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← Women For Women International (UK)

2023-12-31-accounts

Company no. 05650155 Charity no. 1115109

Women for Women International (UK)

Annual Report and Financial Statements

31[st] December 2023

Our Global Values

Empowerment

We believe every woman is unique and powerful in her own right. Our people are our greatest strength and we will support them to achieve our aims by providing them with the information, rewards, and power they need to take the initiative and make decisions to solve problems and improve our delivery and performance. As a learning organisation we, encourage our people to take risks and make mistakes - this is how we learn, grow and get better, stronger, and smarter.

Respect

We believe every woman has the right to be treated with fairness and dignity. We trust each other implicitly, confident in the knowledge that we are all working towards the same goals. Equally, we hold each other responsible and accountable at all levels of the organisation for the outcomes of our actions. We will be bold, clear, and kind in our communication with our colleagues across the organisation and not allow disrespectful behaviour to go unchallenged.

Integrity

We will never communicate in any way that exploits or demeans the women we exist to serve. We will deliver a programme of training that maximises the impact for the women we serve to bring them the biggest benefits and facilitate the greatest long-term positive change in their lives. We do what we say we are going to do when we say we're going to do it. We act as good stewards of the organisation’s resources.

Resilience

We see every day the strength of women survivors of war and their ability to never lose hope despite having faced the greatest atrocities and horrors of conflict. They inspire us to stay strong, hopeful, focused, and committed to our global purpose. We support each other to do the same.

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Trustees’ Annual Report

Contents

Trustees’ Annual Report Trustees’ Annual Report
Contents
Welcome to Women for Women
International (UK): a Message From the
Chair		 3
Introduction 7
Our Aims 8
Our Approach 9
Our Programmes 10
Our Impact 11
Global Highlights 12
FundraisingStatement 17
Achievements and Performance Highlights 20
Financial Review 25
Governance 25
Thankyou list 32
Statement of Trustees Responsibilities 34
Independent Auditor’s report 35
Statement of Financial Activities 39
Balance Sheet 40
Cash Flow 41
Notes to the Accounts 42

Advisers

Bankers

Coutts & Co Clydesdale Bank 440 Strand 35 Regent Street London WC2R 0QS London SW1Y 4ND

Solicitors (pro bono)

Simmons & Simmons City Point One Ropemaker Street London EC2Y 9SS

Baker McKenzie 100 New Bridge Street London EC4V 6JA

Auditor

Solicitors

Buzzacott LLP Farrer & Co 130 Wood Street 66 Lincoln Inn Fields London London EC2V 6DL WC2A 3LH

The Trustees of Women for Women International (UK) present their report and audited financial statements for the year ended 31 December 2023.

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Welcome to Women for Women International (UK): a Message from the Chair

In 2005, Women for Women International (WfWI) established an independently governed UKregistered charity in London, Women for Women International (UK) (WfWI-UK) with two main purposes – to raise funds from the UK and Europe for the programme transforming the lives of women survivors of war, and to raise awareness and influence policy by amplifying the voices of the women we work with and sharing our learning. Women for Women International UK is a subsidiary of Women for Women International, founded in 1993 and registered in Washington D.C., with programme offices and partners in 17 countries. Over 19 years, Women for Women International (UK) has grown to become an organisation raising around £4 million each year and hosting high-profile events, achieving wide-ranging media coverage, and securing funding from governments, institutions, trusts, foundations and individuals.

This past year has been a challenging year as conflict continues to impact countless lives. From the ongoing conflict in Ukraine, escalating violence in Sudan and the crisis in Gaza, women and children – in particular – continue to be disproportionately impacted by conflict. The UN Secretary General’s 2023 report on Women, Peace and Security noted that women are increasingly at risk in conflict and underrepresented in peace processes.

In this context, WfWI’s mission is as critical as ever. WfWI continues to work with the most marginalised women living in extreme poverty and are directly affected by violence and conflict. In the tumult of ongoing conflicts around the globe, it's clear that women and children bear the brunt of the suffering. But amidst these trials, WfWI’s mission stands firm, casting a beacon of hope for those who need it most. This has been a challenging year with multiple conflicts to navigate but we are proud of what we have been able to achieve with our funders, partners, supporters and staff.

In 2023, WfWI enrolled 16,699 women in the Stronger Women, Stronger Nations programme and have cumulatively reached 579,287 women since the programme’s inception. WfWI have also reached a cumulative 52,809 men through men’s engagement activities since the start of the programme, which is aimed at building a positive environment to support women to achieve their fullest potential. This last year, we expanded the men’s engagement programme and began pilots in South Sudan, the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), Iraq and Nigeria.

Women, while facing incredible challenges in the countries in which WfWI works, also show immense courage and resilience. Throughout 2023, we have been working amongst others in Kosovo, Bosnia & Herzegovina, Iraq, Afghanistan, the DRC, Nigeria, Rwanda, South Sudan and Palestine.

In 2023, WfWI has reached 657 women and girls in Palestine in collaboration with local partners, supporting women’s access to vocational training, counselling services through support groups for women, community sessions and funding for the only women’s shelter in Northern West Bank. Moreover, since October 7[th] , 2023, WfWI has pivoted to meet women’s urgent needs by supporting access to health and medical facilities, clean water, and essential food items in the West Bank and in Gaza.

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But WfWI is equally determined to ensure to support women in conflicts not dominating the headlines. The deteriorating situation in South Sudan has impacted thousands and displaced millions. As WfWI’s response to the climate crisis is growing, the team has been making adaptations to the Stronger Women, Stronger Nations programme to build climate resilience for the women we serve in South Sudan. These endeavours underscore our commitment to reaching those often overlooked by the headlines, ensuring no woman is left behind.

WfWI’sr vision extends beyond immediate crises. To ensure WfWI’s work is as relevant to the realities of the women we serve and to understand how the effects of climate and environmental change impact women’s resilience in fragile and conflict contexts. In addition, at COP28 which took place in Dubai, WfWI launched the latest Policy Brief: “Cultivating a more enabling environment: Strengthening women's resilience in climate vulnerable and conflict-affected communities” based on talking to 1,000 women across 14 countries, such as Afghanistan, the DRC, Iraq, Myanmar, Syria and Yemen. Women surveyed cite the daily impacts of these trends, especially food insecurity, water scarcity, worsening health, the high cost of goods and growing conflict among the many complex challenges they face. WfWI will continue to build an understanding of the linkages between climate and conflict to ensure remaining responsive to the needs of the women we serve.

