Womenstrong International

WomenStrong International is one of the clearest exemplars of "trust-based philanthropy" in U.S.-based grantmaking, and that ideology shapes every aspect of how to approach them. They explicitly reject the traditional grant-application model: there is no open application portal, no LOI form, no published funding rounds, and grants are unrestricted multi-year support without burdensome proposals or reporting. Instead, WomenStrong identifies prospective partners through periodic, invitation-only Expression-of-Interest (EOI) cycles tied to specific learning areas (most recently Climate & Environmental Justice in 2025-26). The most viable path in for any organization is to (1) demonstrate strong alignment with one of WomenStrong's five learning areas — girls' education, women's health, violence prevention, economic security, climate justice — (2) be a women-led, nationally-led, sub-$1M-budget nonprofit in an urban/peri-urban area in Africa, Americas, or Asia, and (3) get on WomenStrong's radar via the Learning Lab community, conferences (Council on Foundations, AWID, Skoll World Forum), or a warm introduction from a current grantee partner. The signal that wins their attention is evidence that the organization is genuinely women-led at the governance level (board majority women), accountable to its community via local governance, and operating in a "transformational" rather than transactional mode. Susan Blaustein (Founder) and Dr. Chisina Kapungu (Executive Director) frequently speak about wanting to fund organizations that already know what works in their communities; framing your work as solving a problem that outsiders have repeatedly mis-diagnosed will resonate. Because WomenStrong is small (assets ~$1.6M, operating-foundation status), it acts more as a high-touch incubator than a check-writer — applicants should think of the relationship as a multi-year peer partnership, not a transactional grant.

WomenStrong is a relatively small private operating foundation (assets ~$1.6M; 2023 program expenses ~$1.26M across four program lines per IRS Form 990-PF). Their giving pattern is unusual: rather than thousands of small grants, they maintain a curated portfolio of roughly 27 women-led grassroots partner organizations across 24+ countries (Ghana, Kenya, India, Haiti, Washington DC are the original five; expanded to Bangladesh, Colombia, Cambodia, Mexico, Zambia, Uganda, South Africa, and others). Grant sizes are not publicly disclosed but inferred to fall in the $25,000-$100,000/year range per partner, sustained over multiple years. The largest expense category in 2023 was the Learning Lab ($570K) — meaning WomenStrong invests almost as much in convening, technical assistance, and peer-learning infrastructure as in direct grant dollars. Geographic distribution is roughly: ~40% Africa, ~30% Americas (including U.S.), ~25% Asia, ~5% other. Sectoral split is balanced across women's health, girls' education, violence prevention, economic security, and (newly) climate & environmental justice. The Abundance Collective for Girls & Women (launching October 2026 with Tides Foundation's Advancing Girls Fund) signals a strategic expansion into hybrid financing — meaning future capital may flow not only as grants but as program-related investments, recoverable grants, and co-investments into social enterprises owned by women-led organizations.

WomenStrong sits in a distinctive niche within women-and-girls focused intermediaries — small in dollars but highly influential in the trust-based philanthropy movement. Compared to peer funders in the same NTEE (T20 Private Operating Foundations / Women & Girls) and similar asset range:

WomenStrong is uniquely positioned: it is *much* smaller than Global Fund for Women or Mama Cash by assets, but punches above its weight via the Learning Lab (peer-to-peer capacity model) and is one of the few funders that operates as a "private operating foundation" rather than a public charity intermediary — meaning Susan Blaustein's family-led governance allows tighter strategic focus. The closest behavioral analog is Wallace Global Fund (invitation-only, deep multi-year partnerships) but at 1% of the asset base. For grantseekers, this means WomenStrong is *not* a viable open-call fallback like Mama Cash or Global Fund for Women — but if invited in, the relationship tends to be longer, deeper, and more unrestricted than peers.

Several significant developments in 2025-2026: (1) Sara Kriksciun joined as Chief Innovation Officer in 2025 with an explicit mandate to advance "power-shifting philanthropy" — signaling deeper investment in the Abundance Collective and new financing models. (2) Dr. Chisina Kapungu continues as Executive Director, with founder Dr. Susan M. Blaustein remaining Chair and President of the Board. (3) WomenStrong was honored with the inaugural Paul Farmer Award (announced 2025), recognizing equity-centered global health and development practice. (4) In 2025 WomenStrong published its "2025 Outcome Evaluation: Blueprints for Resilience" — a partner-driven evaluation framework that is being shared publicly as a sector resource. (5) The Climate & Environmental Justice Expression of Interest cycle was opened in 2025-26, marking a deliberate expansion into a fifth learning area. (6) The Abundance Collective for Girls & Women — a new incubator + co-investment fund with the Advancing Girls Fund at Tides Foundation — is set to launch October 2026, designed explicitly to help women-led organizations pivot away from declining traditional aid toward social enterprise, hybrid financing, and women-controlled capital. (7) WomenStrong received Candid's 2025 Platinum Seal of Transparency. The macro context — collapse of USAID, declining traditional ODA, and the broader "decolonize aid" / power-shift conversation — has put WomenStrong's trust-based model squarely in the philanthropic zeitgeist, raising its profile dramatically.

Tips for organizations hoping to be invited into a future WomenStrong cohort: (1) Do not cold-pitch a proposal. They explicitly state they have no open applications. Cold proposals will not be read. (2) Get on the radar via Learning Lab events and convenings. WomenStrong publishes a "Funder's Playbook for Women-Led Change" and hosts webinars (e.g. "Accountability & Impact at a Small Foundation"); attending and engaging substantively is far more effective than emailing the office. (3) Watch for thematic EOI windows announced via their news page and LinkedIn — the 2025-26 Climate & Environmental Justice EOI is a model. When such a window opens, respond within days, not weeks. (4) Demonstrate women-led governance, not just programming. They want to see a board majority composed of women, executive leadership held by women, and ideally founding leadership by women from the community served. (5) Lead with what you have already learned in community, not with a logic model. Their theory of change centers "local women leaders always knew what their communities needed" — narrative framing matters. (6) Stay under the $1M annual budget threshold for eligibility, and emphasize your local national-led status. (7) Build relationships with existing WomenStrong partner orgs (Girl Up Initiative Uganda, Roots of Health, Mujeres Aliadas, Action for Development, Black Women's Blueprint, etc.) — a partner introduction substantially increases the odds of an invitation. (8) Track the Abundance Collective launch (October 2026) — this is the most likely near-term entry point for new organizations interested in social enterprise / hybrid financing models; expressions of interest in co-investment can be sent to the Abundance Collective contact. (9) Engage with their published evaluation frameworks — citing or adopting elements of WomenStrong's 2025 Outcome Evaluation framework in your own M&E demonstrates alignment with their methodology.