TRANSFORM FAQ's

TRANSFORM resources both registered and non-registered groups that are at the forefront of feminist resistance.  These groups are led and directed by the women most affected by injustice. They are committed to tackling the roots of gender injustice, not just the symptoms, and in making long-term changes for their members.  

At the moment TRANSFORM works with grantees in four continents across Colombia, Haiti, India, Indonesia and Nigeria. 

The most sustainable way to eradicate inequality and injustice is through women-led movements that shift the structures of power. The power of movements, and why they matter, is that they are committed to tackling the roots of injustice, not just the symptoms, and in making long-term changes for their members. Most importantly, they are led and directed by the people with the greatest stake in making that change.

A critical criteria for selection of TRANSFORM grantees is their commitment to ‘building power’. Building power is about raising women’s awareness and sense of self. It involves equipping women with the knowledge, skills and capacity they need to build critical consciousness, collective leadership, common agendas and group strategies for action. As women come together to share and reflect on their experiences, they realise that they are not alone.  They also learn that they have the “right to have rights”. Deepening their knowledge of the systemic nature of violence, inequality and power helps build solidarity. This solidarity then translates into action. As women use their skills to organise and educate others, this creates a ripple effect of change in their communities. 

As we move towards participatory grantmaking, decisions about grantee selection are currently made by TRANSFORM’s Global Advisory circle (GLAD). Comprising mostly of feminists from the global majority, GLAD members are experts in movement-building across different geographies. Once a year they assess potential grantees against the criteria for TRANSFORM:

• Led ‘by and for’ i.e. governed, directed, and/or led by historically marginalised women (e.g.  racialised, disabled, queer, Indigenous, ethnic/religious minorities etc.)
• Use an intersectional feminist analysis.
• Push for structural and fundamental change, through organising women/building power (building power fund) and/or who are engaged in responding to current human-rights violations or humanitarian/conflict situations (rapid response fund)
• Be historically excluded from donor funding, have no/limited experience of receiving donor funding, or have highly restrictive, small budgets.