigning, the law—16 years in the making—passed. Now these long-exploited laborers—at least five million in Sindh alone—have access to social security, pensions, a minimum wage, and collective bargaining power.

‘Here’s a seed that grew into something that only this community of women workers could have imagined and made real,’ says Saranel Benjamin, co-executive director of Mama Cash.

Mama Cash is one example of the many collaborative funds working in the Global South that The Bridgespan Group researched for our recent publication ‘Want to Fund in the Global South? Philanthropic Collaboratives Can Help.’ For philanthropists who want to engage in the Global South but don’t know where to start, collaborative funds like Mama Cash—whose impact are often rooted in their proximity to and relationships with communities they serve—are a compelling option.

Moving resources to proximate leaders

There’s growing awareness in philanthropy of the power of proximity and trusting those closest to the problem to design and implement solutions. One key finding from our research: collaborative funds working in the Global South excel in channeling resources to proximate leaders—those with lived experience and local knowledge—and to local communities. In fact, for most collaborative funds we researched, at least three-fourths of grantees have proximate leadership.

This level of engagement with local leaders is striking when seen against the backdrop of philanthropy underfunding locally led and Indigenous organizations, and grassroots women’s rights movements globally. Between 2016 and 2019, only 13 percent of US foundations’ global grant dollars went directly to organizations based in the country where programs were implemented.

Logistical efficiency

These funds often have deep relationships with local actors and have vetted the networks—an advantage for donors with lean teams and eagerness to build issue-based or geographic knowledge efficiently. Logistically, these funds enable donors to give across borders throughout the Global South with less friction—they do the work of navigating and complying with country-by-country regulatory details.

‘We resolve a lot of the challenges in the architecture of philanthropy, how money is redistributed, from a donor’s hands to support grassroots movements,’ says Laura Garcia, president and CEO of Global Greengrants Fund, which mobilizes resources for environmental and social justice.

A growing, but underutilized giving vehicle

The number of funds working in the Global South has grown to at least 175 in the past two decades, yet these funds have remained relatively small—66 percent of the funds we surveyed directed less than $5 million in 2021 and could absorb and deploy far more funding. Moreover, high-net-worth individuals without large philanthropic teams, deep topical or geographic expertise—for whom these funds could be the greatest fit—lag in participation.

Gender equality, environmental justice, and climate change

Over 80 percent of the funds we surveyed indicated some focus on gender—the primary focus for at least a third. Indication of the growth of the field comes from Prospera, who expects their global network of 44 women’s and feminist funds to grow to 55 or 60 in the coming years. There’s no shortage of need. Bridgespan research with Shake the Table found that gender equity focused funds could deploy approximately 10 times their current funding.

We also see accelerating momentum around funds combating climate change and advancing environmental justice. Indigenous-led funds are a critical avenue to strengthen human rights and livelihoods and address the climate crisis—Indigenous people steward 80 percent of the world’s biodiversity. The Indigenous-led Funds Working Group now has 28 funds, many working in the Global South.

How funders can get started

Funds working in the Global South can be a powerful vehicle in a funder’s global grantmaking portfolio, particularly funders moving into a new issue area or geography. A database of funds, organized by both issue area and geography, is available on Bridgespan’s website. ‘Collaborative funds with local teams unlock that ability for me to connect to organizations closest to the work,’ says philanthropist Natasha Desterro Dolby. ‘Funds give me a pulse of what’s happening on the ground.’

Sonali Patel and Alexandra Hughes Browne are partners in Bridgespan’s New York office. Gayle Martin is a senior manager in Bridgespan’s New York office.