Ariadne News & Events

FUNDING AT THE INTERSECTION OF CLIMATE AND TECHNOLOGY: Ford Foundation, Mozilla Foundation, and Ariadne are proud to present the research on the implications and intersections of climate justice for digital rights. 

The research contains eight different pieces produced by four different organisations each with their own networks and perspectives. The Engine Room as the key research partner in this project is presenting a landscape analysis. In addition, we are publishing seven deep dive issue briefs created by the Association for Progressive Communications (APC), BSR, and the Open Environmental Data Project and Open Climate. Below is the full list of all the research organised by the researcher or organisation that produced the work:

>The Engine Room: At the confluence of digital rights and climate & environmental justice: A landscape review
>BSR: Building a High-Quality Climate Science Information Environment: The Role of Social Media
>APC: At the interstice of digital rights and environmental justice. Four issue briefs to inform funding
>Open Environmental Data Project & Open Climate:
– Climate Justice & the Knowledge Commons: Opportunities for the digital rights space
– Environmental Justice, Climate Justice, and the Space of Digital Rights

CLIMATE JUSTICE GUIDE FOR FUNDERS: As a response to the Centering Equity and Justice in Climate Philanthropy field guide for funders that Candid created in collaboration with Ariadne, several funders have been contributing their views on Candid’s blog. You can access them here:
>Janet Camarena, Senior Director of Candid Learning: Getting from “no” to “yes” for climate justice;  
>Shamar Bibbins, Senior program officer for Environment at The Kresge Foundation: Redefining climate strategies with an equity lens: Kresge’s story;
>Marion Gee, Co-Executive Director Climate Justice Alliance: A Just Transition for philanthropy: Equity means moving more money to frontline communities; 
>Greg Hilditch, interim executive director for Global Greengrants Fund UK: A participatory approach to funding climate justice: Learnings and challenges .  

All these resources and more can be found on Ariadne’s website and Member only portal.

FUNDING FOR REAL CHANGE website and toolkit: The Funding for Real Change website, launched by Ariadne and EDGE Funders, contains good practices, resources, and tools for flexible funding and indirect cost coverage.

The Accelerating Equitable Grantmaking: Seizing the Moment to Norm Multiyear, Flexible Funding Toolkit available in English, Spanish and French offer a list of tactics, resources, examples, and starting points to help you make the shift towards multi-year, flexible funding, with a focus on the differentiated roles of trustees, CEOs, program officers, and grantees.

HOW TO FUND TECH: How to Fund Tech is a guide for people working in trusts and foundations who want to effectively fund technology. The resource can serve as a place to begin discussions within your foundation and ask questions to help you navigate a technology-heavy grant. It is a resource that can help build a larger pool of funders who do not identify as tech funders or digital rights experts but feel capable to speak to the ways technology is impacting their grantees and long-term vision for society.

SAVE THE DATE – Grant Skills Week 2022: What does accountability mean for social justice funders? During the Grant Skills Week 2022, different accountability perspectives will be explored, including how philanthropy is accountable for the unequal distribution of wealth, to whom philanthropy is accountable, and what accountability means for foundation investments. The event will take place online from 25 to 27 October 2022, and registration information will be announced soon. In the meantime, please save the date! 

UNDERSTANDING AND UPROOTING RACISM IN GRANTMAKING INSTITUTIONS: Since the middle of 2020, at Ariadne, we have been working with Healing Solidarity to create a space for you to have more “uncomfortable” conversations about race and ethnicity, and especially racial justice issues within European foundations. During 2021, drop-in sessions were offered for all those who participated in that process and earlier this year we offered a new series of cohort sessions for those who did not participate previously.  For the rest of 2022 drop-in spaces will be offered to build on this work and continue to support you. The next webinar will take place on 13 September, at 13:00 PM (CET). Dates for subsequent sessions throughout the year are as follows:

Senior Leaders’ session: Tues 20 Sept, 1- 2.30 pm CEST
October: Mixed drop-in session: Tues 18 Oct, 1-2.30 pm CEST
November: Cohort drop-in session: Tues 15 Nov, 1-2.3o pm CET
December: Mixed drop-in session: Tues 6 Dec, 1-2.30 pm CEST

ARIADNE’S PORTAL: Still not familiar with Ariadne’s new portal? Do you have a colleague that doesn’t yet have access to the portal? They can sign up here. Need assistance? Take a look at our guide or email ariadneoffice@ariadne-network.eu.

