FRIDA | The Young Feminist Fund (FRIDA) is a left-of-center feminist funding organization based out of Canada. FRIDA focuses on various projects through a feminist lens that include art activism, global warming, LGBT interests, and other ventures. FRIDA has funded pro-anarchy groups, queer art, groups fighting development, educational groups for young girls about the dangers of global warming, groups supporting hormone replacement therapy for transgender individuals, and LGBT awareness and advocacy campaigns. FRIDA is opposed to English being the dominant language on the planet and has claimed that Israel’s hunt for Hamas terrorists after the October 7, 2023 attacks constituted a genocidal campaign against the Palestinians.
History
FRIDA | The Young Feminist Fund was founded in 2010 in Toronto, Ontario Canada. 1 FRIDA is a youth-led feminist fund that mobilizes resources and funds to strengthen feminist activities globally and build alliances between women’s rights movements and other social movements to advance left-of-center social policy. 1
Positions
FRIDA focuses on the issues of feminist art activism, climate activism, LGBT rights, and other feminist ventures. 2 FRIDA supports the Ukrainian “Feminist Group ‘Salt’,” a group of self-identified queer, anarcho-feminist artists. 2 In Bogota, Colombia, FRIDA backs a group that is documenting, protesting, and advocating for wetlands over residential and commercial development. 2 In the country of Georgia, FRIDA supports a group distributing booklets on global warming, supporting solar ovens and energy efficiency in homes, and teaching girls about global warming and the benefits of green energy. 2
In Colombia, FRIDA supports groups raising awareness of violence in trans and queer communities producing public awareness campaigns, social media videos, and hosting roundtable discussions. 2 In Slovenia, FRIDA supports a group bringing feminist voices into LGBT activism and supporting queer women and trans people to create space to develop creative projects. 2 The group also produced physical and online magazines and a short film on bisexual awareness. 2
In Africa, FRIDA held a dialogue with partners in 2021 that included such topics as climate justice, gender-based violence, access to hormone replace therapy for those individuals transitioning, and period poverty. 3 FRIDA states that radical climate action is needed to transform the inequitable patriarchal structures in society, to pursue environmental justice in preserving water among other things, and prevent global warming through a feminist perspective. 4
FRIDA states it is seeking to break down the “hegemony of English” and striving toward language equity. 3 FRIDA states it stands with the Palestinians against supposed Israeli settler colonialism and white supremacy labeling the hunt for Hamas terrorists in late 2023 a genocidal campaign against the people of Gaza. 5
Financials
In 2021, FRIDA | The Young Feminist Fund reported net assets of $4,360,951. 3 According to the organization’s annual report, in 2021 FRIDA recorded $6,441,799 in revenue and $5,807,262 in expenses. 3 In 2020, FRIDA raised $4,904,674 in revenue and incurred $4,508,659 in expenses. 3
Donors
Institutional donors to FRIDA include the Channel Foundation, Children’s Investment Fund Foundation, Climate Justice Resilience Fund, Comic Relief, Foundation for a Just Society, the Kendeda Fund, Mama Cash, Mize Family Foundation, NoVo Foundation, Wellspring Philanthropic Fund, WE Trust, and Sigrid Rausing Trust. 6 FRIDA also received a grant from Mackenzie Scott in 2021-2022. 7
Grants Made
In 2021, FRIDA’s grants to organizations constituted 48 percent of expenses providing 252 core support grants and 96 special grants. 3 FRIDA provided 8 grants to Asia and the Pacific, 26 grants to Latin America and the Caribbean, 15 grants to Southwest Asia and North Africa, 21 grants to Central Eastern Europe and Central and North Asia, and 24 grants to Western Europe, Southern, and Central Africa. 3
