Feminist Opportunities Now (FON) is a programme that aims to build capacity of feminist organisations via subgrants to enhance more diverse and resilient Civil Society Organisations when addressing and responding to gender-based violence, inequalities, discrimination and other human rights violations related to gender.

International Planned Parenthood Federation Africa Region (IPPFAR) is the FON consortium lead, with the other consortium partners being Médecins du Monde (MdM-FR), Creating Resources for Empowerment and Action Inc. (CREA), the International Federation on Human Rights (FIDH) and Empow’Her (EH). The programme is funded by the French Government via the French Development Agency (AFD).

The actions of the consortium's member organizations are guided by feminist principles and a strong commitment to promoting human rights and combating inequalities and discrimination, particularly against women and girls. With extensive experience in the themes covered by the program's mandates and complementary expertise, they provide a solid foundation for the program's comprehensive and holistic approach.

Where: Bangladesh, Burkina Faso, Colombia, Côte d'Ivoire, Ethiopia, Republic of Guinea, Kenya, Mexico, Niger, Sri Lanka.

When: 2022-2026

The Challenge 

Gender inequalities continue to impact half of the world’s population on a global scale and remain one of the primary barriers to human development. The FON Programme aims to tackle these inequalities by addressing several key challenges:

• Insufficient or ineffective implementation of comprehensive laws, policies, and legal frameworks to combat gender inequalities globally, which has resulted in worsening disparities.
• Inadequate application of these frameworks has further widened inequalities and increased the vulnerability of women and girls, particularly those with disabilities, living with HIV, sex workers, and individuals of diverse sexual orientations and gender identities (SOGI).
• The COVID-19 pandemic has significantly exacerbated social and economic issues, leading to a rise in gender-based violence (GBV).
• Insufficient involvement of people with disabilities (who make up 15% of the global population), LGBTI+ individuals, sex workers, and people living with HIV/AIDS in initiatives to advocate for their rights, resulting in limited participation in preventing and responding to violence.
• A lack of support for emerging or relatively new Civil Society Organizations (CSOs), many of which are not formally recognized. Despite their enthusiasm and dynamic efforts, these organizations continue to face obstacles that limit their ability to combat GBV and promote women's rights.
• The absence of an innovative and flexible financing system to enhance the contributions of diverse CSOs in the Global South toward reducing GBV.

Objectives of the Programme 

• To Improve the sustainability of feminist CSOs at the organizational and technical levels by proposing an inclusive approach to capacity building.  
• To support the resilience and diversity of feminist CSOs through access to flexible, sustainable financing mechanisms tailored to small and/or informal and/or marginalized CSOs.
• To strengthen a networked movement of feminist CSOs in the Global South, linking these CSOs and national, regional, and international networks, to make their voices heard on the public stage.    
• To promote innovation at all levels of the programme by the CSOs themselves and the consortium member organisations.

Targets of the Programme 

• Feminist CSOs working with and/or for the various structurally excluded groups.
• Activist organizations working with or led by people who may face particularly high discrimination.
• Gender inequalities and GBV, such as members of the LGBTI+ community and in general people with diverse sexual orientation and gender identities and Gender Expressions (SOGIE).
• People living with disabilities.
• People with HIV/AIDS.
•  Sex workers.
•  Indirectly, targets of advocacy activities (regional bodies, national / local authorities, etc)

Approaches of the Programme 

FON seeks to empower feminist organizations through subgrants to create more diverse and resilient CSOs in their efforts to address and respond to gender-based violence, inequalities, discrimination, and other human rights violations related to gender.

To support this mission, FON will establish Regional Coordination and Advisory Committees in each region—Africa, Asia, and Latin America. These committees will play a crucial role in promoting inclusiveness and identifying opportunities for advocacy. The subgranting process will be structured into three funding windows, with the first call for proposals set to launch in April 2023:

Window 1 : Boost

The goal of this window is to enhance the capacity of feminist CSOs to navigate external challenges (such as political instability or insecurity) and internal obstacles (such as organizational difficulties, need for co-funding or additional program components). This window also provides flexibility, allowing CSOs to apply for grants to seize new opportunities in programming or advocacy.

Window 2: Programmatic & Organizational Development

This window is designed to support small and mid-sized CSOs aiming to grow their organizational, technical, and programmatic capacities. It aims to fund specific programs while simultaneously strengthening the overall capacity of the recipient organizations.

Window 3: Synergies

This window will provide funding for networks, movements, and alliances to carry out advocacy activities related to GBV and for organizations looking to join existing networks. It focuses on fostering network and alliance building and increasing visibility on national, regional, and international platforms.

Location Justification 

Equity is a fundamental component of the FON implementation strategy. The programme will be carried out in 10 countries: six in Africa (Burkina Faso, Ethiopia, Côte d’Ivoire, Guinea, Kenya, and Niger), two in Latin America (Colombia and Mexico), and two in Asia (Bangladesh and Sri Lanka). The selection of these locations was carefully considered based on the following criteria:

• Countries where there is a strong need for CSO support and a high potential for exchanges and collaborations.
• Locations with existing normative and policy frameworks that are not fully implemented or respected in national laws.
• Countries with significant and varied needs among their populations, indicating a broad potential for learning and training.
• Contexts where gender-based violence is prevalent, increasing the necessity for support to feminist CSOs.
• Opportunities for collaboration with other existing and/or new initiatives.

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