WfWI’s advocacy continues to go from strength to strength. In a particular highlight, in October 2023, five of WfWI’s women's rights organisation partners from the Resourcing Change project, and WfWI staff travelled to New York to participate in the UN’s Women, Peace and Security week. WfWI’s partners shared that they felt like their voices were heard and elevated in discussions across the week. This is a testament to WfWI’s whole approach focused on serving – and centring – the women most impacted. This last year the team also joined the Women, Peace and Security Humanitarian Action Compact. Through this, WfWI can share its impact and contribute to that evidence base on what works to support women in conflict. At the UK level, we advocated for strong monitoring and learning frameworks and clear funding commitments as part of the UK government's development of its 5th National Action Plan (NAP) on WPS for 2023-2026.

One of the most important roles for Women for Women International (UK) is to raise funds that support the wider organisation to achieve our goals. Fundraising is vital to everything WfWI-UK does and in challenging financial times and inflationary pressures we are deeply grateful to the many individuals, groups and companies who supported Women for Women International (UK) this year. In 2023 WfWI-UK raised £549k of unrestricted income through events and major donors (2022: £433k), a year-on-year increase of 27%. Our flagship live event the #SheInspiresMe Car Boot Sale took place in Selfridges car part in central London and brought together a huge range of brands and fashion icons. Our 2023 #SheInspiresMe Car Boot Sale raised just over £280,000. In August 2023, we were also delighted to win the Allen & Overy (now A&O Shearman) Global Charity of the Year Partnership securing a 2-year partnership which aims to raise £1m. This is a major achievement for the UK team and we are excited to see the impact this partnership can have.

To our donors, supporters, and partners, we extend our deepest gratitude. Your belief in our cause fuels our determination to continue serving women in conflict, rebuilding lives and communities one step at a time.

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As I reflect on my tenure as Chair of the UK Board, I am humbled by the opportunity to lead such an extraordinary team. Together, we've weathered storms and celebrated victories, united in our commitment to making a difference for women survivors of war. I look forward to the journey ahead, knowing that with your support, we can achieve even greater heights.

With gratitude,

Dr Champa Patel Chair, Women for Women International (UK)

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From surviving violence in Rwanda to making world famous soccer balls, Grace dares to shoot for her dreams. Photo by: WfWI.

Grace from Rwanda

Amid violence and poverty following the 1994 Genocide Against the Tutsis in Rwanda, Grace dares to build a better life. She is pursuing a business venture in a small Rwandan community, an innovative project to make soccer balls that captured the heart of FIFA’s president. Her idea has provided opportunities for the women in her savings group and demonstrates the power of resilience. Grace dares to overcome adversity and create positive change in her community. Read her story here.

2023 Annual Report: #SheDares

Thanks to you, in 2023, Women for Women International celebrated 30 years of our mission supporting women survivors of war and conflict.

In the last three decades, Women for Women International’s work has spanned 17 countries, reaching 579,287 women who dare to stand up for their rights — even in the most difficult and dangerous circumstances. And this year alone, together with our partners we’ve reached over 39,600 women survivors of war together – supporting them to rebuild their lives, families and communities.

Even as conflicts rage across the world, our combined commitment to women and the power of each woman we serve continues to give us strength and hope.

As we present our 2023 Annual Report, we invite you to read about some of these daring women around the world and the remarkable results we were able to achieve in the many countries we serve, including four new ones. We are forever grateful to have you by our side, making all this possible!

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Introduction

Our Vision

To create a world in which all women determine the course of their lives and reach their full potential.

Our Mission

In countries affected by conflict and war we support the most marginalised women to earn and save money; improve health and well-being; influence decisions at home & in the community; and connect to networks for support. By utilising skills, knowledge and resources, she is able to create sustainable change for herself, her family and community.

About Women for Women International

We believe women have the power to transform their lives – but when women are undervalued and oppressed, their power is undermined. Conflict and war deepen this injustice. At Women for Women International, we invest in women who are forgotten – those facing the greatest inequalities in areas of conflict – and support them in learning the social and economic skills they need to rebuild their lives, their families and their communities.

2023 has been marked by a continued rise in conflict and crisis. It’s been a year in which women’s rights have been systematically stripped away. Across the world, women have grappled with violence, inflation and the trauma of war.

Despite these challenges, your generosity has enabled us to reach 579,287 women survivors of war since 1993. With your support, the women we serve have come together and realised their inherent power to rebuild their lives, their families and their communities. To learn more about the power of women, for women, visit www.womenforwomen.org.uk.

About Women for Women International in the UK

In 2005, Women for Women International established an independently governed UK-registered charity in London with two main purposes – to raise funds from the UK and Europe for the programme transforming the lives of women survivors of war, and to raise awareness and influence policy by amplifying the voices of the women we work with and sharing our learning. Women for Women International (UK) is a subsidiary of Women for Women International, founded in 1993 and registered in Washington D.C., with programme offices and partners in 17 countries.

Over 19 years, Women for Women International (UK) has grown to become an organisation raising around £4 million each year and hosting high profile events, achieving wide-ranging media coverage, securing funding from governments, institutions, trusts, foundations and individuals. Women for Women International (UK) leads the global organisation’s corporate partnership strategy.

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Our Aims

Women for Women International works across the globe in countries affected by conflict; where violence, poverty and gender inequality combine to make life extraordinarily challenging for women. From Afghanistan to Ethiopia to Nigeria, women often bear the brunt of war and crisis. Women for Women International has spent the last 30 years working in conflict-affected areas and we know that women’s specific needs are often overlooked.

