Go big or…? Trends in Closing Space Grant-making
Published in December 2018 by the Funders’ Initiative for Civil Society (FICS), this paper highlights emerging trends in closing space grant-making – from addressing the threats and opportunities of the digital age, to strategies that help build solidarity across sectors, and many more.
Over the past several years, activists, civil society organisations and funders have been on the front-line of a growing number of attacks, facing threats, intimidation and more. FICS – the Funders’ Initiative for Civil Society – was founded in 2016 to create a more strategic response by private philanthropy to what has been labelled ‘closing civil society space.’
This paper brings together desk research and in-depth interviews to take stock of our sector’s response to this closing space. We look at how funders are supporting civil society to thrive in spite of attacks, what the barriers are to more concrete action, and how, as a sector, we can help to sow the seeds for a more enabling environment for civil society.
Publication date: December 2018
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