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INWF - International Network of Women's Funds

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The International Network of Women’s Funds (INWF) is a membership association linking Women’s Funds to promote philanthropy with a feminist perspective.

Our mission is to strengthen the political and financial capacity of Women’s Funds to empower women and girls and redistribute resources to transform their lives and communities.

We are promoting an alternative vision for the act of “giving” based on the principles of trust and empowerment. Our approach to sustainability is both political and financial, and places women’s funds from various countries of the globe as a key lever for change.
Our values

We are committed to Diversity (of funding sources, diversity of people/perspectives in staff and board)
Fairness and Evenhandedness (we treat all members of our network-grantees, donors, advisors – as equal partners)
Respect and trust (we respect the work and experience of women and we trust that women themselves know best how to determine their needs and find solutions for lasting change)
Openness (being open to and learning about different ways to approach issues) and transparency in our procedures and policies (including being consistent with legal requirements needed to raise and give away money)
Flexibility, we emphasize learning and adjust our approaches to new insights and to changes we see
Generosity, we are willing to share whatever knowledge and expertise we have, and each of us gives her best for the network.

The International Network of Women’s Funds is a unique network in which funders in both the North and the South are organized democratically, and are organically linked to the feminist movement.

INWF creates a space for autonomous and independent Women’s Funds working around the world to promote linking, sharing and learning. To support each other to mobilize more financial resources for women’s rights organizations; to promote equal and fair redistribution of these resources with the vision of strengthening women and their status in the world.

On an ongoing basis the INWF provides its members with key spaces to learn, exchange and develop joint projects. These include:

Regional Meetings
Peer to Peer Visits and Cross Regional Visits
Biennial Conferences

In order to strengthen Women’s Funds’ financial and political capacities to advocate at the local, regional and international level, the INWF seeks to systematize the working experience of its members, particulary around:

Monitoring and Evaluation
Grantmaking and fundraising strategies
Organizational development

Type of Resource: 
Funding Bodies
Networks and Associations
Topic: 
Global affairs & transnationalism
Networking & community building
Sustainable development