Summary notes middle and senior management meeting

Final Version
Topic: feedback on the August 6th all day staff meeting, titled The Global Fund for Women in the
World: brainstorming outcomes and strategies for !"#$
Tuesday August %, !!% &":!! ' :#!(
)otes by *ichelle *orales and +llen Sprenger
&,ersion August #, !!%(
Meeting participants
-a.ita )/ 0amdas ' 1resident 2 3+4
5ale )eedles ' 3hief 4perating 4fficer
Shalini )atara6 77 ,ice 1resident of 1rograms and +.aluation
8eanne Grossman ' 5irector of 3ommunications
9eina 9aatari ' 1rogram 4fficer for the *+)A region
Sande Smith ' Senior 3ommunications 4fficer
0andy Trigg ' Senior 0esearch Analyst
0achel :umphrey ' 5e.elopment 4fficer
Fennis :o ' 5irector of Finance and :uman 0esources
*uadi *ukenge ' 1rogram 4fficer for Africa region
Sarah 3osta ' 5irector of Special 1ro6ects and ); 0epresentati.e
+llen Sprenger ' Strategic 1lanning 3onsultant
*ichelle *orales 77 )otetaker
1 Purpose of the meeting and this memo
The purpose of this middle and senior management meeting <as to reflect on the staff
meeting of August 6
th
in terms of general feedback and breakthrough moments/
This memo aims to capture the pulse in the room$ and as such stimulate further
discussion and brainstorming in the conte=t of the Global Fund for Women>s strategic
planning process/

2 Feedback and breakthrough moments
Growing Sense of Ownership of Role in the Womens Movement
*any meeting participants reported that their breakthrough moment <as <hen they
reali?ed that as Global Fund staff they are taking more responsibility for and o<nership
of their role in the <omen>s mo.ement/ There <as a collecti.e sense of the need to o<n
our po<er and step up to the plate/$ *eeting participants further added that there <as
tremendous energy around Global Fund>s responsibility to the <omen>s mo.ement$ in
the meeting/ 3omparing the !!@ combined income of sur.ey respondents &A %B million(
to the annual budget of Amnesty Cnternational &around A #! million( made a big
impression, as <ell as the fact that the Global Fund for Women is the number 6 largest
funder for <omen>s rights organi?ing globally/ The o.er.ie< of global and regional
<omen>s rights related achie.ements and challenges further contributed to a shared
sense of responsibility and o<nership of Global Fund>s crucial role in the <orld/
Shift in Atmosphere, Collective Feeling and Comprehension of the Strategic
planning process
Cn comparison to the Dune @ staff retreat, the August 6
th
staff meeting <as a much
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Summary notes middle and senior management meeting
Final Version
Topic: feedback on the August 6th all day staff meeting, titled The Global Fund for Women in the
World: brainstorming outcomes and strategies for !"#$
Tuesday August %, !!% &":!! ' :#!(
more positi.e space, E<ith peopleF coming a<ay <ith the idea and the feeling that people
<ere heading in the right directionG/people not being afraid, E<ithF not so much
reser.ations and an=iety/$ +llen concurred by e=pressing that she felt the shift in the
atmosphere <hen staff and facilitators <ere able to Huestion and make fun of some of
Global Fund for Women>s deeply held truths$ or holy co<s$/ The August 6
th
meeting
also demonstrated gro<ing momentum and more comprehension around the process of
strategic planning in terms of de.eloping desired outcomes and conceptuali?ing
strategies that lead to those outcomes/
Growing Understanding of rocess and !magination Aro"nd Growth
Staff <ere much more comfortable <ith the idea that you can e=pand, contract, dream,
e=pand, contract, dream,$ <hile still remaining .ery grounded and constructi.e in the
discussion/ 0elated to this <as the reali?ation that gro<th of the Global Fund, <hile
seemingly una.oidable and impending, could be manageable at the same time/ The
possibility that one can imagine a future <here gro<th is managed$ <as a
breakthrough from the Dune @
th
staff retreat/
The budget continuum e=ercise at the staff meeting <as a strong indication of <here
staff is in terms of gro<th for the Global Fund/ 4n the continuum roughly I!J indicated
