Fenomenal Funds

What Fenomenal Funds does

Fenomenal Funds is a feminist funder collaborative launched in 2020 as a five-year initiative of New Venture Fund (NVF), a 501(c)(3) public charity headquartered in Washington DC. The model pools capital from four private foundations (William and Flora Hewlett Foundation, Foundation for a Just Society, Open Society Foundations, and a fourth) and combines it with shared governance involving four women's funds and the Prospera International Network of Women's Funds (INWF) Secretariat, with women's funds holding at least 50% of seats on the Steering and Advisory Committees. Its two core products are Resilience Grants (equal-sized core grants distributed to every eligible Prospera INWF member fund that submits a request, supporting organizational infrastructure, staff salaries, and operational resilience) and Collaboration Grants (multi-year grants funding 15 Collaboration Groups across thematic areas including collective care, feminist organizational development, financial resilience, participatory grantmaking, narrative power, resource mobilization, and feminist monitoring and evaluation). The collaborative also produces knowledge products, notably a Learning Strategy and a Theory of Transformation publication, available in English, Spanish, and French, and engages KIT Royal Tropical Institute as an external Learning Partner.

The technology stack is non-proprietary: the collaborative does not build or sell technology products. Salesforce is deployed by multiple grantees through the Feminist Fund Database collaboration, with Global Fund for Women providing templates, coding support, and implementation guidance to peer funds including Bulgarian Fund for Women, Taso Foundation, Women Fund Tanzania, and Women Fund Z. Over its five-year tenure, Fenomenal Funds moved over US$20 million to 44 women's funds across five continents, with outcome data showing 92% of small funds citing the long-term infrastructure-focused approach as vital to their transformation, 80% of Prospera members building financial reserves for sustainability, and 14 of 15 Collaboration Groups reporting strengthened internal systems and financial resilience.

Fenomenal Funds does not operate as a commercial entity; it has no revenue model, pricing, or product sales. All funding is philanthropic, directed from pooled foundation capital to women's funds through grants and collaborative learning programming. The organization's GTM motion is structural rather than sales-driven: distribution occurs through the Prospera INWF membership network, which pre-qualifies grantees and selects its own representatives to the governance bodies. The initiative is explicitly scheduled to sunset in June 2025, marking the end of the five-year pilot.

Name

Fenomenal Funds

Legal name

New Venture Fund

Website

https://fenomenalfunds.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

2020

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Fenomenal Funds is a feminist funder collaborative and project of New Venture Fund that pools capital from four private foundations and uses participatory grantmaking to distribute Resilience Grants and Collaboration Grants to women's funds within the Prospera International Network of Women's Funds across five continents.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Feminist Grantmaking

NAICS

Grantmaking Foundations (813211), Grantmaking and Giving Services (81321), Grantmaking and Giving Services (8132)

akta.pro primary industry

Public Charities & Grantmaking Intermediaries (BPAGAKAE)

akta.pro secondary industries

International Grantmaking & Development Foundations (BPAGAKAH), Gender Lens / Diversity, Equity & Inclusion (DEI) Funds (FSANAJAM), Grantmaking & Philanthropic Funds (Institutional Donors) (BPADAOAB)

Keywords

• Feminist grantmaking
• Participatory grantmaking
• Women's funds
• Feminist philanthropy
• Funder collaborative

Headquarters

HQ city

Washington

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

Fenomenal Funds is a feminist funder collaborative that pools resources from four private foundations and distributes them through participatory grantmaking to women's funds that are members of the Prospera International Network of Women's Funds. Its core offerings are Resilience Grants (equal-sized, non-competitive core grants for organizational infrastructure) and Collaboration Grants (multi-year grants supporting cross-fund initiatives in areas such as feminist organizational development, collective care, narrative power, and FMEAL). Governance is shared among four private foundations, four women's funds, and the Prospera Secretariat with equal voting power.

Product overview

Fenomenal Funds is a feminist funder collaborative offering two primary grant programs: Resilience Grants (equal-sized core grants to Prospera INWF member women's funds for organizational infrastructure and resilience) and Collaboration Grants (multi-year grants supporting collaborative initiatives among women's funds). The organization also produces knowledge products including a Learning Strategy document outlining its emergent, adaptive learning approach, and a Theory of Transformation publication. The model combines pooled funding, shared governance with women's funds holding at least 50% of seats in governance bodies, and participatory grantmaking to shift power and resources to feminist movements globally.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Resilience Grants Equal-sized, non-competitive core grants provided to women's funds who are members of Prospera International Network of Women's Funds to support organizational resilience, staff salaries, infrastructure, and operational costs. Every eligible women's fund that submits a request receives an equal-sized Resilience Grant.
• Collaboration Grants Multi-year grants supporting collaboration initiatives among women's funds across thematic areas such as collective care, feminist organizational development, participatory grantmaking, financial resilience, narrative power, and feminist monitoring and evaluation. All initiatives developed through the Collaboration Grants Lab Process are funded.
• Learning Strategy Publication outlining Fenomenal Funds' emergent, adaptive, and co-evolutionary learning process that facilitates deep reflection, critical inquiry, and real-time learning in collaboration with women's funds members of Prospera INWF. Available in English, Spanish, and French.
• Theory of Transformation Publication capturing how Fenomenal Funds' model contributes to change in philanthropic ecosystems, framed by feminist values and ethics centering on the needs of women's funds.

