You're currently viewing:

Special features


The case for investing with a gender lens

Andrew Milner 1 September 2020

Gender lens investing – the deployment of all forms of capital from philanthropic to public – to further the cause of women’s empowerment and the pursuit of their rights is not just good for women, …

Entering the funding arena

1 Halima Mahomed, Graciela Hopstein and Romy Krämer 2 June 2020

Social movements have rarely featured in funders’ theories of change or strategies. This is slowly changing and international interest in movements is rising Friday’s for Future, NiUnaMenos, Lucha, #BlackLivesMatter, the uprisings in Chile and HongKong, …

In profile: Social movements and philanthropy

Alliance magazine 2 June 2020

Movements are often easier to discern by the tracks they leave behind than by their form. Here’s a flavour of some of the varied social movements around the world, those who support them and their …

Peer dialogue: Achieving solidarity needs a brave strategy

1 Halima Mahomed and Theo Sowa 2 June 2020

Guest editor, Halima Mahomed talks to Theo Sowa, CEO of the African Women’s Development Fund (AWDF) about how funders can support social movements Halima Mahomed: Most institutional philanthropy goes to particular types of institutionalised civic …

On climate justice, funders could do better

Andrew Milner 2 June 2020

Philanthropy is falling short when it comes to supporting the climate justice movement that is rapidly growing across the globe Despite what he terms ‘amnesia and individualism’, Nathan Thanki of Global Campaign to Demand Climate …

The quality of the relationship

Muhammed Lamin Saidykhan 2 June 2020

Philanthropy can be an effective ally for social movements if the two can develop relationships based on trust I was born and raised in The Gambia, which for 22 years was ruled by the world’s …

Bridging the divide between NGOs and social movements

Nana Asantewa Afadzinu and James Savage 2 June 2020

Differences between formal NGOs and social movements have kept them apart, but it doesn’t have to be that way Progressive civic activism of all stripes is under attack, and targeted further under the pretext of …

Working together to make the difference

Ghislain Muhiwa 2 June 2020

If foundations are to help bring about the meaningful changes that people in Africa want, they need to support social movements For several years, rising injustice and social inequality have been the catalyst for social …

Building a social movements fund

Alliance magazine 2 June 2020

Ebrima Sall, executive director of TrustAfrica, which was instrumental in setting up the African Social Movements Fund, tells Alliance about the background to the fund and its aims Alliance: How did the fund come about …

What is the donor’s true motivation?

Maíra P. Lacerda Krenak and Inimá P. Lacerda Krenak 2 June 2020

A Brazil-based fund is pursuing an approach to funding Indigenous Peoples which is more attuned to their worldview ‘In Brazil… we still rely on foreign help, much like a charity case, which is subordinating and …