New Research, Articles and Judgements

Subsidizing global health: Women’s unpaid work in health systems: Women in Global Health‘s latest report examines the unpaid and underpaid work done by women in health systems. The report found that upwards of six million women worldwide are subsidizing health systems with their unpaid or grossly underpaid labor.

Alliance For Feminist Movements: The alliance is a new collaborative multi-stakeholder initiative pushing for sustainable transformative funding for feminist movements. It is dedicated to 1. Increasing and improving the quality of resources, including but not limited to financial resources, supporting feminist movements and agendas, and 2. Mobilizing partnerships and political support for diverse feminist movements, agendas, and policies. Check out their new website here.

Humanitarian Access Overview: In its July 2022 Humanitarian Access Overview, ACAPS, Save the Children, and Mercy Corps, rated humanitarian access across a long list of countries, assessing countries based on three criteria: 1. access of people in need to aid; 2. access of humanitarian agencies to people in need; and 3. physical, environmental, and security constraints. Read the overview here.

How climate change could drive an increase in gender-based violence: Research finds that violence against women and people from gender minorities in the aftermath of extreme weather events is on the rise amid global warming. Meghie Rodrigues, reviews research and studies addressing the unequal impact of climate events and the geographical imbalance. Click here to access the article.

Resource: ISHR’s interactive world map on legal protections for human rights defenders: The resource has the goal to raise awareness of national efforts to strengthen legal frameworks for the protection of defenders. It intends to complement existing resources on human rights defender protection. Click here to access it.

Global Gender Gap Report 2022: Now in its 16th year, the Gender Gap Report benchmarks the evolution of gender-based gaps in four areas: economic participation and opportunity; educational attainment; health and survival; and political empowerment. Closing gender gaps remains a critical driver of national prosperity, at the same time the report shows that it will take another 132 years (compared to 136 in 2021) to close the gender gap and points out a widening gender gap in the labour force. Explore the full report, infographics, and more information here.

If You Care About Climate Change, Fund Feminist Movements: In this article, authors Nidhi Sahni, Debby Bielak, and Sonali Madia Patel present the key findings of their recent report “Lighting the Way: A Report for Philanthropy on the Power and Promise of Feminist Movements,” co-authored by The Bridgespan Group and Shake the Table. They address how climate change exacerbates gender inequalities and through good practices urge donors to fund feminist movements, who furthermore fund communities that are most affected by climate change.

Policy brief: Gender data is needed to build resilient communities: Women, girls, and gender-diverse communities are uniquely impacted during times of crisis. Without action, decades of progress on gender equality and inclusive sustainable development will continue to erode, especially in light of compounding global crises, including conflicts and the COVID-19 pandemic. In this policy brief, Data2X outlines why governments must collect and use gender data to effectively respond to the needs of women, girls, and gender-diverse groups and to document their contributions to crisis mitigation and recovery.

Blogs and Other Sites of Interest

MAGAZINE: PeaceWomen Across the Globe published their first ever “Feminists Connecting for Peace-Magazine”. Download your copy and read about feminist thoughts on demilitarization, war, and peace from Kosovo, Ukraine, and Indonesia, among others.

BLOG: Language that liberates: 10 practical tips for LGBTQIA+ inclusive language: In this blog, you will learn why LGBTQIA+ inclusive language matters, get tips, resources, and examples of how to get comfortable with inclusive language, take real action, think intersectionally and celebrate LGBTQIA+ people.

GUIDE: Confronting the cost of living crisis – How funders can mobilize: New Philanthropy Capital (NPC) has published a new guide that can help you understand the pressures facing people in poverty in Britain, and how to fund effectively to help charities adapt. Some of the questions being addressed are: Why is financial hardship rising? How should charities adapt? How can funders help?

