Fifth anniversary

Five Years with the Doria Feminist Fund

Closing the Gap in Funding and Trust, and Building an Institution From and For the Region

Five years we measure not only by what we have accomplished, but by what we have witnessed up close: the feminist movements in our region lack neither imagination, nor knowledge, nor the capacity to act. What they lack is access to resources that reflect the realities they face, and for their vision of the world to be taken seriously.

This is where the Doria Feminist Fund's fifth-anniversary campaign, titled “Ours to Imagine, Ours to Build”, originated from. We did not want this campaign to be merely a showcase of numbers and achievements, but rather a moment to pause before the questions that have accompanied the Fund since its inception: Who holds the right to set priorities? What do we consider impact? How do we build trust without compromising accountability? And how do we accompany movements without managing them on their behalf?

The feminist and queer movements in our region do not start from scratch. Behind every safe space, every campaign, every support network, every piece of research, and every emergency response lies a long memory of collective work. These movements carry knowledge that has grown from the ground, from fear and survival, and from attempts that stumbled, then rose again and started anew.

At the Doria Feminist Fund, we do not see imagination as an escape from reality, but as a tool for dismantling and confronting it. In imagination, we name the possible before the world allows us to name it, and we read what we lack not as evidence of deficiency, but as a map of what we ought to build. Over the past five years, we have not merely imagined survival — we have sought to provide the conditions that make sustainability possible.

Through this campaign, we wanted to speak to the importance of restoring funding to its political place; our work has never been limited to transferring money from a donor to a recipient, but it has always been about building partnerships grounded in trust and the right to make decisions.

We also wanted to remind people that impact cannot be measured by the number of grants and activities alone; it sometimes begins with trust that has quietly accumulated, a space that remained open when everything around it came to a halt, knowledge that reached those who truly needed it, or a team that managed to protect itself and keep working against all odds.

In this way, the campaign went back to the questions that have shaped the work of the Doria Feminist Fund for five years: How do we combine trust with accountability? How do we build an institution that safeguards resources and ensures their continuity without becoming detached from the movements it serves? And how do we change the very language of funding, so that it stems from the movements' own knowledge and reality, rather than from templates designed far from them?

As the fifth-anniversary campaign is drawing to a close, the Doria Feminist Fund is getting ready for its next step. In August, the Fund will open a new grant cycle to continue supporting feminist movements and groups in the region, strengthen their capacity to endure and respond to crises, and build what they imagine for their own future and communities.

How Did the Story Begin?

The experience of the Doria Feminist Fund grew out of a question that had remained present in feminist discussions across the region for many years: why does funding allocated to feminist movements remain scarce, especially in our region, and why does it often arrive burdened with conditions that resemble neither the reality nor the pace of the work?

It was clear that the problem did not lie in the amount of money available. Feminist and queer movements in the region needed a funding mechanism that seriously understood the nature of the work amid conflict, authoritarianism, occupation, and shrinking civic space, and that grasped the scale of the risks facing both registered and unregistered groups.

In 2019, a group of Egyptian activists launched consultations on the political and practical dimensions of establishing an independent regional feminist fund, drawing on exploratory studies, prior recommendations, and safety and security assessments. This entire phase revolved around a deeply practical question: how do we channel resources to movements without putting at risk the people and groups we are meant to serve?

After a series of meetings, the Doria Feminist Fund was officially launched on March 8, 2021, carrying the name of Doria Shafik, the Egyptian writer, journalist, and activist who played a pivotal role in the women's liberation movement in Egypt during the 1940s and 1950s.

From the outset, the aim was not simply to create a new entity that distributes grants, but to build an institution that moves resources toward movements, trusts their knowledge, and remains accountable to them rather than being above them.

Becoming an Institution

For many years, a large part of the feminist work in the region rested on the shoulders of individuals operating with limited resources within temporary structures that shook with every crisis, resignation, or funding gap. For this reason, the institutionalization of the Doria Feminist Fund was not a shift from the spirit of the feminist movement to the logic of management, but an attempt to protect that spirit from remaining hostage to individuals or fleeting circumstances.

