BEYOND THE INVISIBILITY: WOMEN’S FUNDS IN LATIN AMERICA MOBILIZE

RESOURCES FOR GROUPS OF LESBIAN, BISEXUAL AND TRANSGENDER

WHO WE ARE
ConMujeres is a Consortium of Women's Funds in Latin America and Caribbean, an alliance of
Funds, created to mobilize, distribute and increase financial resources for human rights of
women and girls and, thereby, contributing to the development and strengthening of
organizations and women's movement and their capacity.

Our objectives are:

− To multiply the impact of social investment in leadership and human rights of women
and girls in the region.
− To contribute to the strengthening of women's and feminist movements in Latin
America and the Caribbean.
− To contribute to the greater visibility of organizations working for the rights of women
and girls in the region.

The funds in Latin America and Caribbean that

participate in ConMujeres are: ELAS Fundo de
Investimento Social (Brazil), Fundo Alquimia
(Chile), Fundo Centroamericano de Mulheres
(Nicaragua, Belize, Honduras, El Salvador, Costa
Rica, Guatemala), Fundo Mujer (Colombia), Fundo
de Mujeres del Sur (Argentina, Uruguay and
Paraguay) and Semillas-Sociedad Mexicana Pro
Derechos de la Mujer, A.C. (Mexico). In the
implementation phase of this project we also
benefited from the participation of the Central American Women's Fund, headquartered in
San Francisco (USA), and the Astrea Foundation, based in New York (USA). Further donors who
have invested in the initiative of this alliance were: HIVOS, Mama Cash, Global Fund for
Women and the Ford Foundation.
OUTLINE
The main goal of the project “Más allá de la invisibilidad: Los Fondos de Mujeres de América
Latina, movilizando recursos para las comunidades lésbica, bisexual y Transgénero” (Beyond
the invisibility: Women’s Funds in Latin America mobilize resources for communities of lesbian,
bisexual and transgender) is to contribute to the strengthening of the lesbian, bisexual and
transgender movement in Latin America by its grantmaking programs, capacity building,
impact measurements, workshops and exchanges as well as through their support of
participation in events.

DONATION
During the first year ConMujeres supported 65
LBT-organizations, present in 17 countries, with
a total of $ 446,941.08. In the second year, the
total value of $ 398,058.47 was delivered to 60
organizations: 39 lesbian groups, 15
transgender groups, three lesbian-bisexual
groups, one network of transgender and two
networks of LBT. The groups supported the
second year are located in 15 Latin American
countries: Mexico, Guatemala, Honduras, El
Salvador, Nicaragua, Colombia, Ecuador, Chile,
Uruguay, Paraguay, Argentina, Brazil, Dominican Republic, Bolivia and Peru.

The operational design of the project is built on donations that were distributed by two lines of
support. The first (characterized as "general support") was directed to women's organizations
geographically located in a specific community. The second line of support went to the training
initiative and LBT’s community empowerment, the donation was through regional networks.
The profiles of the organizations supported
were the following:

Grassroots groups: With little or no access

to other sources of funding and not
necessarily with many years of existence.

Mature groups: With little access to

resources, but with more history,
experience and recognition.

Large Groups: No major sources of funding,

but with a larger organizational structure
and political projection in its country and
internationally.

Regional Networks: With recognition and work in Latin America.

EXCHANGES
The Women’s Funds financially supported
meetings between organizations, the exchange
among activists and capacity building courses
in the region. Through a participatory
selection, the organizations elected 16 groups
which will be part of the exchange-learning in
different LBT organizations in the region. The
selected groups relied on resources of each
fund and, also, alliances between visitors and
hosts allowed to reduce the cost of
accommodation extending the length of stay in
the host countries.

The activities reported by the organizations within the framework of the exchange were:

− Presentation of each organization (included the exchange of information materials);

− Discussion anchored in political contexts and work on strategies;
− Meetings and visits in other organizations;
− Conducting workshops, participation in public activities for equal rights, field visits
(prisons, urban house occupation etc.).

"Cattrachas positioned itself nationally and internationally as a resistance organization

against the coup d’etat and as a defender of the rule of law by the means of video diaries
which we are editing to socialize with everyone, we received several opinions on the great
work we do and about the value that this visual evidence means for the defense of human
rights.” Rede Lésbica Cattrachas, Honduras.
RESULTS
In the first place, it is highlighted that the areas
where the groups have produced results in the first
year of employment with the donation of
ConMujeres were:
- Internal strenghtening;
- External strenghtening and
- Strenghtening of the LBT-movement.

On the "internal strengthening", 44 groups

reorganized tasks, functions and positions within the
group (75%), 40 groups reported that during the first year they created new leadership
positions within the organization (68%), 34 groups implemented a system to continue activities
and for its evaluation (58%) and 31 groups received resources by new donors (53%).

Regarding aspects of "external strengthening" it needs to be noticed that 49 groups have

become more assured known in the community where they work (83%) and 48 groups
reported that its dialogue increased with actors who are not part of the LBT-movement (81%).

About the strengthening of the LBT-movement, three important advances are highlighted: the
establishment of new linkages with organizations (83%), the creation of new links at the local
level (81%) and the carry-out of joint actions with other organizations (80%).

GENERAL REFLECTIONS
A Through the grant operationalized as "General
"We are realizing Support", women's organizations have steered their
actions towards impact activities and communication
dreams that we had
in ways that strengthened them internally and
in mind for already externally.
six years, referring The information by the organizations about the
to two stories with context allowed to identify policy opportunities
considering the heterogeneous social, political and
LGBT-topics which legislative developments of which they are part of.
we wanted to
It was possible to formalize the exchange between
publish but due to a activists through plans of work and to form alliances
lack of money it even before the possibility of completing the journey.
could not be The reports and information that some groups have
made about this matter were shaped by the specific
realized." Mujeres
aspects of the exchange, as was confirmed in the
Al Borde. feedback from the participants of the high value of the
exchange.
The budget for the project has strengthened local proposals (where alliances were made by
organizations with governmental and non-governmental organizations being the most
prominent feature) and regional participation of activists in the spaces promoted by women’s,
feminist and sexual diversity movements.