WEBINAR: Call for funders to move from Value for Money to Value of Ideas: Humentum recently hosted a webinar to discuss the research and recommendations in the Breaking the Starvation Cycle report. Moderated by Dr. Christine Sow, CEO of Humentum, the panel brought together numerous experts to discuss the report’s findings and their recommendations for the future. Click here for the webinar recording and overview of the discussion.

ARTICLE: Strategies for Combatting Abortion Disinformation in the Post-Roe Era: A guide for communicators and advocates to help stop the spread of disinformation that’s proliferating after the Supreme Court’s decision to overturn Roe v. Wade. The article focuses on preventing amplification through: Avoiding debunking one-for-one; Holding social platforms accountable; Usage of messaging strategies to combat disinformation; Filling content voids by sharing accurate information that is easily accessible and Avoiding the stigmatization of language.

PODCAST: People vs Inequality: This podcast provides an opportunity for reflection and learning from change agents who are addressing inequalities and injustice. We learn about the decisions they make, the strategies they employ, the challenges they encounter, and their aspirations and dreams for bringing about genuine change.

ARTICLE: Why philanthropy needs to reimagine its inclusion and funding of disabled people: “In order to empower the disability community, disability must be explicitly included in every DEI conversation, strategy, mission statement, diversity report, and pledge within the philanthropy space. The sector also needs to expand its mandate on disability funding to serve a much wider group of people and needs, one that goes far beyond where funds have been historically allocated.” Access the whole article here.

PODCAST: Collaborating on the climate crisis: Listen to NPC’s Liz Gadd being interviewed by Sam Davies, host of the Charity Chat podcast, on how social and environmental charities and funders should work together, and why charities are best placed to lead in engaging with social groups affected by the changing environment.

Do you have a great blog post, case study, or podcast you’d like to contribute? We would love to feature it. Contact us.

Grant-Making

New Funders’ Toolkit for Child & Youth Participation from Elevate Children Funders Group: The Toolkit offers practical support and guidance to funders on the “how-to” of meaningful child and youth participation in philanthropy. It contains evidence to help make the case for youth participation, practical considerations for different participatory mechanisms, activities for funders designing their approach, and more.

2019-2020 Global Resources Report: Government & Philanthropic Support for LGBTI Communities: This is the fourth and most comprehensive edition of the biennial report tracking and analyzing global LGBTI funding. The report documents data on over 15,800 grants awarded by 499 foundations, intermediary NGOs, and corporations and by 17 donor governments and multilateral agencies. LGBTI communities worldwide face urgent conditions, and grantmakers must mobilize together to financially resource the movements that can meet those needs. Click here to access the highlights and the report.

Funding for Intersectional Organizing: A Call to Action for Human Rights Philanthropy: Human Rights Funders Network’s (HRFN) latest report is the first comprehensive and global analysis of when and if grants to support human rights reach beyond a single issue or community. The findings show that a small fraction of human rights funding supports activism that cuts across multiple communities or issues.  The report offers insights about identities and issues that are being overlooked and under-resourced, and opportunities for funders to take action to transform their grantmaking practices to be truly intersectional.

Charities Aid Foundation: UK Giving Report 2022: Produced since 2004, CAF’s Giving Report is the largest study of giving behaviour in the UK. It is a helpful insight into what people are giving to and why, across the wealth spectrum. To access the full report, click here.

Pride & prejudice: Is philanthropy failing the global LGBTQI+ community? The article presents data on funding of pro-LGBTQI+ organisations; learn about the important question of how the philanthropic community can improve their support for pro-LGBTQI+ organisations; and explore how we can work together to involve the LGBTQI+ community.

From the Frontlines: Funder Briefing on Ukraine’s regional impact: In this webinar local activists from Ukraine, Moldova and Hungary speak about their frontline responses, leadership, and mid- and long-term strategies. The recording of the conversation is available here. If you would like to learn more about the impact of the war on Moldova, Poland, Romania, Hungary, Slovakia, and Ukraine, please check VOICE’s 7-piece report Waiting for the Sky to Close: The Unprecedented Crisis Facing Women and Girls Fleeing Ukraine.