For the Doria Feminist Fund, being an institution does not mean becoming an intermediary that channels donors' demands and turns them into instructions for movements. An institution, as the Fund understands it, is a structure that bears responsibility for managing and protecting resources and moving them forward, that builds systems ensuring the continuity of the work, while remaining accountable to the movements it was established to serve.

In an institution, responsibility is distributed over a team rather than carried by a single person, and decision-making capacity remains even when the people making those decisions change. Clear mechanisms emerge for reviewing mistakes, protecting people and information, and handling complaints and tensions — rather than leaving it all to the spontaneity of the moment.

This was not an easy path. In its early years, the Doria Feminist Fund faced difficult questions around governance, accountability, and trust, which required it to review its structure, develop protection policies, strengthen its board, embed restorative justice and care into its systems, and build more participatory mechanisms for grant- and decision-making.

Five years on, the Doria Feminist Fund is managing its resources according to clear financial standards, but it does not want this practice to put a distance with the movements. The challenge lies in combining both: an institution capable of protecting resources and ensuring continuity, while remaining close to the reality of those working amid crises. We co-create priorities with our partners and leave them room to determine what their projects and communities need, particularly when crises require decisions that cannot be anticipated in advance.

This is what institutionalization is about: a guarantee that feminist and queer movements will not be left alone whenever a crisis intensifies, and that work will not have to start from scratch whenever a person changes or a grant ends.

Zaha 2025–2030

The Next Five Years

The Doria Feminist Fund does not view the next five years as an inevitable extension of what came before. The region is changing, crises are overlapping, and funding is declining, while the need for feminist and queer movement work keeps growing.

The “Zaha 2025–2030” vision was created to chart the path for the next phase: strengthening movements and the ecosystems that support them; improving the capacity to prepare for, respond to, and recover from crises; building narratives and knowledge rooted in the region's own reality; entrenching collective care and safety and security; and working to change the way resources move.

As the fifth-anniversary campaign is coming to an end, the Doria Feminist Fund is getting ready to launch a new grant cycle in August. This is yet another step on a path that did not start from zero, and that does not settle for merely managing what is possible — but keeps asking: why have the available resources become so scarce and limited? And what could we build if resources reached those who know the ground and are leading the change accordingly?

Read more about Zaha

In her capacity as Chair of the Board, Lina Abou Habib talks about the harsh shifts in the feminist funding landscape, and the delicate balance between trust and accountability. She also reflects on the role the Doria Feminist Fund can play, beyond simply providing grants.

Interview

“Proud of the Doria Feminist Fund's Powerful Role Under Extremely Difficult Circumstances”

Lina Abou Habib

Chair of the Board, and Director of the Asfari Institute for Civil Society and Citizenship at the American University of Beirut

Lina Abou Habib

  1. What gap in the regional funding landscape has DFF been able to fill over the past five years?

    DFF came at a time when there was no particular focus on the WANA region in all its diversity. It took into consideration the multilayered complexities of a region that is conflict-ridden, suffers from various forms of authoritarianism, endures occupation, and where different minorities — ethnic, sexual, geographical, etc. — have been on the receiving end of violence, oppression, and discrimination.

    DFF's first five years of operation have allowed us to identify, support, and sustain amazing emerging groups of progressive feminist activists, many of whom were receiving funding for the first time.

  2. From your experience, what tensions or difficult choices arise when funding movements in a genuinely flexible and trust-based way?

    This is a very important question: how do you reach the best balance between flexible and trust-based funding, on the one hand, and accountability and transparency, on the other? Experience has shown us over the past five years that this is, to a large extent, an uncharted path, and I think we have learned a lot. Building relations of trust is a long and iterative process that requires both sides to engage in good faith, with equal trust and transparency.

