Support Women and Girls' Leadership in Puerto Rico

A Message to Our GlobalGiving Donor Community

Because of your investment, Fundación de Mujeres en Puerto Rico (FMnPR) was able to stand firmly alongside feminist and women-led organizations during one of the most politically challenging years for gender justice in Puerto Rico—and globally—in recent decades.

Your support did more than fund programs. It protected organizations under attack. It sustained frontline leaders facing political hostility. It strengthened the long-term infrastructure of the feminist movement at a moment when silence and retreat were often incentivized.

This report shares how your generosity translated into tangible impact across Puerto Rico. 

Context: A Year of Political Backlash

The 2025 period unfolded amid heightened conservative political power, escalating attacks on reproductive rights, and growing hostility toward organizations openly identifying as feminist. Groups working on reproductive justice, gender-based violence prevention, LGBTQ+ inclusion, and comprehensive sexual education faced increased scrutiny and, in some cases, direct political targeting.

Public funding shrank. Private philanthropy became more cautious. Some organizations were pressured to dilute their language or depoliticize their work to remain “fundable.”

In this environment, reliability became radical.

Your investment enabled FMnPR to serve not only as a grantmaker—but as a protector of feminist infrastructure and a strategic ally to organizations operating under increasing political risk. 

Grantmaking Impact: Investing in Feminist Leadership

During the year 2025, FMnPR granted more than $300K to feminist and women-led organizations across Puerto Rico through our core grantmaking programs. Details on this grantmaking will be published in march fro our annual report. 

Thanks to your support and that of other aligned partners, we prioritized:

• Unrestricted, flexible funding
• Trust-based philanthropy
• Rapid response to political threats
• Alignment with organizations’ values—not political convenience

Reproductive Justice Fund – Second Round

One of the year’s most urgent initiatives was the second round of our Reproductive Justice Fund, launched in direct response to escalating legislative and cultural attacks on reproductive autonomy.

Grantee partners used these funds to:

• Sustain essential services for women and gender-expansive people
• Protect staff and organizational security
• Continue community-based political education
• Resist the rollback of hard-won reproductive rights

In a context where many funders stepped back from “sensitive” issues, your investment allowed us to step forward.

Our funding did not simply support activities—it safeguarded organizational integrity. Grantees did not have to compromise their language, mission, or values to access resources.

Strengthening Organizational Sustainability: Capacity Building as Strategy

We know that sustainability requires more than program funding. Organizations under political pressure are often expected to “do more with less” while navigating increasingly complex reporting and fundraising environments.

In 2025, we invested intentionally in capacity building to strengthen long-term resilience.

This series supported organizations to:

• Clarify priorities in a volatile political landscape
• Align mission with realistic operational capacity
• Develop adaptive strategies that acknowledge external threats
• For many participants, this was their first opportunity to conduct structured strategic planning that explicitly addressed political risk rather than assuming stability.

This workshop series focused on:

• Strategic communications with an emphasis on fundraising
• Diversifying funding sources
• Strengthening report writing and donor communications

Participants learned to articulate impact without compromising political clarity. In a climate where feminist organizations are often penalized for naming gender, sexuality, and power, these skills are essential.

By investing in infrastructure—not just programs—your support reduced burnout, strengthened leadership, and increased long-term sustainability across the movement.

Adaptive Leadership in a Restrictive Funding Climate

The political and philanthropic landscape shifted dramatically in 2025.

Organizations reported:

• Increased reputational attacks
• Threats to public funding
• Pressure to remove references to reproductive justice or gender identity

In response, FMnPR:

• Reinforced our commitment to unrestricted funding
• Supported grantees in risk assessment and strategic decision-making
• Used our institutional voice to advocate against “false neutrality” in philanthropy

At the same time, Puerto Rico continues to face structural exclusion within international funding ecosystems due to its colonial political status. To counter this, we:

• Strengthened diaspora engagement
• Expanded our development strategy
• Advocated for Puerto Rico’s inclusion in global gender justice conversations

Your investment helped us navigate these structural barriers without retreating from our mission.

Systems Change: Protecting Feminist Infrastructure

We understand systems change as shifting power, resources, and narratives over time.

In 2025, your support contributed to systems change in three key ways:

1. Normalizing Feminist Funding: In a conservative philanthropic environment, we consistently named gender inequality and resourced organizations addressing root causes.
2. Redistributing Resources to Those Closest to Harm: We prioritized organizations most directly affected by political decisions—recognizing that those closest to injustice are best positioned to lead solutions.
3. Challenging Philanthropic Bias: We gathered feedback confirming what we have long observed: gender justice remains underfunded in Puerto Rico, often due to conservative leadership or a lack of understanding of intersectional approaches.

In moments when feminist infrastructure is under threat, ensuring that organizations can continue to exist, speak, and organize is itself an act of systems change.