New Frontiers in Funding, Philanthropy, and Investment: In this article Sophia Parker and Cassie Robinson reflect on the conference about the new frontiers of philanthropy and investment, organised by the Joseph Rowntree Foundation. They provide an overview of the conference as well as give more insight for those interested in redesigning the existing financial models and investment frameworks in philanthropy, and much more.

Global Humanitarian Assistance Report 2022: The report provides a critical overview of the crisis financing landscape. Financing for humanitarian response faces overlapping climate, Covid-19 and conflict-related challenges as donors struggle to meet unrelenting growth in need. Development Initiatives finds that emergency needs are at historical highs, but available funding has largely flatlined at pre-pandemic levels.

The 2022 Charity Digital Skills Report: This year’s report – the annual barometer of digital skills, attitudes, and support needs across the sector – provides deeper insights than ever into organisations’ differing needs and the ways in which funders and digital specialists can help address these. The report summarises how the sector has changed as a result of the pandemic – and looks at needs across a wide range of areas: leadership, funding, strategy, skills, accessibility, diversity, inclusion – and much more. Access the Charity Digital Skills Report hub here.

An Investment Approach for Improving LGBTQIA* Communities’ Access to Labour Markets: Studies have shown that people with minority sexual orientations and gender identities face significant challenges and obstacles in accessing the job market. Furthermore, lack of access to employment is one of the key obstacles to greater social and economic inclusion. In this article by Dreilinden, you can learn more about the good practices and different funding instruments for improving LGBTQIA* communities’ access to the labour market.

Ariadne is taking a summer break! The next Thread will go out on Thursday 15th September. We would love to hear from you! Please contact us by Tuesday 13th September if you would like to share announcements, events, or resources for the next issue. 

Jobs and Tenders

Coordinator for Legal Network for Journalists at Risk – Media Defence. Media Defence is looking for a highly motivated and energetic individual with a commitment to excellence and professionalism to join the team as a Coordinator for the Legal Network for Journalists at Risk (LNJAR), of which Media Defence is a Steering Committee Member. In this role, you will oversee the day-to-day operations of the LNJAR, which provides legal support to journalists. The ideal candidate will have extensive experience in legal support to journalists and project management; excellent coordination and communication skills; and good knowledge of global press freedom issues and humanitarian response. Your main responsibilities will be focused on ensuring the smooth organisation and logistics of the LNJAR, in coordination with Media Defence’s Senior Legal Manager. You will be an enthusiastic team player with great organisational skills and a keen eye for detail.
Location: London, UK. Deadline for applications is 28^th July.

Marketing and Communications Trustee- Media Defence. To supplement the range of skills and knowledge already present amongst its Board, we are looking for a well-networked marketing and communications professional with appropriate experience to provide oversight and guidance on Media Defence’s work. This role will provide strategic direction around Media Defence’s communications in collaboration with other members of the Development Committee. This role will support our development team to explore new opportunities and reach new audiences, will highlight and help mitigate the risks involved in increasing our visibility, offer expertise regarding crisis communications, and ensure that Media Defence’s marketing and communications are legally compliant. Location: Meetings are held virtually and in person. Deadline for applications is 29^th July.

Head of Labour Rights – Porticus. The Head of Labour Rights is responsible for developing, refining and executing a strategy to strengthen protections for labour rights as a critical component of tackling the dual crises of climate change and inequality that form the basis of Laudes Foundation’s vision. You have a strong commitment to collaboration across Laudes Foundation, including working with other Programmes and Enabling Functions to drive an integrated, intersectional approach to systems change. You are a team builder and team leader, working to identify the strengths of your team and leverage them towards our goals. You bring a globally recognised expertise to the issues of labour rights and a deep understanding of how labour rights are integral to broader economic transformation. Location: Dhaka, Bangladesh. Deadline for applications is 15^th August.