Named customers3 records

Segments1 record

Ideal customer profiles1 record

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration1 record

Partnerships

Five partnerships are on record, tiered core.

• Prospera International Network of Women's Funds (INWF)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerFenomenal Funds was designed to support women's funds who are members of the Prospera INWF. The network's representatives hold at least 50% of seats on Fenomenal Funds' Steering and Advisory Committees, ensuring equal governance power. The Prospera Secretariat is a co-equal member of the collaborative governance model alongside four private foundations and four women's funds. Prospera INWF has 48+ member funds globally.
• New Venture Fund (NVF)coreOthersFenomenal Funds is a project of New Venture Fund (NVF), a 501(c)(3) public charity headquartered at 1201 Connecticut Ave. NW, Suite 300, Washington, DC 20036. NVF serves as the fiscal sponsor, providing legal and administrative infrastructure for Fenomenal Funds.
• KIT Royal Tropical InstitutecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerSelected as Fenomenal Funds' external Learning Partner through a participatory feminist selection process involving the Learning and Evaluation Working Group. Supports co-creation and implementation of the learning plan, bringing additional skill sets and human resources to deepen understanding of Fenomenal Funds' participatory grantmaking streams.
• Four Women's Funds (governance members)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerFour women's funds serve as co-equal governance members alongside four private foundations and the Prospera Secretariat, holding equal voice and power in decision-making on strategy and resource distribution through shared governance model and participatory grantmaking.
• Global Fund for WomencoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerParticipates in Fenomenal Funds Collaboration Grants, including the Feminist Fund Database collaborative where it provides guidance, support materials, templates, and coding support for Salesforce implementation across other women's funds. Also a speaker at Fenomenal Funds events.

Scale indicators8 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Direct peers

• Ariadne - European Funders for Social Change and Human Rights: European funders network supporting human rights and social change, partnered with Fenomenal on Funding For Real Change. Highly comparable as a funder collaborative advancing participatory grantmaking practice in the same ecosystem.
• Prospera International Network of Women's Funds: Global network of 48+ women's funds that Fenomenal Funds directly serves and co-governs. Both organizations operate inside the feminist funding ecosystem with overlapping membership and shared governance representation, making them deeply comparable.
• Urgent Action Fund for Women's Human Rights: Rapid-response women's human rights fund providing grants to activists in restrictive contexts. Highly comparable as a feminist funder operating across similar geographies and supporting women's rights movements under backlash conditions.
• EDGE Funders Alliance: Collaborative of funders supporting social justice movements globally. Directly comparable as a funder collaborative with shared values on participatory grantmaking; partnered with Fenomenal on the Funding For Real Change initiative.
• Global Fund for Women: One of the world's largest women's funds, also a Prospera INWF member and a Fenomenal Funds Collaboration Grants participant. Comparable as a direct grantmaker to women's rights organizations globally with overlapping beneficiary ecosystem.
• Mama Cash: Amsterdam-based pioneering women's fund supporting feminist movements globally through grants and capacity building. Directly comparable as an international women's fund with overlapping grantee base and similar feminist participatory values.
• International Women's Development Fund (IWDA): Australia-based women's fund and Prospera INWF member with significant grantmaking to women's rights organizations across Asia-Pacific. Comparable as a major Prospera-affiliated women's fund with similar pooled-funding and feminist governance values.
• FRIDA - The Young Feminist Fund: Youth-led feminist fund resourcing young feminist movements globally through participatory grantmaking. Closely comparable model: pooled funding, participatory decision-making, and grantee-led priorities within the same Prospera ecosystem.

Broad incumbents

• Women's Funding Network: U.S.-based network connecting and resourcing over 100 women's foundations and funds. Comparable ecosystem player with broader scope across geographies and foundation types, positioning it as an incumbent in the women's funding infrastructure Fenomenal operates within.

Others

• Foundation for a Just Society: One of four private foundation funders pooling capital into Fenomenal Funds. Comparable as a participating institutional funder in the collaborative governance model, though structurally a foundation rather than a funder collaborative.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/fenomenal-funds

Compliance2 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles4 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Fenomenal Funds