High levels of gender-based violence (GBV) against women and girls are prevalent in both conflict and post-conflict zones, including the use of rape as a weapon of war and increased intimate partner violence. Since women and children make up the majority of those fleeing from wars and displacement, it puts women at increased risk of sexual and physical violence, trafficking and abuse. Dislocated from their homes or in a post-conflict setting, women often have to take on new roles alongside their caretaking responsibilities to provide for their families, frequently needing new skills, resources and knowledge to take up these roles.

Our aim is to create a world in which all women determine the course of their lives and reach their full potential.

Fleeing Boko Haram, Dada dares to protect her daughter’s future. Photo by: WfWI.

Dada from Nigeria

After fleeing Boko Haram, settled with her family in Bauchi city and burdened with loss and trauma, Dada dared to defy the odds and enrolled her two daughters in local schools. She also started a business selling rice to support her family.

Read her story here.

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Our Approach

Our Stronger Women, Stronger Nations programme supports the most marginalised women in countries affected by conflict and war, helping them earn and save money, improve their health and well-being, influence decisions in their home and community and connect to networks for support.

We are women-centred and locally powered. Our country staff are from the communities we serve. Our greatest strength is our ability to meet women where they are, centring their voices and experiences and adapting our programmes to meet their needs.

Graduates from our programmes pass on their knowledge to those around them, creating sustainable change for themselves, their families and communities and building a more just world – a world where every woman’s voice, role and contribution is visible and valued.

Suzan from South Sudan

War has taken so much from Suzan – loved ones, financial security, stability – but she has always fought to protect her children. When her daughter became pregnant and faced forced marriage, Suzan dared to defy her family and communal pressures. And now, she helps others dare to do the same.

Read her story here.

Despite hardships as a single mother, Suzan dares to defy family pressure to ensure her daughter's education. Photo by: WfWI.

Faizah from Iraq

Faizah has always been brave – even aged 13, when her uncles tried to force her into marriage. So, when ISIS attacked her community and warned her not to flee, she harnessed that defiance and dared to find safety. Faizah dreams of a world without war and of peace for her children.

Read her story here.

Pursuing safety for her family amidst conflict, Faizah dares to rebel against ISIS warnings. Photo by: WfWI.

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Our Programmes

Stronger Women, Stronger Nations

In 2023, a total of 30,484 women participated in our core 12-month-long programme, Stronger Women, Stronger Nations, in which participants form connections in class, learn how to earn and save money, build businesses, understand their rights, improve their health and influence decisions in their families and communities.

Change Agents

In 2023, 344 Change Agents graduated. In South Sudan, one group of Change Agents who had selected the agricultural track as part of their training decided to mark World Environment Day by planting trees which will be used for agricultural purposes in the local community. Their advocacy message as part of marking this day was “Keep our environment clean and green!”. This is a great example of how grassroots advocacy can be connected to global advocacy moments and used to raise awareness of specific priority issues.

Escaping an abusive marriage, Chisimdi dares to take on child traffickers in Nigeria. Photo by: WfWI.

Chisimdi from Nigeria

Despite years of violence at the hands of her partner, Chisimdi had the strength to raise and provide for her four children. After leaving the relationship behind, she regained her voice and courage. #SheDares to stand up against child trafficking, even boldly standing in front of the village chief to advocate for the rights of women.

Read her story here.

Men’s Engagement Programme

In 2023, we reached 1,915 men and worked with them to engage local leaders to use their influence to promote women’s rights. Husbands, male relatives, and leaders in the religious and civil society sectors are trained as allies for women’s rights. Through a “training the trainer” approach, they are prepared to lead discussions with the men in their communities about gender equality. For community leaders, their change in perception creates the potential for women and girls to have greater access to opportunities to enhance their roles in the community.

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Our Impact

Women for Women International is committed to ensuring the strongest possible impact and value of our programmes. For this reason, we consistently refine our programming according to our monitoring and evaluation data, which monitors our participants’ livelihood and economic prospects after joining the Stronger Women, Stronger Nations programme.

When women marginalised by war and conflict realise their power, something incredible happens. We’ve seen the transformation they create for themselves and their families by enrolling in our Stronger Women, Stronger Nations programme. We know our programmes work because the women we serve tell us they do and because we rigorously evaluate them.

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2023 Global Highlights

Alongside Women for Women International and our sister and partner organisations, Women for Women International (UK) contributed to the following achievements in 2023:

Syria:

1,069 women reached

Sudan:

2,203 women reached

Burkina Faso:

1,137 women targeted

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Mali:

770 women targeted

o Vocational training to build their economic resilience

Education on how to address and prevent violence against them and reinforcing referral systems to better support survivors of violence

Poland:

979 women and children reached

Ukraine:

3,689 women and children reached

Ethiopia:

80 women reached through follow-on support.

Afghanistan:

3,635 women served

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newly enrolled women will be receiving cash assistance in 2024 to support their small business endeavours as well as urgent household needs. Additionally, we offer psychosocial support education via psychological first aid training, to help address the heightened mental health needs of women in the programme.

DRC:

4,780 women served

Iraq:

5,479 women served

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Myanmar/Bangladesh:

150 women and girls reached

Nigeria:

10,387 women served and 651 additional reached with targeted interventions

Rwanda:

785 women and girls served

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These balls, baskets, carpets and other products made by women in the programme are now available for sale globally online.

South Sudan:

4,993 women served

Palestine:

657 women and girls reached

Bosnia and Herzegovina:

1,027 women reached

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Women’s Associations for Rural Development (Rural Women’s Network). In 2023, ZzZ reached 1,027 women members of the Rural Women’s Network, who are members of 19 women’s small business associations spreading across BiH. This year the work included trainings in information and communication technologies skills, strengthening the capacity of the network so it can function as an autonomous organisation, advocacy trainings and implementation of advocacy action plans.

Kosovo:

192 women served and 1,176 reached

Public Benefit

We follow the Charity Commission’s general guidance on public benefit, and the Trustees ensure that the programmes we undertake are in line with our charitable objectives and aims.

Fundraising Statement

Our Public Fundraising Approach

At Women for Women International (UK) we pride ourselves on delivering best-practice fundraising activities which donors can trust to fully comply with regulatory standards for fundraising. We are registered with the Fundraising Regulator and are committed to the Fundraising Promise and adherence to the Code of Fundraising Practice.