Looking Ahead

As we move forward, our priorities include:

• Expanding flexible funding for politically targeted organizations
• Deepening capacity-building support
• Increasing Puerto Rico’s visibility within global feminist philanthropy
• Strengthening diaspora and international solidarity networks

We remain committed to holding the line for gender justice—regardless of political climate.

Closing Reflection

In times of political regression, our role is not only to fund programs—it is to protect the conditions that make feminist work possible.

Because of your generosity through GlobalGiving, feminist organizations in Puerto Rico did not have to retreat. They continued organizing. They continued educating. They continued defending rights.

Together, we are not only responding to crisis—we are investing in the long-term sustainability of movements building a more just future for Puerto Rico.

This year, Fundación de Mujeres en Puerto Rico (FMnPR) has continued advancing its mission to strengthen feminist and community-based research as a driver for systemic change. Thanks to the continued support of our donors and allies through GlobalGiving, we have been able to invest in projects that generate essential data about gender, race, and social equity on the island, fields where information has historically been fragmented, outdated, or invisible.

Puerto Rico faces profound challenges in data collection and transparency, particularly regarding women’s rights, gender-based violence, and racial inequity. Most available data sources do not capture the lived experiences of women, girls, and gender-expansive people, nor do they reflect the interconnections between gender, race, class, and geography. This lack of comprehensive data weakens public policy design and limits the ability of organizations to advocate for structural change. Our foundation is working to fill that gap, investing in research created from and for the communities most affected by inequality.

Strengthening Feminist Knowledge: Compartir de Saberes 2025

In August 2025, FMnPR hosted its annual assembly, Compartir de Saberes: Feminist Research for Systemic Change, a public convening that brought together researchers, activists, and community leaders to present findings from three groundbreaking studies supported by the foundation. Over 300 people participated in person and online, highlighting the growing demand for feminist and community-rooted evidence to guide Puerto Rico’s social transformation.

The assembly’s central theme—“Feminist Research for Systemic Change”—underscored how research, when led by women and grounded in lived experience, becomes a tool to inform public policy, improve access to justice, and strengthen collective well-being.

The featured panel, Investigations that Drive Change, presented the following projects:

1. SIEMPREVIVAS RUM: A University-Based Model for Supporting Survivors of Gender Violence: This study documents the history, structure, and impact of SIEMPREVIVAS RUM, an academic and service model that has provided integrated support to survivors of gender violence since 2005. Through a systematic analysis of narratives and organizational practices, the research identifies lessons learned, best practices, and challenges that inform the replication of this model across universities in Puerto Rico. Its findings serve as a roadmap for embedding gender perspective in higher education and student support systems.
2. Colectivo Ilé: Structural Racism and Afrodescendant Youth in Puerto Rico: This research examines how structural racism affects young Black and Afrodescendant people (ages 18–24) across education, employment, and health. Using decolonial and intersectional frameworks, the study reveals how racial and gender inequities intersect to restrict access to opportunities and resources. The data will inform evidence-based policies that address racial discrimination, advance equity in public institutions, and center the voices of youth in the design of social programs.
3. Observatorio de Equidad de Género: Monitoring Gender-Based Violence and Femicide: The Observatorio maintains Puerto Rico’s most reliable database of femicides and gender-based killings. By tracking and analyzing each case, the study exposes patterns that can inform prevention strategies and reforms in justice and security systems. The data collected is critical for holding institutions accountable and ensuring that public policy reflects the urgent need to protect women and girls.

Why This Work Matters

The absence of consistent, intersectional data continues to hinder Puerto Rico’s ability to respond effectively to social crises. Without accurate data:

• Government agencies fail to allocate resources equitably.
• Gender-based violence remains underreported and poorly addressed.
• Policies often overlook racial, regional, and gender diversity.

By investing in feminist research, FMnPR is ensuring that public policy in Puerto Rico is informed by real community experiences, not abstract statistics. Each study we support strengthens the capacity of women-led organizations to collect and analyze their own data, ensuring that their findings translate into meaningful policy reform, improved public services, and replicable community models.

Impact and Next Steps

Through this collective effort, FMnPR has:

• Supported three major research projects reaching universities, community organizations, and advocacy networks across Puerto Rico.
• Convened over 300 participants in public discussions on evidence-based gender justice.
• Strengthened a growing network of feminist researchers producing actionable data to guide education, employment, and health policies.
• Elevated visibility of gender-based violence and systemic racism as interlinked social crises demanding coordinated policy responses.

In the coming months, FMnPR will continue supporting the final publication, peer review, and dissemination of these studies. The next phase includes the development of implementation guides to ensure that these research findings can be replicated in other institutions and community settings, and the pursuit of copyright and ISBN registration to formalize their academic and public recognition.

GRACIAS | THANK YOU!

We are profoundly grateful to our GlobalGiving donors and philanthropic allies for believing in this vision. Your support enables us to sustain rigorous, community-rooted research that challenges inequality and informs public policy. Together, we are building a Puerto Rico where feminist knowledge becomes a cornerstone of justice and collective well-being.