Impact

AWDF Impact

The African Women’s Development Fund (AWDF) has established itself as an innovative organisation that has nurtured social justice, economic empowerment and women’s rights philanthropy in Africa.

Since 2001, AWDF has stayed true to its core goal: to build up an autonomous base for gender equality and development, supporting movements and initiatives of women that ordinarily do not have access to mainstream sources of funding for reasons of capacity, language, geographical location, and marginalisation.

With 17 years of operations and a network of over 1,300 women’s organisations in 43 African countries, as well as 2 countries in the Middle East, AWDF has developed a unique, flexible and responsive approach to grantmaking. This approach has catalysed change in the lives of women, particularly those from marginalised communities, and at the levels of policy.

AWDF Impact

15 Years of Change: For, By and With African Women

Over the past 15 years, the AWDF has mobilised many kinds of resources for African women to learn, grow and recognise the expansive value they provide to their communities.

We are particularly proud of:

  • A grant making process that is uniquely designed to meet the needs of African women.
  • Providing multi-year funding, technical assistance, institutional development to African women-led organisations.
  • Challenging harmful and stereotypical depictions of African women.
  • Amplifying a unique feminist voice and praxis.
  • Funding emergency response initiatives, including the #BringBackOurGirls campaign, and Ebola education and sanitation efforts in Liberia and Sierra Leone.
  • Generating innovative development models for movement-building with multiple national feminist forums in Africa.
  • Solidifying a diverse series of partnerships and collaborations at national, regional and local levels.
  • Creating an Endowment fund to promote organisational autonomy and sustainability.
  • Ranking 13th out of the top 20 foundations in the 2014 Foundation Centre’s “Advancing Human Rights” report – and being the only African institution.
  • Co-founding of the African Philanthropy Network (APN) in 2010.
  • Supporting key development processes and maintaining a strong voice on global advocacy platforms such as the post-2015 Agenda on Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights, Women’s Leadership, LGBTIQ Rights in Africa and much more.

We look forward to another 15 years of working with our colleagues, sisters, and friends in support of African women’s leadership, better health systems, livable wages, education, security and social justice across Africa.

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