that they <ould like to see a doubling of re.enue &A K million in !"#(, #!J aspired
three times the re.enue of !!% &AI million in !"#( and another #!J <ould like to see
four times or more re.enue &A @6 million or more(/ 4ne meeting participant e=pressed
that she <as .ery surprised at <here people positioned themsel.es on the continuum,
<hich led her and others to belie.e that Global Fund <as ready to take on the challenge
of gro<ing and e=panding/
There <ere t<o paradigm shifts related to this issue of gro<th/ The first one occurred
<hen staff began to reali?e and take o<nership of the e=tent to <hich Global Fund has
po<er and influence in the global <omen>s mo.ement/ An aspect of this o<nership and
stepping up to the plate$ is gro<th that is responsi.e to the realities of <omen>s rights
funding and those of <omen and their communities/ +ssentially, as staff at both the
August 6 and August % meetings seemed to imply, this gro<th should be manageable
and effecti.e in helping the organi?ation meet the o.erall goals and mission of the Global
Fund/ Lltimately gro<th is about getting the money out to the mo.ement/ The form this
should take and the role of Global Fund for Women in it is a different matter and needs
further reflection/ A further paradigm shift relates to ho< the Global Fund thinks about
and understands resource mobili?ation/ &See the section belo</(
Reso"rce and Asset mo#ili$ation
My focusing only on ho< the Global Fund can increase its income, one is presented <ith
a narro< sense of gro<th and long7term sustainability/ As one meeting participant
pointed out, there is a difference bet<een income$ and assets/$ She <ent on to e=plain
that if one focuses on deciphering the steps one needs to undertake to acHuire assets,
then all the smaller details of gro<th <ill take care of themsel.es/ For e=ample, if the
ultimate goal is to buy a home, then it could .ery <ell be that one of the steps in
achie.ing that goal is increasing one>s income/ :o<e.er, <hile increasing one>s income
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Summary notes middle and senior management meeting
Final Version
Topic: feedback on the August 6th all day staff meeting, titled The Global Fund for Women in the
World: brainstorming outcomes and strategies for !"#$
Tuesday August %, !!% &":!! ' :#!(
is an ob6ecti.e of buying a home, it should not be percei.ed as the ultimate goal/
Gro<th, in these terms, should not stop at generating income but is ultimately about
financial sustainability/

Cn terms of mo.ement7 building, this distinction is .ital/ Women>s organi?ations remain
one of the poorest of the )G4 ' sector, in terms of income and assets/ Grantmakers
continue to pro.ide grants that do not address the organi?ational sustainability needs of
)G4s/ Furthermore, the <omen>s rights frame<ork is often missing from grantmaking
initiati.es, making <omen>s groups unattracti.e in.estments in the philanthropic sector/
Mecause of the generally responsi.e nature of their <ork, <omen>s groups are often not
afforded the opportunity to plan for the future, instead only focusing programmatic
acti.ities on the day7to7day needs of their constituencies and their organi?ations/
1erhaps, the meeting participants e=pressed, gro<th should translate into fundraising for
<omen>s organi?ations to acHuire more assets, such as their o<n endo<ment or office
building, so that they can achie.e long7term sustainability and a sense of permanent
presence in their communities/ Gro<th for the Global Fund should not necessarily mean
more program officers or more re.enue for GFW, rather it should mean fundraising for
more assets for <omen>s mo.ements globally/
GFWs Relationship with the Womens F"nds
Some meeting participants e=pressed that the 1o<erpoint piece on the <omen>s funds
led them to Huestions around the role of <omen>s funds in e=ecuting Global Fund>s
mission/ Cf Global Fund is to become more strategic in its grantmaking, then other
<omen>s funds <ill ha.e to play a more prominent role in Global Fund for Women>s
<ork/

The discussion on the Women>s Funds led to Huestions about ho< Global Fund should