    I hear from our grantees how much they value and appreciate their relationships with DFF team members, and that they consider the spaces DFF offers to be different, engaging, and safe. Tensions always arise, and we need to accept that some connections are not meant to be, and that is fine. In these five years, I think I have seen far more connections evolve than tensions.

  3. What has changed most in the environment facing feminist movements since DFF was founded?

    For one, the funding ecosystem has completely transformed, and not for the better. Funding has been diverted towards dangerous, if not lethal, conservative agendas, and anti-rights movements, both state and non-state, have taken over the public discourse and continue to bully and intimidate intersectional and progressive feminist movements.

    This has had a disturbing impact on feminist movements, and we have yet to see its expanding ripple effects. These are the worst of times, and I am proud to see DFF play such a powerful role under testing circumstances.

  4. What would meaningful sustainability look like for DFF over the next five years?

    Financial stability is essential for continuity, as well as for our ability to continue moving resources to feminist movements in the region. This is only one part of meaningful sustainability. The other pieces involve sustaining an ecosystem of feminist knowledge production that has wide reach and uptake, as well as remaining well connected and mindful of how and why movements evolve.

  5. What do you hope DFF will be able to influence beyond the grants it makes?

    My hope is that DFF will be able to influence the dynamics within feminist movements in the region, foster rapprochement and collaborative action, and help make feminist perspectives and thinking a natural part of the public sphere, beyond the movement itself.

Zeina Abdel Khalik revisits the wager that launched the Doria Feminist Fund five years ago, and what it took to turn an idea into a firmly established institution. She speaks about trust as a political practice, and about the future that the “Zaha 2025–2030” vision seeks to build.

Interview

“We Are Here, Our Roots Run Deep, and We Are Here to Stay”

Zeina Abdel Khalik

Executive Director, Doria Feminist Fund

Zeina Abdel Khalik

  1. When you look back at DFF's first five years, what gives you the greatest sense of pride?

    Five years ago, the Doria Feminist Fund was a bold idea; a leap of faith rooted in the firm belief that feminist movements in the WANA region deserved better. Today, DFF is a trusted, resilient home for movement resourcing, having channeled over $4.3 million directly to frontline activists across our region.

    Yet, beyond numbers, what fills me with immense pride is how we've disrupted the philanthropic status quo. DFF's message is clear and undeniable: We are here, our roots run deep, and we are here to stay.

  2. DFF often speaks about trust. What does trust look like in practice between a fund and the movements it supports?

    For us, trust isn't a trendy buzzword, it's a daily political practice. We operate from a simple truth: movements are the true experts of their own lives and realities.

    Our role isn't to preach, manage, or impose conditions; it is to smooth away obstacles and make flexible, enabling resources seamlessly available. Trust means shifting power back to where it belongs, backing activists unconditionally, and holding space for our collective liberation.

  3. Over the past five years, what assumptions about philanthropy or funding have you had to unlearn?

    I had to unlearn the myth that philanthropy is safe, predictable, or orderly. In a region navigating deep instability, certainty is an illusion.

    The real power lies in radical agility, the ability to adapt and pivot in real time during crises without compromising an inch of our core feminist values. Success in movement resourcing is not about sticking to rigid administrative blueprints; it's about deep adaptability, speed, and absolute commitment to the activists on the frontlines.

  4. Looking back, was there a decision that felt risky at the time but ultimately proved to be the right one?

    Choosing to directly resource unregistered, informal frontline groups in high-crisis contexts like Sudan, Palestine, Lebanon, and Syria.

    Traditional donor spaces often label these groups as “too risky” or “too difficult”. Challenging those bureaucratic rules to build flexible, emergency-ready feminist funding mechanisms felt like a massive risk against established norms. Yet, it proved to be our best decision: these groups are the bedrock of community survival, resilience, and resistance when formal systems fall apart.

