Dear friends and colleagues,
It feels just like yesterday when six women’s funds came together with a dream of abundantly and sustainably resourcing feminist, women’s, and trans movements in the Global South and East. They rightly believed that collective action is essential to bringing feminist values to the center of resourcing and challenging traditional philanthropic practices. The International Network of Women’s Funds was created to fulfill such hopes.
25 years later, Prospera has become an established and credible global network of 49 members working together to redistribute resources to the Global South and East and uplift the voices, leadership, and power of diverse women’s and feminist groups, activists, organizations, and movements.
Our growth has come with an established and unmistakable impact. In 2021, Prospera crossed the billion mark, mobilizing 1.2 billion USD in a decade (from 2011 to 2021) to feminist, women’s, and trans movements! Beyond mobilizing resources, Prospera has collectively worked to change the narrative within the philanthropic ecosystem by centering feminist values and practices, challenging hierarchies, and working toward transformative change for people and the planet.
Every aspect of our success is the result of the dedication and passion of all Prospera members and our allies in the eccosystem. Together, we work to transform structures of inequality and oppression and back women and feminist activists at the forefront of social, gender, and climate justice.
A look back at our journey
During our first decade of existence, under Emmiliene de Leon’s leadership, Prospera made foundational strides in consolidating itself. During this time, the network became an enabler for funds to learn from each other and strengthen their institutional practices, putting resource mobilization at its core.
It was also a pivotal period of growth, as women’s funds continued to emerge in the Global South and East, with the network playing a vital role in shortening the learning curve for establishing new funds and bringing new funding into the ecosystem. During this time, committed feminists from diverse countries embarked on a new journey to resource movements. For the first time, resources reached hands that had never had the possibility of accessing resources before.
Between 2020 and 2024, under Alex Garita’s leadership, Prospera took the bold step of building a participatory strategic framing process (Noor). During Noor, Prospera members engaged for more than a year in deep political conversations where collective ideation, buy-in, support, and ownership ensued. During this time, Prospera was able to develop a collective identity, vision, mission, and framework strategy for the next ten years. Moreover, the Noor process allowed for network-wide strategies to be built upon, enabling our collective work to continue transforming the philanthropic sector.
What’s next?
A message from Laila Alodaat, our incoming Executive Director,
I joined Prospera only a few weeks ago, and I quickly saw the strength and unshakable commitment of our members. I also saw their kindness and generosity, their tireless efforts, and a wealth of knowledge I cannot start to describe.
The work our members do is more urgent than ever. We face rising anti-gender agendas, deepening climate crisis, escalating armed conflicts, and the erosion of the multilateral system. These are symptoms of a system that desperately demands change, and the vision and work that feminist activists, groups, and movements provide offer the most transformative answers.
As we approach Prospera’s 25th anniversary, we reflect on a quarter-century of collective action. Our main aim for the coming year is to amplify the strength of women’s and feminist funds to the world, advocating for their central role in reshaping the philanthropic ecosystem toward meaningful change and lasting impact.
We are committed to supporting our members as they adapt to a rapidly changing funding landscape. We will provide diverse resources and work to uphold an accountable, functional, and radical network that stays true to its values while serving its communities with integrity.
We will also take time for self-reflection and learning; we will continue to strengthen the network’s connections within and beyond the movement and deepen the trust we have built over the years. Prospera will remain bold, transformative, and strong—upholding the same kindness and generosity that has always defined our work.
I’ll leave you with a thought from Angela Davis:
“If we are to imagine the expansion of freedom and justice in this world… we will have to do something quite extraordinary: We will have to go to great lengths. We cannot go on as usual. We cannot pivot the center. We cannot be moderate. We will have to be willing to stand up and say no with our combined spirits, our collective intellects, and our many bodies.”
This is exactly what you have been doing. It is your perseverance, courage, and collective vision of a fairer future that will ultimately prevail. It is a privilege to walk this journey with all of you.
I wish you a restful and happy break.
Laila Alodaat