In 2020, grants to organizations constituted 50 percent of FRIDA’s expenses. 2 FRIDA received 1000 grant applications from 123 countries. 2 In 2020, FRIDA provided 252 core support grants. 2 Asia and the Pacific received 40 grants totaling $276,620. 2 Latin America and the Caribbean received $319,385 from 50 core grants. 2 Southwest Asia and North Africa received 31 grants totaling $212,705. Central Eastern Europe and Central and North Asia received 41 grants worth $274,385. 2 Western Europe, Southern and Central Africa received $330,705 from 48 grants. 2
Leadership
In August 2023, FRIDA | The Young Feminist Fund announced that co-executive directors Sarabhai and Rodriguez Acha would be transitioning out of FRIDA. 8
Anahita Sarabhai had been co-executive director at FRIDA since February 2022. 9 Sarabhai is a queer disabled feminist activist who in 2016 founded QueerAbad, a queer-ally community building platform. 10 From 2015 through 2021, Sarabhai was a theatre arts faculty member at the Mahatma Gandhi International School. 11 Sarabhai has a bachelor’s degree in dance from Sarah Lawrence College. 11
Majandra Rodriguez Acha became co-executive director at FRIDA in May 2019. 12 Prior, Rodriguez Acha was a consultant and program officer at Oxfam America from 2018 through 2019. 12 Prior, Rodriguez Acha worked at the Association for Women’s Rights in Development, Women’s Environment and Development Organization, and Environment Massachusetts, along with other positions in Peru. 13 Rodriguez has a bachelor’s degree in sociology/anthropology and sustainable development from Swarthmore College. 12
References
- “FRIDA | The Young Feminist Fund.” LinkedIn. Accessed October 28, 2023. https://www.linkedin.com/company/frida-the-young-feminist-fund/about/.
- “FRIDA Annual Report 2020.” FRIDA. Accessed October 28, 2023. https://youngfeministfund.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/12/FRIDA-Annual-Report-2020.pdf.
- “FRIDA Annual Report 2021.” FRIDA. Accessed October 28, 2023. https://youngfeministfund.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/FRIDA-2022-Annual-Report.pdf.
- “We Are Multiple Bodies, Connected As Currents. What Water Brings: Lessons on Funding Young Feminist Activism on Climate and Environmental Justice.” FRIDA. November 17, 2021. Accessed October 28, 2023. https://youngfeministfund.org/we-are-multiple-bodies-connected-as-currents/.
- “FRIDA | The Young Feminist Fund.” LinkedIn. October 2023. Accessed October 28, 2023. https://www.linkedin.com/company/frida-the-young-feminist-fund/posts/?feedView=all; “Act With Transformational Feminist Solidarity With Palestine.” FRIDA. October 18, 2023. Accessed October 30, 2023. https://youngfeministfund.org/we-must-act-with-transformational-feminist-solidarity-with-palestine/.
- “Our Supporters.” FRIDA. Accessed October 28, 2023. https://youngfeministfund.org/our-supporters/.
- Scott, MacKenzie. “Helping Any of Us Can Help Us All.” Medium. March 23, 2022. Accessed October 30, 2023. https://mackenzie-scott.medium.com/helping-any-of-us-can-help-us-all-f4c7487818d9.
- “Announcing the Transition of FRIDA’s Coeds.” FRIDA. August 28, 2023. Accessed October 28, 2023. https://youngfeministfund.org/announcing-the-transition-of-fridas-coeds/.
- “Welcoming FRIDA’s New Co-Executive Director.” FRIDA. February 7, 2022. Accessed October 28, 2023. https://youngfeministfund.org/welcoming-fridas-new-co-executive-director/.
- “Welcoming FRIDA’s New Co-Executive Director.” FRIDA. February 7, 2022. Accessed October 28, 2023. https://youngfeministfund.org/welcoming-fridas-new-co-executive-director/. “Anahita Sarabhai.” LinkedIn. Accessed October 28, 2023. https://www.linkedin.com/in/anahita-sarabhai/.
- “Anahita Sarabhai.” LinkedIn. Accessed October 28, 2023. https://www.linkedin.com/in/anahita-sarabhai/.
- “Majandra Rodriguez Acha.” LinkedIn. Accessed October 28, 2023. https://www.linkedin.com/in/mrodriguezacha/?originalSubdomain=pe.
- [1] “Majandra Rodriguez Acha.” LinkedIn. Accessed October 28, 2023. https://www.linkedin.com/in/mrodriguezacha/?originalSubdomain=pe.