We raised £3.7 million in 2023 through a diverse range of fundraising initiatives.

Our fundraising included: activities and campaigns which inspired donations and gifts from individuals, applying for grants, a sponsorship programme which matches women in our programmes with sponsors from around the world, a portfolio of our own special events and partnerships and collaborations with businesses and brands. Our in-house fundraising team sometimes engages professional service providers to help us deliver fundraising campaigns such as filmmakers and graphic designers. We aim to ensure any agencies we employ also observe the highest standards in terms of fundraising practice. Several of our in-house fundraising team are members of the Institute of Fundraising and regularly attend fundraising trainings to ensure our staff are up to date on fundraising practices, regulations and trends.

In 2023, our highly successful #SheInspiresMe Car Boot Sale event raised £280k from 23 booters including the likes of Jimmy Choo, ByRotation, 111 Skin and many more.

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In 2023 we celebrated 30 years of Women for Women International’s work with women affected by war with a reception held at the Victoria and Albert Museum. The event was attended by more than 150 guests including Ambassadors, donors, trustees and press.

Since its launch in 2021, our community of Power Up Club members continues to grow, as supporters sign-up by committing to a monthly gift of £7 or more per month. At the end of 2023 we had grown our membership to 420 members and held four Power Up Club events, ranging from virtual dance and yoga classes to an empowerment workshop with our Champion Scarlett V Clark. Our most successful event was with Ambassador Clarissa Ward, drawing an audience of 65 attendees as she discussed her memoir, On All Fronts: The Education of a Journalist . As we look ahead to the 2024 launch of the rebranded sponsorship programme under its new name Stand With Her, the Power Up Club will also evolve within the new regular giving structure, removing the minimum monthly gift amount of £7 to encompass all non-Stand With Her regular donors. At the end of 2023 we closed the year with a total of 531 regular donors, who will become our new Power Up Club.

In the UK we closed 2023 with 1,120 sponsors, standing with 1,335 sisters on their journey through our Stronger Women, Stronger Nations programme with a further 4 sisters sponsored through our corporate sponsorship package, with organisations supporting ranging across the fashion, beauty and transport sectors. This number is lower than previous years, reflecting the ongoing impact of the cost of living crisis on small businesses.

In 2023, our community once again showed their generous support with over 950 supporters donating to one or more of our campaigns with a combined number of 1,100 donations. Our crisis appeals focused on our Conflict Response Fund were especially successful. In 2023 we ran four crisis appeals in response to the Sudan and Israel and Palestine war, as well in aid of the Syrian and Afghanistan Earthquake response. Together, these campaigns received 325 donations, raising in over £16,700.

In 2023, we launched our #ShakeItInSisterhood Danceathon fundraiser which attracted 37 guests and raised over £21,000 – exceeding our initial target of £18,000. We also recruited for both the London and Brighton Marathons, the Royal Parks and Hackney Half Marathons and Swim Serpentine which we purchased places for. Our 33 fundraisers who signed up to these challenge events as part of our #SheInspiresMe Squad, raised over £16,000 - £5,000 more than what was raised in 2022. In addition, we are deeply grateful to the 24 people that helped raise money through their own fundraising events and challenges, covering everything from feminist festivals to quizzes, office bake sales and birthday raffles. We have processes in place to support these donors, giving them advice on best practice, our brand guidelines and how to manage their fundraising as well as training guides, branded materials and a dedicated staff member from our fundraising team to speak to if they need additional support.

Our successful partnerships with University Raising and Giving (RAG) associations continued in 2023 as we partnered with three societies, including Leeds RAG, Edinburgh ESCA and Durham DUCK. Our RAG partners raised over £4,200 through activities like the Three Peaks Trek Challenge, Meadows Marathon, RAG Week and more!

Our roster of wonderful corporate and brand partners also continued to grow in 2023. We are always so proud to see the many fundraising activities corporate partners undertake for us, from selling products in aid of Women for Women International (UK), to asking their staff and customers to support us through donating to campaigns or undertaking challenges like runs. To maintain fundraising standards and protect our reputation we always aim to have long term, open and honest relationships with these partners. We provide housekeeping rules which outline charity law considerations and brand guidelines and agree approval processes and sign-off deadlines to ensure these guidelines are met and maintained we also undertake due diligence to ensure our partners share

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our values and do not pose any undue risks to our work. We also sign legal agreements with partners to safeguard the charity and our partners.

A key fundraising moment for many of our corporate partners is International Women’s Day and in 2023 we had 19 UK partners support us through a range of activations including a number of special products sold in aid of Women for Women International (UK), from t-shirts to beauty products and jewellery. Not only has this activity raised vital funds but also secured much-needed press and PR coverage to raise more awareness of our work, including in titles such as Gritty Pretty, Harper’s Bazaar, Evening Standard and Red.

In August 2023 we were delighted to win the Allen and Overy (now A&O Shearman) Global Charity Partnership securing a 2-year partnership which aims to raise £1m in the coming two years.

We are committed to dealing with any, and all, complaints in an open, honest and accountable way. On receipt, all complaints are logged, and an acknowledgement sent within three working days. Wherever possible, we aim to provide a full resolution to complaints at the same time but where we are not able to do this, we aim to give a reply within ten working days, setting out how the problem will be dealt with. Our website outlines our complaints policy for the public and clearly explains how an individual can complain. Additionally, we also track any Fundraising Preference Service (FPS) requests. In 2023, we received two complaints and no communication preference requests via the FPS service. This is four fewer complaints than in the previous year. Outside of traditional service delivery complaints, it is worth acknowledging that in 2023 our communications on the Israel and Palestine conflict did spark a marked increase in the volume of negative comments and debate in our social media comment sections, alongside some emails and direct messages. We are committed to ensuring that all our channels remain a safe and inclusive community for our supporters. These comments have been monitored closely and any that feature hate speech, bullying and/or harassment were removed and reported.