structure its grantmaking as <ell as other forms of collaboration <ith <omen>s funds/ Ct
<as mentioned that the Global Fund has recei.ed past reHuests from many <omen>s
funds both based in the LS and in other countries to be e=plicit peers <ith 6oint
agreements and 6oint funding proposals/$ Should the Global Fund treat different
<omen>s funds in different <aysN Should <omen>s funds recei.e any special attention in
the grantmaking process because they are such an integral aspect of global mo.ement
buildingN
While much of the discussion during the August 6 staff meeting <as influenced by the
understanding that the Global Fund must o<n its e=pertise and po<er, Global Fund has
a history of <anting to decentrali?e its po<er in the mo.ement by making grants to local
<omen>s funds/ As one person put it, Ct>s the core essence of our organi?ation/ We
<ant to o<n our po<er, and then <e <ant to gi.e it a<ay, decentrali?e it/ Ct is in our
5)A/$ :o< does this principle apply to the &future( relationship <ith <omen>s funds in
the Global South and +astN

The significance of <omen>s funds in the <omen>s mo.ement is not a ne< theme in
Global Fund>s past and present strategic planning processes/ Muilding the capacity of
<omen>s funds <as a central idea in the Strategic 1lan for !!# ' !!K, but since then
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Summary notes middle and senior management meeting
Final Version
Topic: feedback on the August 6th all day staff meeting, titled The Global Fund for Women in the
World: brainstorming outcomes and strategies for !"#$
Tuesday August %, !!% &":!! ' :#!(
attention shifted and the goals and ob6ecti.es related to this issue are no longer as clear/
What <ill the ne=t big thinking around GFW>s relationship to the other <omen>s funds
look likeN
Reflections on %Strategic Grantma&ing'
An important breakthrough during the August 6
th
meeting <as the reali?ation that the
Global Fund is being directi.e in its grantmaking, <hether or not it likes to be/ Global
Fund for Women is a grantmaker and in making grants it makes decisions about <ho to
fund and <ho not to fund/ Cts grantmaking decisions affect the <omen>s mo.ement in
e.ery region of the <orld/ So the Huestion here is not <hether the Global Fund>s
grantmaking is directi.e, but rather ho< can Global Fund>s grantmaking reflect its
mission to ad.ance <omen>s rights in <ays that are strategic and accountable to the
needs of the mo.ement/ Cn this conte=t there is a need to redefine ho< Global Fund for
Women understands strategic grantmaking$, including its guiding principles of pro.iding
general support and being responsi.e/
Lltimately the Huestion is to define <hat e=cellent Global Fund for Women grantmaking
looks like in the "st century/ An important aspects of this is to find a better balance
bet<een front end, mid end and back end grantmaking, putting more emphasis on
en.ironmental scanning &front end( as <ell as grant impact data &back end( <hile fast
tracking the processing of grant proposals &mid end(/ Another key aspect is to e=plore
the different elements of a more di.ersified grants portfolio, <ith larger and smaller
grants, a more reacti.e and proacti.e role as a grantmaker, one year and multi7year
grants, hea.ier and lighter reporting and e.aluation reHuirements and capacity building
and e.aluation support for grantees/
%! am a grantma&er'
While there ha.e been some suggestions of transforming Global Fund from a
grantmaker to an )G4, or taking on other functions, such as those of a policy maker,
think thank or &paid( consulting, meeting participants agreed that Global Fund>s first
priority and core ambition is being the leading grantmaker in the field of <omen>s rights
and mo.ement7building/ 5ra<ing on a comment made during the August 6 staff meeting,
namely the importance of focusing and building on Global Fund for Women>s uniHue
strengths meeting participants emphasi?ed the importance of consistently .ie<ing the
multiple facets of Global Fund>s <ork through the lens of being a grantmaker/ As one
person put it, of all the things <e <ould like to do and change in the <orld, B!J <e can
