Ariadne's Thread

Welcome Maja!

Upcoming events

Grant Skills Day 2025 – Beyond the Playbook: Resourcing for the Future – 30 September, London. 

Together with Ariadne’s members, we prepared exciting sessions for human rights and social change funders. Together we will:

• Reimagine the future of the sector considering today’s challenges.
• Explore present and emerging risks—and what it takes to be prepared.
• Share alternative models for resourcing human rights and social change.
• Rethink the approaches and narratives that shape our work.
• Reimagine how funders can support the financial autonomy of movements to break philanthropic dependency.

European Tech and Society Funders Annual Meeting 2025 – 21-22 October, Brussels.

The European Tech and Society Funders Meeting is an in-person gathering focused on fostering partnerships, knowledge sharing, and driving collaborative efforts to advance the intersection of technology and society. The event is co-hosted by Ariadne and Aspiration. Learn more and register. Please note this is a funders-only event.

Ariadne’s 2026 Reconnect: Please mark 14-16 April 2026 in your calendars and stay tuned for the location announcement.

All resources can be found on Ariadne’s website and Member-only Community Hub. Are you a member of Ariadne but don’t have access to the Community Hub? Sign-up here or email jana.stardelova@ariadne-network.eu.

The next Thread will go out on Thursday 16th October. We would love to hear from you! Please contact us by Tuesday 14th October if you would like to share announcements, events, or resources for the next issue. 

Dalan Fund – “Growing Against All Odds: Mapping Funding for Intersectional Organizing in the CEECCNA Regions”: Dalan Fund presents the first-ever comprehensive analysis of funding for intersectional organizing across the diverse regions of Central and Eastern Europe, the Caucasus, and Central and North Asia (CEECCNA). It is driven by the need to spotlight lived experiences and political agendas of regional social justice movements, whose efforts are critical yet often overlooked and underfunded. 

Hivos – EUSEE launching Country Focus Reports for an enabling environment for civil society: The EUSEE project has launched its first batch of Country Focus Reports with insights from 86 countries. These reports provide a comprehensive, evidence-based analysis of the enabling environment for civil society in each participating country. They are about understanding local realities and supporting meaningful, context-driven advocacy.

Freedom Fund – “Centring survivors’ voices in the fight against modern slavery”: This report sheds light on the work of the Survivor Leadership Fund (SLF). Led by Beatriz Sanz-Corella, between March 2024 and January 2025, a team of evaluators conducted an external evaluation to assess SLF’s impact and areas for improvement.

TransActual – “Trans segregation in practice”: A new report shows that trans and cisgender people face job loss, violence, vigilantism and wholesale exclusion following the Supreme Court Ruling on the Equality Act. They’ve also shared resources for trans people around self-care and mental health.

Article – “One year on – joint letter from the Funders for Race Equality Alliance and partners”: One year on from the racist and Islamophobic riots, racialised and minoritised communities are still facing hate crimes, hostility and violence. As violent demonstrations continue in the UK, the Funders for Race Equality Alliance have come together again with Civic Power Fund, the Justice Together Initiative and Migration Exchange (MEX) to coordinate efforts to support equitable and transformative short, medium and long-term funding responses. 

CLIMA Fund – “Youth-led Climate Justice Action”: This thematic brief for funders explores how youth-led movement partners are developing leadership, advocacy, and artistic capacity to respond to the climate crisis. 

Center for Countering Digital Hate (CCDH) – “Fuelling Hate”: CCDH researchers revisited accounts on X (formerly Twitter) to conculde that a year after the UK summer riots, X is still failing to address calls for violence against Muslims and migrants despite clearly violating the platform’s own rules.

Global Philanthropy Project – 2023-24 Data collection: 30 September is the deadline for Global Resources Report data submission. Grants data is collected for funding focused on global LGBTI issues and communities in calendar years 2023 and 2024. 

Article – “Transforming a Legacy: From Co-Granting to Truly Collaborative Philanthropy”: In this article for the Center for Effective Philanthropy (CEP), you can learn about EPIM’s journey towards reimagining its core structure, grantmaking lens, and leadership model. Authored by Raphaela Schweiger, EPIM’s former Chair and Director for migration and immigration society at the Robert Bosch Stiftung; Sophie Ngo-Diep and Hrishabh Sandilya, EPIM’s Co-Directors.

Article – “Shifting power in today’s philanthropy”: Learn more about shifting power in philanthropy in this discussion about how philanthropic efforts can avoid gatekeeping and perpetuating existing power imbalances. The article is written by Clare Gibson Nangle, Director of strategic partnerships; Alison Miranda, Director of learning and assessment; and Marianne Mollmann, Director of regional programs, at the Fund for Global Human Rights.