  5. Why is imagination a political and feminist practice? And what could become possible over the next five years?

    Oppression thrives by stripping communities of their capacity to dream beyond immediate survival. Imagination, therefore, is a radical feminist act because it reclaims our right to articulate the world we actually deserve. Imagination gives us the right to dream without asking for anyone's permission, and building gives us the ability to turn those dreams into reality.

    Today, sustaining movements amid compounding crises and shrinking civic space feels painfully heavy. But through our Zaha 2025–2030 vision, what feels difficult today can become tomorrow's reality: an interconnected and resilient feminist ecosystem in the WANA region, backed by flexible, long-term resources, moving together towards a feminist future of justice, freedom, and joy.

When Resources Reach Those Who Know the Ground

The impact of feminist work does not always appear in numbers or in quick results that are easily fitted into reports. Sometimes, it begins with a safe space to speak, knowledge that gives a woman greater ability to protect herself, a skill that becomes a source of income, or a feeling that her voice is heard and that she is capable of making a difference.

Below are personal testimonies from people who have participated in the work of Doria's partner organizations.

Lebanon

  • These sessions were like therapy for us. For the first time, we could speak up freely about what we experienced during the war.

    A beneficiary of our partner organizations' work — Lebanon

  • I learned to sit with my children, listen to them, and give them more time. I also learned to take time for myself and appreciate my own value.

    A beneficiary of our partner organizations' work — Lebanon

  • Before this project, I only knew basic sewing. Now I can create products, sell them, and contribute to my family's income.

    A beneficiary of our partner organizations' work — Lebanon

Syria

  • For the first time, I felt that our voices matter, and that we're capable of making a real difference in the neighborhood, not just talk about it.

    A beneficiary of our partner organizations' work — Syria

  • This workshop is a step towards bridging gaps in women's political awareness. We must work on effective plans to bring women to decision-making positions.

    A beneficiary of our partner organizations' work — Syria

  • The problem lies in women not knowing what they experience during conflicts and ignoring their rights.

    A beneficiary of our partner organizations' work — Syria

Sudan

  • This program is important, especially because it equips women with what helps them protect themselves from violence, analyze their reality from a gender perspective, and conduct practical, qualitative research addressing many issues in the Sudanese society.

    A beneficiary of our partner organizations' work — Sudan

  • This program is an important opportunity for every woman and girl to learn about her right to safe expression, and to protect herself from various forms of digital violence.

    A beneficiary of our partner organizations' work — Sudan

Tunisia

  • For the first time, I felt that my ideas mattered, and that I could speak in front of others without fear.

    A beneficiary of our partner organizations' work — Tunisia

Morocco

  • These topics used to be shrouded in secrecy and shame. Now we have a manual that contains both the language and the facts. I used it to explain a few matters to my younger sister. This knowledge no longer feels like a burden, but it is a strength we can share.

    A beneficiary of our partner organizations' work — Morocco

These testimonies do not capture the full scope of the work's impact, but they reveal what resources can make possible when they reach movements that know their own reality: a space to speak, tools for protection, knowledge that can be shared, and a greater capacity to work and keep going.

Behind Grants and Strategies

The Doria Feminist Fund team builds daily relationships grounded in listening, trust, and accompaniment. In these interviews, team members speak about the experiences that changed them, and what they have learned from feminist movements across the region.

  • Alia

    Morocco

    What is your role at DFF, and how have you contributed to DFF's work over the past five years?

    I am a Program Officer, and I accompany feminist organizations across the MENA region. My role is to support them throughout their journey, but also listen, learn, and build relationships based on trust. I hope I was able to contribute to creating a space where organizations feel that they are not simply grant recipients, but full-fledged partners in the work.

    What achievement, project, or moment are you most proud of?

    What I'm most proud of isn't a specific project, it's the people I've had the privilege to meet. As a Moroccan, I would have never imagined that my work would take me on such a rich journey across the region. I have learned from women working on sexual and reproductive health and rights, gender-based violence, climate justice, community art, sewing cooperatives, feminist research, and so much more.