ad.ance through our grantmaking$/ Some one else suggested <e should all be <earing
a hat that says: C am a grantmaker$/
(he importance of strategic colla#oration
The importance of strategic collaboration <ith other <omen>s rights and social 6ustice
organi?ations <as mentioned se.eral times/ The Global Fund for Women .ery much
<elcomes collaboration and large numbers of organi?ations and indi.iduals approach
the organi?ation <ith specific reHuests and proposals/ While it <as ackno<ledged that
strategic collaboration is an important <ay of le.eraging influence, of impacting and
becoming .isible at a larger scale, the challenge is to decide <here to in.est and <ith
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Summary notes middle and senior management meeting
Final Version
Topic: feedback on the August 6th all day staff meeting, titled The Global Fund for Women in the
World: brainstorming outcomes and strategies for !"#$
Tuesday August %, !!% &":!! ' :#!(
<hat le.els of intensity/ Ct <as discussed that instead of doing policy <ork or ad.ocacy
the Global Fund could collaborate <ith those already speciali?ed in these areas/
3reating a platform <ith other &successful( <omen>s funds in the LS and abroad <as
mentioned as another possibility of scaling up influence and impact/
Glo#al F"nds Messaging and the role of Comm"nications
Se.eral meeting participants made reference to ho< the August 6
th
staff meeting led to
thoughts and Huestions <ith ho< Global Fund>s messaging <ill change as a result of the
strategic planning process/ 4ne person noted that Global Fund>s messaging has already
changedO Global Fund no longer uses the message Small Grants for Mig Cmpact$ as
Global Fund>s donor profile has shifted from focusing mostly on small contributions to
also focusing on donors <ho are capable of making much larger donations/ Cn
grantmaking too there has been a shift a<ay from only considering small grants/ The
shift from Small Grants for Mig Cmpact$ to potentially, Mig Grants for Mig Cmpact$, <as
apparent in the 1o<erpoint presentation from the August 6
th
meeting/ Seeing Global
Fund listed as P6 in the list of top ! donors for <omen>s rights organi?ations made
some meeting participants reali?e the importance of changing Global Fund>s messaging
to a communications piece that <ill sho<case the change7creation po<er of an Q *illion
5ollar$ donation/
The importance of national and international campaigns <as mentioned se.eral times on
August 6
th
and August %th/ Traditionally, the 3ommunications function at the Global
Fund has mostly focused on supporting the de.elopmentRfundraising aspects of Global
Fund>s <ork/ )o<, there seems to be a gro<ing understanding of the importance of
framing the 3ommunications function in terms of both the resource mobili?ation and
grantmaking functions of the organi?ation by applying a mo.ement building frame<ork/
This <ay, the 3ommunications function makes .isible ho< Global Fund for Women, in
collaboration <ith others, contributes to concrete outcomes and encourages others to
6oin in/ Cn this process Global Fund for Women is a &stealth( ad.ocate, a bridge builder
and broker <ho connects indi.iduals, including those in key positions of influence, to the
process of mo.ement building/
Reflections on the da)s process
+llen and 8ydia made a great team in facilitating and mo.ing the discussion for<ard/
8ydia>s reflection at the end of the day <as also .ery useful because it <as both a
summary and a critiHue/ Cn short she pointed out that Global Fund for Women should
build on its uniHue strengths/ 0ather than taking on ne< roles and functions, the most
important contribution it could make is to get better in <hat it is already good and mo.e
from good$ to great$/ Cn other <ords, focus on both resource mobili?ation and
grantmaking and use communications to connect the centre, Global Fund for Women>s
mission, to the <orld/
:a.ing Moard members present <as e=cellent and the physical space <here the
meeting <as held <as .ery effecti.e in creating a le.el playing field$ <here e.eryone
could share their thoughts and .oice their opinions/
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