M E M O

To: GFW senior management

From: Ellen Sprenger
Date: January 9, 2008
e: Strategi! plan points o" !on#ergen!e
Status: For $is!ussion %it& senior managers $uring in$i#i$ual inter#ie%s
The following represents the major points of convergence emerging from the November 2007
scenario planning meetings. They are summarized below to assist in the on-going strategic
planning discussions and the upcoming individual conversations in particular.
e are a #alue $ri#en organi'ation! radical but humble" fle#ible yet purposeful" respecting"
generous" committed and political
e use po%er to !&ange po%er
e support an$ !olla(orate %it&:
$eminist organizations and movements globally
%ther influential social movements" including in the &'
(nfluential strategic partners around the world
)000s of donor activists
%ur mission is to transform power by funding and strengthening feminist movements nationally"
transnationally and globally in order to build and implement agenda*s and strategies that promote"
protect and guarantee women*s human rights
e $e"ine )(uil$ing "eminist mo#ements* as mobilizing diverse women +and their allies or
supporters, to build and implement a clear agenda of transformation and strategies that will
promote" protect and guarantee women*s human rights.
e recognizes that %e &a#e to !&ange oursel#es an$ our organi'ation. e need to!
-ealign our relationship to our own power" and own our leadership role
Trust that we can grow without changing our values
.ive up trying to do everything
/earn to be more self-critical and ta0e ourselves less seriously
1c0nowledge that being pro-active is still being responsive to feminist movements
2a0e conscientious decisions about whi our strategic partners are and which strategic
alliances to forge
Ta0e more time for learning amongst ourselves and with others" innovating through
applying our learnings and lin0ing strategically with others
-etool our management and operational processes
3nsure that the four functions - grantma0ing" resource mobilization" communications and
$41 - wor0 in alignment to advance what is the mission of the .$! feminist movement
building
We aspire to (e!ome a learning organi'ation: that is" an organization s0illed at creating"
ac5uiring" and transferring 0nowledge" at modifying its behavior to reflect new 0nowledge and
insight and able to continuously improve organizational performance and impact.
e invest in a better common understanding of feminists movements today" their
successes and challenges" as well as the larger conte#t in which they operate
6/earning" innovation and lin0ing* becomes a cross-cutting approach throughout the
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organization and in our wor0 with grantees" advisors" donors and strategic partners. (n
doing so we build on the many relationships we have developed over the years
7ollaboration is a 0ey part of .$ as we continuously see0 to lin0 and share with others
and as such e#pand our collective 0nowledge
e will develop a criteria for identification of strategic partnership" organizations with
whom we develop more durable and pervasive relationships based on common goals
and shared responsibilities" rewards and leadership
1 tight feedbac0 loop" including an analysis of proposals" progress reports" substantive
evaluations and analysis and research on feminist movements" informs our programming
and what we communicate to the outside world
e create an early warning mechanism for the international community8 that will re5uire
us to remain very connected to the ground
'caleable innovative solutions are coordinated with other donors to leverage more
resources
1t the same time general support grants are given to groups to become more innovative
themselves and wor0ing towards solutions +solutions that .$ can then help amplify,
(mpact assessments inform which grant investments are most critical for movement
building
9y connecting grantee groups" advisors" alliance partners and combining our collective
0nowledge we strengthen the impact of feminist movements
-esources" including staff time" are set aside for learning" innovation and lin0ing with
others
e will !&ange &o% an$ %&at %e !ommuni!ate:
7ommunications is distinct from :- and is about connecting different worlds" hearing all
the different actors8 the grantees" alliance partners" donors and .$
e locate communications in our collaborative wor0 with grantees and other strategic
alliances
e differentiate multiple audiences of the communications strategies and ensure we
don*t 0eep singling out one individual" celebrity or heroin
e focus our messages on innovative strategies" solutions" early warning related
information and other learnings and insights
e ma0e women*s rights activism on the ground more visible" connect grantees" donors
and alliance partners"
e collaborate with and support leading women*s media organizations
e use new technologies" digital story telling and film to share innovations" learnings and
insights with our constituencies and 0ey sta0eholders
e aspire to ma0e feminist movements more relevant to the power structures. 'hifting
public opinion through the media is therefore an important focus of our wor0
e are engage$ in a$#o!a!y:
e financially support organizations involved in advocacy or lobbying of governments"
multi-lateral institutions or other influential players
e use our own influence where we have comparative advantage to other women*s
rights organizations8 the very act of donor education is very powerful and advocacy within
the donor community is a major political e#ercise
e see0 to influence and educate our donors and other philanthropic organizations to
give more funds and attention to women*s rights" among others in partnership with 1(;
esour!e mo(ili'ation:
e will contribute to a doubling of resources for women*s rights organizing globally" using
the 1(; 2007 $und<er report as a benchmar0
e will double our own financial resources by 20)=
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(n the planning period 200> ? 20)= we will obtain a brea0through grant
e continue to diversify our revenue base and our individual donor base will grow
considerably
e will establish offices in different parts of the &'" beyond 'an $rancisco and New @or0
'pecial campaigns connected to our early warning mechanism and rapid response
support contribute considerably to our resource mobilization achievements
Grantma+ing:
The purpose of grantma0ing is to build and strengthen feminist organizations and
movements" which includes infrastructure building and the support of women*s initiatives
aimed at transforming agendas
e will double our grantma0ing budget by 20)=
e aspire to be a grantma0er who is responsive to the needs of feminist movements"
including the need for a rapid and timely response
e are therefore committed to reducing the time between proposal inta0e to grant award"
to a ma#imum of four months
1 certain percentage of our grantma0ing will be proactive" centered around special
initiatives" for e#ample the omen*s 2edia $und" conflict areas or around militarization
and through our movement building grants
e will develop mechanisms for dialogue and consultation that enable us to define these
special initiatives
e will clarify and transform our relationship with women*s funds in the .lobal 'outh and
3ast!
o 'maller and emerging funds are eligible for general support and financial
sustainability grants" and!
o ith the mature funds who share our values and overall strategic direction we
wor0 towards delegating +seed, grant proposals from their region or country and
sharing of advisor networ0s
Aey grantma0ing mechanisms include!
o General support grants" for seeding of brand new and emerging groups
+especially in countries where the other women*s funds don*t e#ist," surprises and
e#periments" and strengthening of feminist groups and organizations who are
strong" credible and well respected among their constituencies
o Building movements grants" where selectively and strategically +through re5uest
for proposals" unsolicited re5uests and proactively by .$, we support!
feminist movement strategies that need a rapid response
measures to protect women human rights defenders
connecting and lin0ing women*s organizing across difference and region"
from local to global" from grassroots to policy activism for dialogue or
joint advocacy
analysis and research in relation to feminist movement building
processes to build intergenerational transformative feminist leadership"
and
capacity building for planning" evaluation and resource mobilization
o Financial sustainability grants that focus on long-term financial sustainability for
organizations with a clear agenda for transformation +to buy land or build
endowments and reserves,
%ther forms of support to grantees!
o Leveraging resource support! .$ selectively supports groups with growth
potential by proactively introducing them to other funders and acting as a
reference
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