Supervisory Board Member – Mama Cash: Mama Cash is governed by an international Supervisory Board, currently comprised of ten members from around the world who together bring a range of skills and experience to the Mama Cash team. In line with our vision and mission, our governance structure and the composition and work of the Supervisory Board is driven by feminist values. The role of the Supervisory Board is to provide strategic oversight and support to Mama Cash by supervising, advising, challenging and supporting the Co-Executive Directors/Managing Board and their team, and ensuring that the organisation fulfills its statutory duties and responsibilities. The Supervisory Board plays a key role in ensuring that Mama Cash maintains and delivers its vision, mission and strategic goals. Location: West Asia (‘Middle East’) region. Deadline for applications is 15th August.  

Head of People and Culture – Paul Hamlyn Foundation (PHF). This is a newly created role, designed to provide strategic leadership for PHF’s people and culture work. You will be responsible for developing and implementing the Foundation’s diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) strategy and advancing organisational culture as well as managing the HR function. You will report to the Chief Operating Officer (COO) and work across the Foundation with staff and trustees. This is an exciting opportunity to join a committed team that cares about the Foundation’s mission, the quality of our work, and each other, with the opportunity to shape the future direction of PHF’s people and culture work. Location: London, UK. Deadline for applications is 16^th August.

Community Action Fund Manager – Civic Power Fund. The Civic Power Fund is recruiting a Community Action Fund Manager to oversee the Fund and its component parts. The role is fixed term for a year, three days a week. The salary is £45,000 per annum (pro rata). The successful candidate does not need to have grantmaking experience, as the Civic Power Fund is looking for someone with knowledge of organising, campaigning, robust project management, and stakeholder engagement skills. You can see the full Job Description and details on how to apply here. Location: Flexible, with encouragement to join some team meetings in-person in London and some travel to key projects. Deadline is 17th August.

Programme Officer – Funders Initiative for Civil Society. FICS is looking for an experienced Programme Officer to develop grant-making and field-building activities for Civic Futures, a new philanthropic initiative to disrupt, reform and transform the ways that governments abuse national and global ‘security’ frameworks, information technologies, and rhetoric to target the rights to expression, assembly and association of individuals, civil society organisations and movements. You will have programme or grant-making experience in a relevant human rights field, be committed to working with grassroots movements, and be excited to join a growing team with a supportive and collaborative ‘start-up’ culture. Location: remote position, open to candidates worldwide, however the successful candidate must be available to work between 2pm-6pm UK time in order to collaborate with existing staff. Deadline for applications 12th September. Find more information here.

New Trustees – Civic Power Fund. The fund is expanding its Board of Trustees and looking for 3-4 additional trustees to join their founding team and replace fellow founding trustees Seyi Faloudun-Libard and Frances O’Grady. We are looking for Trustees with experience in community organising, fundraising, social purpose scale-up, and charity/ employment law. However, we welcome any applicants who will bring passion and hands-on enthusiasm to the role – and candidates do not need to have experience of sitting on boards. You can see the full Role Description and details on how to apply here. Location: To best serve the groups that we work with, for both roles we are particularly keen to hear from people of colour, from outside of London and with roots in our three core geographies: Greater Manchester, Wales, and Hampshire, from working-class backgrounds, from LGBTQ and immigrant communities, and living with disabilities. Deadline is 12th September.

Program Associate x3 – The Disability Rights Fund (DRF). In this period of significant organizational growth, we are expanding our overall grantmaking, bolstering our technical assistance, and pursuing new opportunities to advance advocacy for disability rights. The Program Associate is a new role designed to support our efforts to continue this expansion in alignment with our commitment to “nothing about us without us”. This role will report to and partner with the Program Director and work closely with others on the Program and Management teams to ensure well-coordinated and thoughtfully executed programmatic processes at DRF/DRAF. Location: DRF operates primarily as an e-office with headquarters in Boston, MA USA. Candidates are encouraged to apply as soon as possible.

Various roles – Crisis Group

Various roles – Fondation Abbe Pierre

Various roles – Fondation de France

Various roles – National Lottery Community Fund 

Various roles – Ford Foundation

Various roles – Open Society Foundations

Various roles – Wikimedia Foundation

*For more jobs, see the ‘Career Opportunities’ section of the Ariadne portal. To address pay gaps in the charity sector, we strongly encourage you to #showthesalary in your job adverts.