We are passionate about providing all our donors and supporters with a level of care and respect that exceeds their expectations, to this end we have a Vulnerable Supporters policy which outlines how we protect vulnerable supporters, how we can identify such persons and what action we take if we suspect a person is vulnerable and all staff are trained on it.

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Achievements and Performance (Highlights)

Our Intentions for 2023

Last year we said we would focus on a number of priorities against our strategic objectives, including:

SO1
Invest in the social and economic		 empowerment of marginalised women •
•
•
•		 Adapting market analysis and vocational tracks to support women to be
resilient in the face of climate change. Going forward we will continue to
find ways to showcase how our work intersects between Women, Peace
and Security and a changing climate in our advocacy and business
development while improving programme delivery to support women’s
resilience.
Looking at the data and results post roll out of the new Men’s Engagement
Programme curriculum to assess successes or to provide new learnings that
can help us to refine that programme.
Strengthening the Stronger Women, Stronger Nations Programme and
increase our impact on the lives of women we serve by being data-driven
and applying evidence-based strategies derived from internal and external
learning mechanisms.
Continuing our work on the Power Journey by implementing the quick wins
identified in the process with Nigeria and Iraq, putting another country
through the process, and focusing on the roll out of the DPM to provide
Country Offices with more flexibility and autonomy by allowing them to
manage programmes and track results using real-time data.
SO2
Work		 with men to change attitudes • Continuing to support the delivery of the Men’s Engagement Programme
in all country offices and continue to improve and expand learning across
countries to find the best approaches and ways to measure the results of
this work and its link to women’s empowerment.
SO3
Support marginalised women survivors of		 conflict so that they can influence decisions •
•
•
•		 Launching the Swedish Postcode Lottery funded Project: Listen to Women.
This project pilots an innovative and exciting new approach to how we work
with Change Agents and supplements learnings about our programme with
research on the enabling environments in Nigeria and Iraq that help or
hinder women’s freedom of speech and expression, as well as their ability
to participate in decision-making and democratic processes.
Developing an additional module for the Change Agent curriculum focused
on peacebuilding to reflect and strengthen our organisational expertise on
the Women, Peace and Security agenda.
Conducting similar strategic workshops to those we delivered in the
Democratic Republic of the Congo and Iraq to develop context-specific
policy and advocacy strategies in South Sudan and Nigeria. We will also
continue working to sensitise the wider organisation to our new Theory of
Change.
Working in partnership with the global Monitoring, Evaluation, Research
and Learning (MERL) Team to develop monitoring indicators and measuring
tools to align with the Theory of Change and help us better monitor our
impact.

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SO4
Use advocacy to transform the		 **enabling environment for women’ s ** rights at the grassroots, national and global levels to drive systemic change on gender equality for the most marginalised women affected by marginalised women affected by conflict •
•
•		 Extending our presence across regional and international networks and
coalitions, including the NGO Working Group on Women, Peace and
Security – a coalition of 19 international non-governmental organisations
(NGOs) working to advance the Women, Peace and Security agenda at the
United Nations and around the world.
Working in partnership across the global organisation on plans for the 30th
year anniversary of Women for Women International to develop a piece of
research across the contexts that we operate in and look to expand this
with countries we support through the Conflict Response Fund.
Preparing for and respond to governmental policies and strategies that
impact the lives of women affected by conflict, such as the UK
Government’s 5thNational Action Plan on Women, Peace and Security and
its International Women and Girls Strategy.
SO5
Raise £6 million from		 grants, corporate partnerships, grassroots
contributions, major		 donors and events, and sponsorships •
•		 Raising £2.45 million in restricted funds from Institutional, Trusts and
Foundation and Corporate donors by 31stDecember 2023
Raising £2.14 million in unrestricted funds from Major Donors, Special
Events, Sponsorship and Individual Giving, Community Fundraising and
Corporate Partnerships by 31st December 2023
SO6
Raise Women for		 Women International – UK's profile / visibility through effective communications •
•
•
•
•		 Growing our mailing list audience to support fundraising recruitment by
increasing the number of opted-in email subscribers by 30% year-on-year.
Increasing the number of people who ‘see’ and ‘think’ about Women for
Women International (UK) by engaging with our owned and paid channels
(website, social media and digital advertising) to increase unique website
users and social media engagements by 15% year on year.
Expanding the breadth and types of fundraising offers through our first-
ever live mass community participation event
Introducing a new lottery as a regular giving product
Rolling out of a reimagined version of sponsorship globally
SO7
Run an effective		 and financially sustainable organisation •
•
•		 Reviewing all People Policies through the lens of best practice to achieving
Equity, Diversity and Inclusion
Delivering best practice risk management processes as set out within the
Risk Management Framework including stable progress against required
actions with appropriate escalation where necessary
Streamlining management accounts processes to ensure highly efficient,
risk-focused reporting to Management and Board

Our Achievements in 2023

Reflecting on these ambitious goals we set for ourselves at the outset of 2023, we are proud of how much we have accomplished together, meeting our targets across almost all objectives. These achievements are discussed in full in the Appendix. Below are just some of our successes from the year:

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Our Ambitions for 2024

Next year we will focus on the following operational priorities in pursuit of our strategic objectives:

women empowerment of marginalised Invest in the social and economic SO1
attitudes to change with men Work SO2
influence decisions survivors of conflict so that they can Support marginalised women SO3
women affected by conflict equality for the most marginalised drive systemic change on gender grassroots, national and global levels to environment for women’ s rights at the Use advocacy to transform the enabling SO4

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SO5 SO6 SO7

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Financial Review

The Statement of Financial Activities for the year ended 31 December 2023 shows a net deficit (income less expenditure) for the year of £451k, compared to the previous year where a deficit of £360k was recorded. This was made up of an unrestricted deficit of £316k (2022: £213k), and a restricted deficit of £135k (2022: £147k).

Income for the year of £3.72m was 8% lower than the £4.03m received in 2022. Grants contributed 55% of total income (2022: 55%). Our teams are working hard to identify new sources of income to support our critical work and we have a strong pipeline to support growth in the years ahead.

