Kvinna till Kvinna Foundation

OVERVIEW: Kvinna till Kvinna supports women’s empowerment, and it funds rights organizations working in regions affected by conflict including Central and West Africa, the Middle East, the South Caucasus and the Western Balkans.

IP TAKE: This funder often partners with local-based organizations believing that they are best suited to address the needs of women living within their local communities. U.S.-based organizations with a presence in their target geographic area will be most successful here. This tends to be a progressive funder, so if your work is progressive in scope or nature, this is a good funder to know in its giving areas. Unfortunately, it’s not accessible, but contact its program officers to learn more about how it chooses what to fund. Its tax filings are not public according to its non-U.S. headquarters.

PROFILE: Founded in 1993, the Kvinna till Kvinna Foundation is an organization based in Sweden that “envisions a world with sustainable peace based on democracy and gender equality, in which conflicts are managed through non-military means.” The foundation supports organizations that increase women in politics, organize women in places where significant restrictions on female movement exist, incorporate women into peace and conflict-resolution decision-making, and generally secure women a seat at the proverbial table. Kvinna till Kvinna, which means “woman to woman,” awards grants based on the following thematic areas: in addition to advocacy work, the foundation addresses gender-based violence; women’s equal participation; women, peace, and security; and economic empowerment.

Grants for Women and Girls

Kvinna till Kvinna is entirely dedicated to improving the well-being, social justice, and economic opportunity of women and girls around the world. Its Gender-Based Violence works to address issues of domestic abuse and sexual violence as well as other forms of violence such as “honour crimes, child marriage, forced marriage, female genital mutilation, and violence against those whose gender identity or sexuality does not fit society’s expectations.” Women’s Equal Participation grants work to increase female participation in “politics, economic decision-making, peace processes and the public debate” in the developing world. Women, Peace, and Security grants promote women’s rights, advocate for women’s involvement in peace-making processes, and provide aid to activists who become victims of harassment, violence, and threats. Finally, Economic Empowerment grants aim to improve the status of women in the workforce in the developing world and their access to the benefits of financial independence.

Grants for Global Health and Violence Prevention

Of the foundation’s six focuses, its Gender-Based Violence program supports global health concerns. In keeping with the United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights, Kvinna believes that all people, regardless of gender, should have the right to decide when and where to reproduce in the face of obstructive forces; specifically, war, conflict, and government-sanctioned oppression. For instance, one of its grantees, Avangard, helps pregnant women in disputed areas of the Caucasus get basic prenatal care. From a global health perspective, anything that puts more women in power is good, since female politicians tend to be more sympathetic regarding women’s health concerns. But helping women gain a seat in power is not the only thing that matters for women’s well-being, and Kvinna till Kvinna is as interested in on-the-ground service work as it is in shifting the global levers of power.

Grants for Security and Human Rights

Kvinna till Kvinna’s Women, Peace, And Security grants promote women’s rights, advocate for women’s involvement in peace-making processes, and provide aid to activists who become victims of harassment, violence, and threats. According to the foundation, “when women take part in peace talks, peace agreements are more likely to address inequality and more likely to be implemented.” The foundation supports its partners with both project specific and capacity-building grants, and promotes international awareness of their work. The foundation’s Economic Empowerment grants aim to improve the status of women in workforce in the developing world and their access to the benefits of financial independence. It supports organizations that “inform women about their rights, support them in getting an education and provide leadership training,” as well as “lobbying for structural change such as child care and tax reform.”

Important Grant Details:

Kvinna does not provide detailed information about its grant values, and as a Swedish-based organization, its tax filings are not publicly available. It supports organizations “guided by the aim to promote a diverse and sustainable development of women’s rights,” and those who are active in conflict areas. It works in over 20 countries in the Middle East, North Africa, Subsaharan Africa, Europe, and the Southern Caucasus. View annual reports on their website.

Kvinna till Kvinna does not accept unsolicited requests for funding, but it occasionally posts requests for proposals (RFPs).

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