The history of the Jumuiya Women Fund, since 2002, as a community-based organization, is a unique story woven with courage, resilience of lived experience by its founders. It begins not in corporate boardrooms but in the heart of rural Kenya, where our visionary founders, remarkable women brimming with strength and compassion witnessed the challenges faced by countless women and girls in their communities.
Rooted in the arid and semi-arid lands (ASALs) of Kenya—regions often overlooked in national development discussions—these founders watched as women grappled with deep-seated issues such as Female Genital Mutilation (FGM), gender-based violence (GBV), alcoholism, child marriages, landed ownership, poverty, and a patriarchal system that silenced voices of women in the grassroots communities. It was from this backdrop of struggle that a powerful mission emerged; a mission to empower women who had the potential of building communities that thrive.
Thus, in 2019, JWF was born as a Non-profit Women Fund—a community-driven organization with a mission to elevate the voices of women and girls, confront injustice, and create systems that empower and uplift.
Our Impactful Journey
Today, JWF stands as a proud feminist and Indigenous grant-making organization dedicated to fostering equality and improving lives across East Africa. Our work revolves around five pivotal pillars:
- Grant Making and Management:
We provide flexible funding to grassroots Women’s Rights Organizations, Networks, Movements, and Social Enterprises, honoring their leadership and vision. Each grant we offer is a seed of change planted in fertile ground, in the various thematic areas and cross cutting themes we support. - Resource Mobilization:
We bridge local ambitions with global support. Through innovative partnerships, donor collaborations, and cutting-edge tools like cryptocurrency, JWF mobilizes resources that empower women-led initiatives from the grassroots level. - Influencing Philanthropy:
As proud disruptors of conventional philanthropy, we challenge the status quo through platforms like our Annual Feminist Philanthropy Conference, amplifying the needs of marginalized communities in funding discussions. - Capacity Building and Institutional Strengthening:
We partner with our grantees beyond the grant cycle, providing tailored training, leadership development, and support to help build resilient institutions capable of driving sustainable change. - Feminist Response to Crisis:
In the face of climate change, economic challenges, and humanitarian emergencies, JWF is on the front lines. Our crisis response is rooted in community needs, focusing not just on immediate relief but on building a stronger foundation with women leading the way.
Why Our Story Matters
In a world where women and girls continue to face systemic barriers to equality, Jumuiya Women Fund exemplifies the power of local solutions driven by local women to transform societies. Our story is not just a reflection of our past; it fuels our aspirations for the future. Every program, partnership, and voice we uplift is grounded in lived experiences and a steadfast commitment to a just and inclusive world.
Our vision is to have an empowered society where every woman and girl is free from gender inequality and socio-economic deprivation.
“ We are not simply funding change; we are embodying it. And this is just the beginning. ”
Grounded in Community, Guided by Vision
We have never strayed from our roots. Our strength lies in being deeply grounded in community wisdom. We will tell you for a fact that the grantees we have supported do really come from hard-to-reach, remote an or marginalized communities who have faced challenges, and to whom funding might not reach easily.
We listen first, co-create solutions, and ensure women and girls are not just beneficiaries, but leaders, innovators, and decision-makers in every process. This is how trust is built. This is how real, lasting change takes shape.
We are a learning organization.
As we’ve grown, so too has our network of change-makers—local champions, women-led organizations, and resilient youth collectives who are pushing boundaries and rewriting narratives. We believe that the power of philanthropy lies in shifting power. And at JWF, we are doing just that—by redistributing resources, redefining leadership, and reinvesting in the frontlines of feminist action.
- Supporting local leadership
- Funding women-led solutions,
- Building stronger, more inclusive women-led organizations.
Looking ahead, we envision an East Africa where feminist values are at the heart of development, where institutions invest boldly in women’s leadership, and where equality is not a dream, but a lived reality. With every story we share, every life we impact, and every movement we nurture, we edge closer to that vision together.