Public Meetings

ONLINE

25^th to 27^th October

Ariadne’s Grant Skills Week 2022: What does accountability mean for social justice funders? During the Grant Skills Week 2022, different accountability perspectives will be explored, including how philanthropy is accountable for the unequal distribution of wealth, to whom philanthropy is accountable, and what accountability means for foundation investments. The event will take place online from 25 to 27 October 2022, and registration information will be announced soon. In the meantime, please save the date! 

UNDERSTANDING AND UPROOTING RACISM IN GRANTMAKING INSTITUTIONS: Since the middle of 2020, following the murder of George Floyd and the resultant #BlackLivesMatter movement uprisings around the world, we at Ariadne have been working with Healing Solidarity to create a space for you to have more “uncomfortable” conversations about race and ethnicity, and especially racial justice issues within European foundations. Initially, in 2020 we offered a process that included shared webinars and racialised cohort sessions to provide a space for learning, sharing, and deepening your practice. During 2021, drop-in sessions were offered for all those who participated in that process, and earlier this year we offered a new series of cohort sessions for those who did not participate previously.  For the rest of 2022 drop-in spaces will be offered to build on this work and continue to support you. Dates for sessions throughout the year are as follows:

September: Cohort drop-in session: Tues 13 Sept, 1-2.30 pm CEST
Senior Leaders’ session: Tues 20 Sept, 1- 2.30 pm CEST
October: Mixed drop-in session: Tues 18 Oct, 1-2.30 pm CEST
November: Cohort drop-in session: Tues 15 Nov, 1-2.3o pm CET
December: Mixed drop-in session: Tues 6 Dec, 1-2.30 pm CEST

ISTANBUL

24^th to 26^th August

The PEXforum 2022 “Driving (eco)systems change: Exploring the transformative power of collaboration in philanthropy” will be an opportunity to address these challenges as well as opportunities for the European philanthropy sector. The forum will take place on 24-26 August at Kadir Has University in Istanbul, co-hosted by TÜSEV and Philea and facilitated by SenseTribe. Click here for more information and registration.

ONLINE

29^th July

The Law: Women’s Bill of Rights and the Domestic Abuse Act 2021. Jocelynne Annette Scutt is an Australian feminist lawyer, writer, and commentator. She is one of Australia’s leading human rights barristers, was instrumental in reform of the laws on rape and domestic violence, and has served as Anti-Discrimination Commissioner of Tasmania and as a judge on the High Court of Fiji. Jocelynn will speak about the Women’s Bill of Rights and will discuss the achievements and deficits of the Domestic Abuse Act 2021. There will be a Q&A session. You will be able to type your questions in Zoom’s chat box or you can send them in advance to ana@cambridgewa.org.uk. This event is organised by Ask Me – Cambridge Women’s Aid and will take place on 29th July from 18:00 – 19:30 BST.

11^th August

Behind the scenes: The Funders and Enablers of Extractives. Join this online conversation with land defenders and NGO allies, to learn about the key research findings on the funding behind extractives and explore critical questions: What does solidarity with women land defenders look like? What kind of investor accountability protects women land defenders’ lives, lands, and communities? The event will take place on 11th August at 13:00 UTC PM. Register here. 

8^th August

Online International Roundtable on Indigenous Children’s Voices & Rights. This Online International Roundtable on Indigenous Children’s Voices & Rights engages young leaders from different Nations as well as specialists and experts working to promote Indigenous Peoples’ and children’s rights. In an interactive and intergenerational dialogue, it seeks to strengthen and promote Indigenous Children’s Rights and the global Sustainable Development Goals. This event is organised by the Centre for International Sustainable Development Law (CISDL) and will take place on 8th August at 11:00 AM EDT.

28^th September

Funding for Intersectional Organizing: Virtual Report Briefing. The online briefing will cover HRFN’s report, Funding for Intersectional Organizing, the first comprehensive and global analysis of when and if grants to support human rights reach beyond a single issue or community. This event is organized by the Human Rights Funders Network (HRFN) and will take place on 28th September at 3:00 PM UTC.