Expenditure for the year of £4.17m represents a 5% decrease from the £4.39m shown in 2022. A detailed breakdown of expenditure for the year is shown within Note 4 to the accounts. This included a direct contribution to our overseas programmes of £2.9m (2022: £2.9m), representing 78% of income, and 70% of expenditure. Charitable expenditure – being overseas programme and policy and outreach – represented 82% of income and 73% of expenditure. Within the UK, Policy and Outreach expenditure amounted to £154k (2022: £640k) as we consolidated our advocacy work under our Global Support Centre.

As of 31 December 2023, Women for Women International – UK had net assets of £572K, (2022: £1.02m). Of these funds £106k (2022: £241k) is restricted reserve relating to specific grants, which will be spent on charitable activities during 2024. Unrestricted funds amounted to £466k (2022: £782k).

Reserves Policy

The Trustees aim to maintain the charity’s unrestricted reserves at a level that provides appropriate protection against normal and economic risks and a stable financial foundation to meet current commitments and plans.

On 31 December 2023, the charity held total funds/net assets of £572k. These can be sub-divided between a restricted fund of £106k and unrestricted funds of £466k.

The organisation’s reserve policy is to hold four to six months of operating expenditure in free reserves. The current free reserve balance of £463k (being equivalent to around three months of operating expenditure based on the budget for 2024) is below this target however, having reviewed the risk landscape the Trustees believe this to be sufficient given that we recover our Unrestricted Reserves to within the target range in the first half of 2024. The reserves policy and reserves target are reviewed periodically and were reviewed in 2023.

Trustees are satisfied, given the performance in the first months of 2024, that the current level of reserves is adequate to cover current financial risks and to meet current commitments and plans.

Our Governance

How We Are Run

Women for Women International (UK) is a subsidiary and affiliate of Women for Women International registered in the United States of America (US). Together with charities operating under the Women for Women International banner in Kosovo, Bosnia and Herzegovina and Women for Women International – Germany, these entities form the Women for Women International organisation worldwide.

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The US, Germany and UK offices fulfil the role primarily of fundraising and policy & advocacy. Women for Women International is also responsible for overseeing the operations of the programmes that are conducted for the benefit of the women we serve.

The staff department for managing the programmes is led from Washington DC.

The primary activity of Women for Women International (UK) is fundraising for our programmes, managing multi-year programme grants and policy & advocacy. The UK’s Co-Managing Directors sit on the Leadership Team which makes decisions about global initiatives, policies and strategy.

In the normal course, monies raised by Women for Women International (UK) are donated to Women for Women International with the restriction that they must be spent on the implementation and management of our programmes for the women we serve. The US charity reports both formally and informally to the UK charity about how the monies the UK entity has donated are being spent.

Governing Document

Women for Women International (UK) is a company limited by guarantee incorporated on 9 December 2005 (company number 05650155) and a registered charity (charity number 1115109). The company was established under a Memorandum of Association, which established the objects and powers of the charitable company and is governed under its Articles of Association.

Governing Body

The governing body of the charity is the Board of Trustees (the “ Board ”). The Board meets at least four times per year. Each Trustee serves a three-year term and may stand for re-election according to procedures set out in the Articles of Association, with a maximum term of nine years.

The composition of the Board is regularly reviewed by the Governance Committee, which oversees the selection of Trustees to fill a vacancy or add skills to the Board in conjunction with the Trustees and the Executive Team. Once appointed, new Trustees are introduced to the charity through meetings with the Board Chair, the Executive Team and other Trustees, and through a comprehensive introductory pack including background information on the organisation; copies of the latest financial statements; business plan and budget; names of key people and a description of their roles; a summary of a Trustees’ responsibilities; a copy of the governing documents; and a list of global policies.

In 2018, the Board adopted the Charity Governance Code, benchmarking its governance against sector best practice.

Since January 2023, our new Board Chair - recruited at the end of 2022 - was successfully onboarded, officially taking office in March 2023.

As part of Women for Women International’s ongoing global unification process, the committee structure was reviewed in 2023 to align Women for Women International governance structures globally. However, we continued to benefit from the time and expertise of our Finance and Audit Committee, Fundraising and Marketing Committee and People and Culture Committee throughout the year. The Board successfully agreed on a new committee structure as outlined below.

The Trustees

The Trustees (who are also directors under company law) who served during the year and to the date of this report are listed below.

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Name

Date of appointment or retirement

Sally Baden Resigned March 2024 Alex Duncan Appointed August 2015 Tony Gambino Appointed December 2015 Jan Rock Zubrow Resigned April 2024 Abi Calver Resigned December 2023 Rachel Corp Appointed December 2019 Nadjia Yousif Appointed January 2022 Nina Patel Appointed January 2022 Vanessa Leung Appointed January 2022 Paula Gay Appointed January 2022 Champa Patel Appointed March 2023 Penny Holmes Resigned February 2023

Board Committees

Subsequent to the committee structure review in 2023, the Board agreed on the following subcommittees and entities:

Other working groups may be appointed for specific events, projects or tasks.

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Non-Trustee Committee Members

The Board would like to thank the following non-Trustee members of our committees who served during the year:

Nicola Hanna Sarah Barclay Sarah Bedingfield-Shutt Andres Gomez de la Torre

Ambassadors

Our Ambassadors promote the work of the charity and their support is greatly appreciated.

Gillian Anderson Thomasina Miers
Juliet Aubrey Savannah Miller
MyAnna Buring Dame Helen Mirren
Tom Burke Arizona Muse
Elizabeth Debicki Charlotte Olympia Dellal
Alex Eagle Zara Martin
Mick Élysée Niomi Smart
Tina Daheley Philomena Kwao
Azita Ghanizada Nadja Swarovski
Jasmine Hemsley Alice Temperley
Mary Katrantzou Charlotte Tilbury
Basma Khalifa Sophie Turner
Cherie Lunghi Monica Vinader
Clarrisa Ward Waad al-Kateab

Our Management

Trustees have delegated the day-to-day running of Women for Women International (UK) to an Executive Team being our two co-Managing Directors, Sara Bowcutt and Carrie Brownlee. Our Managing Directors operate with a co-leadership model, holding distinct roles: Managing Director – Fundraising, Partnerships and Communications and Managing Director – Finance, Operations and Culture. They have delegated authority from the Board of Trustees for planning and directing the activities of Women for Women International (UK) and as such are, along with our Trustees, our Key Management Personnel as defined by the SORP. No Trustees are remunerated.