CIVICUS Lens Interview – “The lesson from Gaza is clear: when AI-powered machines control who lives, human rights die”: CIVICUS discusses the military use of artificial intelligence (AI) in Gaza with Dima Samaro, a Palestinian lawyer and researcher, and director of Skyline International for Human Rights, a civil society organisation (CSO) that defends digital freedoms and human rights in the Middle East and North Africa.

UK Government publishes a new Covenant on how civil society and public bodies will work together at national and local level. The implementation of the Covenant will be overseen by a Joint Civil Society Covenant Council.

Girls Not Brides 2024 Impact Report: Access the report to learn more about the progress of global partnerships in the face of growing challenges – conflict, economic instability and shrinking civic space. 

Grassroots Justice Network and Namati publish new report, “Power Up: Lessons from Twelve Years of Organizing with Community Paralegals”: Drawn from case studies and 95 interviews across three countries, the report is the third in a series of global research. The series comprises a three-part “handbook” for community organisers around the world to respond safely and effectively to government threats to legal rights.

European Anti-SLAPP Monitor Launched: The Coalition Against SLAPPs in Europe has established the European Anti-SLAPP Monitor which aims at providing
information on the status of transposition and implementation of European instruments on
SLAPPs at national level.

KIOS Annual Report 2024: 176,280 people benefited from KIOS-funded human rights work in 2024. Despite worrying global setbacks, the fight for democracy, equality, and justice continues. In 2024, KIOS funded 52 human rights projects in East Africa and South Asia. 

Explore how Astraea Foundation’s U.S. Fund is prioritising LGBTQI+ Power in 2025: Astraea’s Program Officers give an overview of their portfolios, do a deep dive into the issues grantee partners face, and share how they are working to build power during this particular period of political chaos.

Digital Freedom Fund (DFF) 2024 Annual Activity Report: In 2024, DFF supported strategic litigation in 25 countries, challenging the harms of Big Tech, invasive surveillance, and discriminatory algorithms. They also received more grant applications than ever before, which is clear evidence of the growing need for strategic litigation within the digital rights community. 

Esmée Fairbairn Foundation Annual Report and Accounts 2024: In 2024 the foundation provided £45.1m in main grants to 236 organisations and initiatives across the UK, £9.1m approved in new social investments, and £2m approved in new impact investments.  

Human Rights Funders Network (HRFN) “Funding at a Crossroads – Foreign Aid Cuts and Implications for Global Human Rights”: HRFN provides analysis of the projected decline in funding for global human rights movements, driven by cuts to foreign aid and growing instability in philanthropic support. The analysis suggests that the cuts will have a profound effect on the infrastructure of civic space and human rights, highlighting the critical need for proactive strategies to support these movements in the face of a challenging political and economic climate.

2024 Annual Report Paul Hamlyn Foundation: The annual report explores several key themes that have shaped the year. These themes include a period of renewal, strengthening relationships, and meeting challenges. The report incldues a reflection on how these themes have influenced the year and contributed to building toward a new strategic period in the coming years.

Article “New EU rules threaten the future of crowdfunding—and civil society”: In this article for Alliance Magazine, Esther Meester, Senior Legal Advisor at the European Center for Not-for-Profit, outlines the new EU anti-money laundering regulations, set to take effect in July 2027. The change targets crowdfunding, a vital fundraising tool for non-profits, and threatens to create new financial barriers for civil society at a time when donor support is diminishing. 

Urgent Action Fund 2024 Annual Report: Last year, UAF made more than 600 grants to fuel feminist activists and sustain their movements in 43 countries—a record number of grants they’ve ever made in a given year. With UAF’s support their partners were able to defend reproductive freedom, fight for climate, disability, racial, and gender justice, and sustain themselves during moments of crisis.

GiveOut (UK) – Senior Grant making Officer. Grant-making is central to GiveOut’s mission of growing giving to support LGBTQI human rights activism globally. As Senior Grant-Making Officer, you will play a pivotal role in shaping and delivering our grant-making programme, ensuring we effectively channel resources to LGBTQI activist organisations worldwide. Location: Central London / Hybrid, UK. Salary: 34,000-40,000 GBP. Please apply as soon as possible.

Philea – Programme Coordinator – Journalism and Arts and Culture. The Programme Coordinator will coordinate the Journalism Funders Forum and the Arts and Culture Funders Forum. The ideal candidate will bring expertise in the design, implementation, evaluation, and resourcing of multi-annual programmes, and experience in network management and facilitation. Location: Brussels, Belgium. EU Citizenship or valid work permit required. Salary: Gross salary is 3,500-4,000 EUR. Deadline is 22 September.