    At first, these causes might seem unrelated, but together they paint a broader picture of women's strength and capacity for change. Every organization holds a different piece of the picture, and every encounter has expanded my understanding of feminism, solidarity, and what collective work can make possible.

    What do you hope DFF will achieve or influence over the next five years?

    I hope DFF continues to believe in feminist organizations long before the rest of the world notices them. I hope it keeps creating connections across borders, because when one organization flourishes, it inspires many others, and together they create something far more powerful than any of us could ever achieve alone.

  • Sara

    Lebanon

    What is your role at DFF, and how have you contributed to DFF's work over the past five years?

    As Social Media Coordinator, I have helped amplify DFF's mission by creating engaging digital content, growing our online presence, and sharing the stories and impact of our grantee partners across the region.

    What achievement, project, or moment are you most proud of?

    I'm most proud of helping make DFF's work more visible, creating campaigns that reached wider audiences and highlighted the strength, resilience, and impact of feminist movements in the MENA region.

    What do you hope DFF will achieve or influence over the next five years?

    I hope DFF continues to expand its reach, support more feminist initiatives, and inspire lasting change by strengthening feminist movements and amplifying diverse voices across the region.

Useful Reads on Funding Feminist Movements

Where do resources earmarked for gender equality actually go? And how much of that funding reaches feminist organizations and movements? The reports below offer a clearer picture of the scale of the funding available, the channels through which it moves, and the barriers that prevent resources from reaching local movements directly.

  1. Development Finance for Gender Equality 2024

    OECD

    The OECD report examines international development finance for gender equality. It finds that funding specifically aimed at strengthening the effectiveness, influence, and sustainability of women's rights organizations has consistently remained below 1 per cent of the total official development assistance for gender equality, at around USD 0.5 billion per year.

    The report stresses the importance of direct, flexible, and multi-year funding to strengthen organizations' autonomy and sustainability.

    “Women's rights organizations and feminist movements are essential actors to achieve transformative and sustainable change for gender equality.”

    Read the report ↗

  2. Unravelling the Gap Between Global Commitments and Funding for Women's Organizations in Conflict-Affected Contexts

    UN Women

    This UN Women report examines the funding reaching women's organizations in fragile and conflict-affected settings. In 2022 and 2023, these organizations received only 0.4 per cent of the bilateral aid directed to these contexts, equivalent to around USD 186 million per year.

    It also shows that the problem is not limited to the scarcity of resources: a significant share continues to flow through international organizations and intermediaries rather than reaching local organizations directly.

    “In fragile and conflict-affected contexts, ODA to WOs has never exceeded 0.4 per cent of bilateral ODA in these settings over the last decade.”

    Read the report ↗

  3. Where Is the Money? An Evidence-Driven Call to Resource Feminist Organizing

    AWID

    AWID's research draws on data from 1,174 organizations and movements across 128 countries. In 2023, their median annual budget was just USD 22,000. Fifty-eight per cent operated on less than USD 30,000 a year, including 14 per cent operating with no budget at all.

    The report offers a picture from within the movements themselves, showing how the distribution of funding reproduces inequalities across regions, between registered and unregistered organizations, and between local groups and larger institutions.

    “Our findings show no real growth in annual budgets in over a decade, pointing to a persistent budgetary glass ceiling that organizations are struggling to break through.”

    Read the report ↗

  4. The Quiet Crisis Hitting Feminist Movements — and How Women's and Feminist Funds Are Rising to Meet It

    Prospera International Network of Women's Funds

    Prospera's study examines the impact of funding cuts on feminist funds and movements, estimating the scale of losses at around USD 676 million. Seventy-eight per cent of the network's member funds reported that they had already been affected, with confirmed losses reaching USD 65.3 million.

    The study also shows that the role of feminist funds goes beyond transferring resources: they provide core and flexible funding to movements that often struggle to access larger donors.

    “Women's and feminist funds are the financial backbone of feminist movements.”

    Read the report ↗