What if we had trillions of public dollars for all people and communities hit hard by the Covid-19 crisis? Our policy brief and workshop facilitation guide can turn these "what if we had these resources" into "what we can use these resources for".

Feminists have mobilized on a massive scale to generate our own autonomous resources for daily acts of solidarity and survival and to respond politically, collectively, and powerfully to this moment. Many of these actions are coming from within communities and movements in some of the hardest hit and less privileged places, and especially amongst Black, LBTQI+, disability, migrant, land & labour movements. Some of the responses are localised, while others are global.

In just weeks, the spread of COVID-19 has drastically changed the landscape of our lives. Long-standing deficiencies in systems of care, We can’t predict what the short or long-term effects will be. However, funders can - and should - take stop-gap measures to support organizing now.

Until recently, there was little understanding of the specific impact of human rights violations on young women or recognition of the critical role young women play in realizing women’s rights and tackling global challenges.  Today, because of concerted advocacy by youth activists, the situation is very different. Governments, multilateral institutions, private sector initiatives and civil society are increasingly adding a focus on young women to development programs, and channeling resources toward addressing the specific challenges and obstacles faced by young women.

There’s been a $1bn boost in support in the last two years, but only tiny pots of money are trickling down to feminist groups.

In this article, Victoria Tesoriero examines two concrete experiences that rely on different self-generated resourcing strategies. Two key spaces for organizing  and movement building that have helped create more established collaboration and brought together activists from across different generations. 

As CARE shared ground breaking news that PepsiCo Foundation has committed a whopping $18.2 million grant to implement a female empowerment program, a subsidiary of Pepsi would decide to take four peasant farmer to court for allegedly growing Frito lay potato seed varieties. 

Recently, Tucker Carlson of Fox News went apoplectic when Dutch journalist and historian, Rutger Bregman, came in for an interview and told Carlson, “You may not like it but you’re a millionaire funded by billionaires.” As Bregman continued to, in his own words, “speak truth to power,” Carlson quickly ended the interview in a string of insults.

Now more than ever, feminist organizations need to deepen the search for autonomous resourcing models that work for our movements, on our own terms.

In spite of significant challenges, it is important to celebrate the people and movements that are creating feminist models, movements, and realities around the world.