They continue to lead Women for Women International (UK) together with the support of the Senior Manager’s Group (being our Heads of Finance, People and Culture, Corporate Partnerships, Events and Philanthropy, Communications, and Marketing) and all our staff.

The remuneration of Managing Directors is considered annually by the Board, with reference to the annual budget and remuneration levels of similar roles in charities of a similar size. The recommendation of the People and Culture Committee is appreciated by the Board in this area of their work.

We are grateful to our co-Managing Directors for leading our organisation with strength, compassion and wisdom throughout 2023.

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Risk Management

The Trustees are responsible for ensuring that the charity has an appropriate system of financial and other controls, designed to safeguard the assets of the charity and maintain the integrity of the accounting records. Internal controls provide only reasonable and not absolute assurance against errors or fraud. Day-to-day controls include accounting procedures, for which the Trustees delegate authority to the Executive Team.

The Trustees take very seriously their legal and ethical duty to maximise the proportion of its income that Women for Women International (UK) uses for charitable purposes, but they balance this with the need to attract and retain the calibre of staff required to maintain and grow that income, and to safeguard all funds that flow through the organisation.

Processes to manage risk include:

The Finance and Audit Committee (FAC) monitors the steps taken by the Executive Team to manage and mitigate the risks to which the organisation is subject and reports to the Board on this.

Key among the risks that Women for Women International (UK) continues to manage, along with the relevant risk mitigation strategies, are:

National and international economies and political and social environments

The global and UK economies have been affected by a number of severe shocks in recent years and the full impact of the pandemic, the wars in Ukraine and the Middle East, Brexit and other significant events are not yet known.

In 2023, we continued to feel the impact of the cuts to the UK Government’s overseas aid budget, and we have directed our attentions to finding other sources of income to support and scale our work. We secured a number of new donors in 2023.

The UK’s economy is volatile with inflation again reaching historic levels in the year and interest rates continuing to increase. We know that many of our corporate and major donors are being impacted by the global economic downturn and individuals throughout the UK will continue to struggle to cope with the rising cost of living.

Our ability to create and maintain strong relationships with individual donors, corporate partners and other key supporters has provided Women for Women International channels to continue raising vital funds during these unprecedented times. Our diverse income streams are sustained by an agile and innovative fundraising team, underpinned by a robust fundraising strategy and monitored through regular Management Accounts and Key Performance Indicator reporting at Executive Team and Board levels.

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Safeguarding

It is essential that we protect those individuals that come into contact with the organisation from harm; including but not limited to staff, programme participants, volunteers and supporters. This goes to the heart of Women for Women International and therefore is important in its own right.

In addition, in order to retain our ability to operate as a charity within the UK, we must meet the expectations of the Charity Commission and our key donors including the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office and be mindful of the significant risk of reputational damage which would very likely have a negative financial impact on the organisation and our ability to deliver impact in the immediate and longer-term. The requirements surrounding safeguarding have rightly increased significantly in the past few years and it is essential that we remain compliant with these to the highest standard.

Management of this risk is discussed in more detail below.

Management & Leadership Diversity and Inclusive Culture

There is a risk that lack of diversity within the Executive Team and Board will result in poor decision making informed by limited perspectives. In addition, a lack of diversity or an exclusionary culture will always result in lower staff engagement and higher staff turnover.

In 2021 we established a Senior Managers Group made up of our ‘Heads of’ teams who each report to one of our co-Managing Directors. This wider group meets fortnightly, including once per month with the Executive Team and brings a depth and breadth of perspectives, experience and expertise to inform decision making within Women for Women International (UK).

At the Board level, following successful recruitment of four new trustees in 2022, we were delighted to appoint Dr Champa Patel to the role of Chair at the beginning of 2023. Champa as excelled in this role to date, bringing a wealth of experience and a deep passion for our work.

The ways in which we are looking more broadly at Equity, Diversity and Inclusion as part of a global organisation are discussed further below.

Staff Capacity, Staff Turnover & Staff Well-being

As a values-driven organisation whose success depends wholly on our people, it is essential that we meet not only our duty of care to our staff but also their expectations of us as their employer.

We continue to offer greater flexibility to our staff in order that they can deliver the responsibilities of their role in a way that allows them to achieve a work-life balance that is appropriate for their personal circumstances. We have embraced a hybrid working model that allows staff to create an office to home working ratio that meets their needs and works for their life, while also encouraging all staff to adopt flexible hours to create greater harmony between their work and life outside of work.

As an ambitious organisation, we must be mindful of the impact of our growth and our aspirations on our staff: their well-being, space for reflection, development and innovation. In 2023, we continued to deliver our comprehensive, tailored development People Programme, providing space to consider and discuss the areas of well-being, health, culture, inclusion, and more.

Operating in Conflict-Affected Countries

While Women for Women International (UK) does not directly deliver our programme, our mission is to support the most marginalised women in conflict-affected countries to: earn and save money;

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improve health and well-being; influence decisions at home and in the community; and connect to networks for support. By nature, therefore, we work in fragile and often high-risk contexts.

Country office staff have extensive and current experience of local conditions, customs and risks. Women for Women International employs a full-time manager whose role it is to monitor safety and security. Staff travel only if the organisation establishes that it is reasonably safe to do so, based on a detailed risk assessment. Travelling staff are then well briefed, and a detailed crisis management plan is in place should an emergency arise.

The Trustees are satisfied with the action being taken to mitigate exposure to these risks.

Safeguarding

The basic right of all people to live their lives free from discrimination, sexual harassment and abuse is a core tenet of our work with women survivors of war. Although we see through our daily work that sexual harassment and abusive behaviour can be endemic across all areas of society, we strive to challenge harmful social norms and shift the unequal power dynamics which result in discrimination against women.

