Funding Change from the Ground Up: Happy Mwende Kinyili on supporting feminist activists

In today’s complex social landscape, where civic space is shrinking and inequality is deepening, the ways we fund change are evolving.

Happy Mwende Kinyili, Co-Executive Director of the global feminist fund Mama Cash, shared her perspective on radical feminist philanthropy in a recent episode of the “Giving Done Right” podcast.

Her insights illuminate how trust, participation, and grassroots-led action are essential to supporting meaningful, lasting change.

For Kinyili, funding is not just about money; it is about empowerment, solidarity, and radical shifts in how resources are allocated.

From a Kitchen Table to a Global Fund

Mama Cash’s origin story is modest yet revolutionary.

In 1983, five radical lesbians in Amsterdam gathered around a kitchen table to decide what to do with an inherited sum of money.

These women were part of the Netherlands’ radical left movement and recognized a disconnect between the conventional accumulation of wealth and their activist values.

Instead of giving the money to established institutions, they decided to redirect it to activists working for change in their own communities.

“It happened around a kitchen table,” Kinyili recalled on the podcast. “One of them had inherited wealth and said, ‘I got money and I don’t know what to do with it.’ And they thought, we can help solve this by getting resources to those making change in their contexts.”

This founding principle that those closest to the problem are best placed to create solutions remains central to Mama Cash’s philosophy.

By rejecting top-down funding models, the organization built a framework that centers the wisdom and lived experiences of activists themselves.

Over the decades, this kitchen-table idea transformed into a global fund that supports thousands of grassroots organizations in more than 90 countries, yet it remains grounded in the same ethos: trust activists, empower movements, and provide resources where they are most needed.

Participatory Grantmaking: Power in the Hands of Activists

At the heart of Mama Cash’s approach is participatory grantmaking.

Rather than having decisions made solely by funders or distant boards, a Community Committee (COM COM) of feminist activists worldwide reviews applications and decides collectively who receives grants.

“The most exciting thing,” Kinyili said on the podcast, “is feminist activists themselves decide who gets the grants, which is a key piece of us trying to not just move money, but also move it in radically different ways.”

This approach not only shifts power to the people leading change but also ensures funding aligns with local realities.

Activists are viewed not as passive recipients of aid, but as strategic leaders and visionaries capable of shaping priorities and approaches.

It challenges traditional philanthropy, where large sums are often directed based on metrics, reputations, or bureaucratic processes rather than lived experience and frontline knowledge.

By trusting activists to make funding decisions, Mama Cash strengthens accountability, transparency, and relevance.

It also fosters solidarity: those deciding where to allocate resources are deeply embedded in the struggles and contexts they aim to support.

Funding the Unseen and Underserved

One of the core lessons Kinyili emphasizes is the importance of funding groups often ignored by conventional donors.

Many grassroots organizations are unregistered, criminalized, or otherwise marginalized.

These groups are frequently overlooked, yet they play a critical role in challenging oppressive systems and creating lasting change.

Kinyili shared a striking example from Kenya on the podcast.

While managing an organizational audit, she observed young people protesting against a tax bill.

She realized that Mama Cash’s seemingly mundane administrative work directly supported these activists on the ground.

“Mama Cash does get money to people who are going to the protest,” she explained.

“They need money to bail people out of jail, pay for medical bills, make sure that people have phones, so that they can connect across cities. And Mama Cash gets money to those people when they need it.”

This flexible and trust-based approach allows the organization to respond to real-time crises, supporting activists in ways that rigid funding structures cannot.

It highlights the broader lesson: funding radical change requires adaptability, empathy, and a deep understanding of context.

Beyond Projects: Building Movements

For Kinyili, philanthropy is not just about funding isolated projects; it is about nurturing movements.

Long-term, flexible support helps grassroots organizations grow, scale their impact, and sustain themselves in the face of political and social challenges.

The Green Girls Platform in Malawi is a prime example.

With backing from Mama Cash, the group, led by girls and young women, expanded from 150 members to over 10,000, mobilizing communities to tackle climate change.

Such growth demonstrates how sustained funding can translate into lasting social and environmental impact.

By investing in networks and collective action rather than single projects, Mama Cash strengthens decentralized structures of resistance.

Kinyili envisions a world where feminist movements from diverse sectors, environmental, labor, LGBTQIA+, and sexual rights work together, strategize, and celebrate shared victories, creating solidarity and mutual support.

This approach also counters global trends of attacking women’s rights, highlighting the resilience and creativity of grassroots organizers who persist despite shrinking resources.

In Kinyili’s view, robust movements are the best defense against political and social backlash, as they distribute power and decision-making across communities.

Navigating Challenges in Feminist Funding

Kinyili acknowledges that funding feminist movements is not without challenges. Global funding for women’s rights is declining, and many grassroots activists operate under legal and political threats.

Traditional donors often favor visible, well-established organizations, leaving the most vulnerable under-resourced.

She highlights the importance of humility and listening in funding decisions: funders cannot assume they know what is best.

Instead, they must trust the judgment of those closest to the issues, even when their contexts are complex or politically risky.

Kinyili’s approach also emphasizes responsiveness.

Funding must be flexible enough to support immediate needs, whether bailing activists out of jail, providing medical care, or sustaining digital connectivity while also investing in long-term capacity building.

This balance is critical for movements to thrive without being constrained by rigid reporting requirements or short-term goals.

Hope Amid Global Challenges

Despite the hurdles, Kinyili remains hopeful. Her optimism is pragmatic, grounded in the resilience of the people she serves.

Quoting her mother on the podcast, she shared a guiding principle: “Don’t try to do everything, do something.”

This wisdom encapsulates Mama Cash’s philosophy: small, strategic interventions, when guided by those with lived experience, can build into lasting systemic change.

Kinyili’s message is both empowering and radical: those most affected by injustice are the ones best equipped to lead solutions.

“The people who’ve gotten us into this mess aren’t going to get us out of it,” she said, emphasizing the necessity of feminist-led, grassroots strategies to create a just future.

For Kinyili, the goal is not merely to fund initiatives but to cultivate resilient, interconnected, and empowered movements capable of transforming society from the ground up.

Lessons for Philanthropy

From Kinyili’s reflections, several lessons emerge for funders and activists alike:

1. Trust the experts: Funding decisions should be led by those with lived experience of the issues.
2. Prioritize flexibility: Allow movements to respond to real-time crises and adapt strategies.
3. Invest in networks: Strengthening connections across movements amplifies impact.
4. Focus on long-term change: Sustainable funding creates enduring social structures.
5. Empower, don’t control: Radical trust in grassroots actors fosters resilience and innovation.

Through her work at Mama Cash and insights on the “Giving Done Right” podcast, Happy Mwende Kinyili demonstrates that philanthropy can do more than distribute money; it can shift power, build movements, and nurture hope even amid global crises.

Her vision of radical feminist funding offers a model for those seeking to create meaningful, lasting social change.