Civitates – Impact and Learning Manager. The Impact and Learning Manager is a newly created position to advance Civitates’ mission by supporting collective learning and exchange, evidence-based decision-making and communication. Location: Brussels, Belgium. Salary: 4,100-4,500 EUR per month, gross. Deadline is 11.59 CET, 28 September. 

Global Greengrants Fund – Manager: Monitoring, Evaluation, and Impact. Global Greengrants Fund is looking to hire a passionate individual who will play a key role in deepening the culture of learning and accountability across teams and the global advisory network. The Manager, Monitoring, Evaluation, and Impact (MEI) is responsible for leading and coordinating Global Greengrants’ approach to understanding the progress and impact of our collective work. Location: Remote/Global. Salary: min. gross annual 102,800 USD. Deadline is 21 September at 23:00 MT.  

Baring Foundation – Tender for research. Baring is looking to commission researcher/s to research and write a practical and inspiring report on diversifying income for participatory arts organisations working with people with mental health problems. Payment: maximum of 10,000 GBP, including VAT and expenses. The Foundation will bear the costs of publication. Deadline is 12 noon BST on 31 October.

Fondazione Con il Sud – Impact Evaluation Specialist. Her/his role will include defining evaluation policies and practices, entrusted to specialized third-party entities, to be applied to the initiatives and calls for proposals funded by the Foundation. She/he will collaborate with other organizational areas of the Foundation and with the Impact Evaluation Office of the social enterprise “Con i Bambini”. Location: Rome. Salary: gross 27,000-40,000 EUR. Deadline is 30 September.

Global Fund for Children and The Iris Project – Senior Fundraising Associate. As the Senior Fundraising Associate – sharing time between Global Fund for Children (GFC) and The Iris Project (IP) – you will focus on securing unrestricted funding for both organisations. Location: UK (Remote). Salary: 38,000 GBP. Deadline for applications is 19 September, 5pm UK Time. 

Esmée Fairbairn Foundation – Consultant – Community-led Art and Creativity Strategy Review. Esmée Fairbairn are looking to work with an external consultant to carry out a short review to inform how they deliver their strategy for Community-led art and creativity. It is estimated that the work will take 27 days, beginning in October 2025 and running through to January 2026, with a budget of £20,000. Deadline: 22 September, 5pm UK time. 

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

25 September, Online

TGEU (Trans Europe and Central Asia) – How can we make sure trans voices are heard at the European level? This webinar explores the Council of Europe’s human rights and advocacy mechanisms, and aims to show how national-level work can connect to and influence regional processes. Date and time: 25 September, 11am – 12:30pm CEST. Learn more and register.

30 September, Brussels, Belgium 

Privacy Camp 25: Resilience and Resistance in Times of Deregulation and Authoritarianism. Privacy Camp is organised by European Digital Rights (EDRi), in collaboration with its partners the Research Group on Law, Science, Technology & Society at Vrije Universiteit Brussel , Privacy Salon vzw , the Institute for European Studies at Université Saint-Louis – Bruxelles,  and the Racism and Technology Center. The event brings together digital rights advocates, activists as well as academics and policy-makers from all around Europe and beyond to discuss the most pressing issues facing human rights online. Learn more and register.  

9 October, Online

Moving Towards Reparative Justice – Report Launch. This is the latest report in the “How Funders Can Act” series by Ten Years’ Time, that presents research and provides practical solutions for action to support trusts, foundations and donors to centre racial and economic justice in their giving. Date and time: 9 October, 11am – 12pm CEST. Learn more and register.

14 October, Online

Esmée Fairbairn Foundation – Diversity, equity and inclusion support to grantees. This webinar will discuss the findings of the review of diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) support provided to organisations funded through Funding Plus. Date and time: 14 October, 2pm BST. Learn more and register.

17 October, Theatre by the Lake, Keswick, UK

Anti Racist Summit 2025. Nearly 400 people will come together in an inspiring space for connections, taking action, healing, creating, continuing their education and most importantly, moving the anti-racism conversations and actions forward. Learn more and register.

7-9 November, Barcelona, Spain 

Mozilla Festival 2026. Mozilla Festival is a space for exploration, collaboration, and bold ideas. Whether you’re here to learn a new skill, challenge assumptions, or connect with innovators shaping the future, there’s something for you. Here’s a look at the different ways you can engage. Learn more and register.  

20 November, Online

Virtual Launch of the Mixed Migration Review 2025. This year’s Mixed Migration Review (MMR 2025) examines how migration dynamics are reshaping in response to a context of intensified geopolitical turmoil. Date and time: 20 November, from 2pm – 3:30pm CEST. Learn more and register.