Women for Women International works with some of the most marginalised women who live in the world’s most dangerous places. We know that some of these women have experienced sexual violence, intimate partner violence and sexual harassment. We work to empower the women we serve, and to change the attitudes and behaviours of men in communities where we work.

We believe that promoting women’s rights and gender equality is about ensuring equal access to opportunities and women’s ability to live their lives with dignity, no matter the circumstances.

Women for Women International (UK) staff are required to adhere to a strict Code of Conduct which governs both conduct towards the women and men we serve in countries affected by conflict as well as towards fellow employees. This is renewed and reaffirmed regularly and continuously monitored as part of our performance management system.

The basic right of living life free from discrimination, sexual harassment and abuse also applies within the workplace. We are committed to the safeguarding and well-being of all Women for Women International (UK) staff; the organisation takes a zero-tolerance approach to sexual harassment and all other forms of harassment. We foster an inclusive and respectful organisational culture and have a whistle-blowing policy in place to ensure that any potential instances of misconduct can be reported in confidence and dealt with appropriately and decisively with full disclosure.

We constantly strive to improve as an organisation on all fronts. We have policies and practices in place and we never stop thinking about what else we can do to safeguard the women we serve, the communities they live in and our staff around the world. In 2023 we introduced our Safe Spaces Policy which sets out that a safe space is a space in which people are protected from any kind or level of abuse. It confirms that Women for Women International (UK) staff are committed to prioritising the safety of event guests and staff and that harassment and inappropriate behaviour of event guests, panellists, staff or volunteers at Women for Women Internatioanl events will not be tolerated.

In 2023, our Director of Safeguarding and Security for Women for Women International focused on creating an investigations framework to guide Women for Women International in responsibly managing claims and investigating in a survivor-focused approach. We also conducted training with all safeguarding focal points on child and adolescent safeguarding and the special measures we need

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to put in place. Finally, we conducted our first country-level safeguarding self-assessment process to create a baseline for evaluating our safeguarding capacity.

Equity, Diversity, Inclusion and Belonging

Diversity and inclusion have been a priority for Women for Women International (UK) for some time and we continue to strive to reach our ambitions in this area and have more work to do.

Women for Women International is committed to creating a world in which all women determine the course of their lives and reach their full potential. Within our programmes, we know that our approach to building women’s power must be nuanced and intersectional. Within our own organisation, we know that our understanding and perception of power must also be nuanced and intersectional and this must inform our day-to-day practices.

In 2022, Women for Women International appointed a new Director of Global People, Capability and Culture and in 2023 we worked closely with her and all of our colleagues within the Women for Women International movement globally to accelerate our progress in this area.

We welcome internal and external feedback to challenge us and hold us accountable to progress towards diversity, equity, and inclusion in our workplace. As we listen and learn, we will continually evaluate our commitments, our progress towards them, and how we need to evolve. We believe change happens one person at a time – and that includes investing in the power of the people within our own organisation.

With this in mind, we made space for and encouraged all our staff to attend 2023’s #BAMEOnline conference: https://www.jmb-consulting.co.uk/uncharitable. Feedback from all staff in attendance was incredibly positive and they expressed their gratitude to the team at JMB Consulting for providing this powerful platform for these vital conversations and creating space for deep, transformational learning.

All our staff also attended internal training on Fostering a Respectful Work Culture at the beginning of 2023. This training covered our Code of Conduct and allowed staff the opportunity to discuss how to respond to various ethical dilemmas.

Thank You to

Our donors and partners

A&O Shearman Slip Charlote Tilbury Beauty Revolut The Jimmy Choo Founda�on The Al Swaidi Family ME+EM The Anglo-American Charity Limited Mint Velvet Diana Saghi Kawkabani Monica Vinader The Medlock Family The Ned London Nadjia Yousif & Andrew Browning 111SKIN Selfridges Lina Stores Women on a Mission The Bicester Collection

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Our grantors

Mclain Foundation

The Swedish Postcode Foundation

Postcode Justice Trust

Vitol Foundation

L'Oreal Fund for Women

De Rigo Vision S.p.A.

Julius Baer Foundation

Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office

Our volunteer fundraisers

Thank you to the Women for Women International (UK) Fundraising & Marketing Committee: Sarah Barclay, Sarah Bedingfield Shutt, Nicola Hanna, Nadjia Yousef, Nina Patel and Tony Gambino

Thank you to all of our amazing #SheInspiresMe Car Boot Sale Committee, booters, volunteers and contributors!

Related parties and connected organisations

Related party transactions are detailed in Note 15 to the financial statements.

Subsidiary Undertaking

Women for Women International (UK) has one subsidiary, Women for Women International Services (UK) Ltd (company number 08527316), which was incorporated on 13 May 2013 in England and Wales. Women for Women International (UK) is the sole member of Women for Women International Services (UK) Ltd. As a result, Women for Women International (UK) exercises control over Women for Women International Services (UK) Ltd.

Women for Women International Services (UK) Ltd is a general trading company whose activities include selling the Women for Women International cookbook, Share , and the Share calendar. In 2023 the trading company generated a profit of £145 (2022: profit of £2,233). All profits generated by the trading company are transferred, under Gift Aid, to Women for Women International (UK). The financial statements of Women for Women International Services (UK) Ltd have not been consolidated with those of Women for Women International (UK), as they are not material to the overall group position.

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Statement of Trustees’ Responsibilities

The Trustees (who are also directors of Women for Women International (UK) for the purposes of company law) are responsible for preparing the Trustees’ Report and financial statements in accordance with applicable law and United Kingdom Accounting Standards (United Kingdom Generally Accepted Accounting Practice).

Company law requires the Trustees to prepare financial statements for each financial year which give a true and fair view of the state of affairs of the charitable company and its income and expenditure for that period.

In preparing these financial statements, the Trustees are required to:

The Trustees are responsible for keeping proper accounting records that disclose with reasonable accuracy at any time the financial position of the charitable company and enable them to ensure that the financial statements comply with the Companies Act 2006. They are also responsible for safeguarding the assets of the charitable company and hence for taking reasonable steps for the prevention and detection of fraud and other irregularities.

Each of the Trustees confirms that:

This confirmation is given and should be interpreted in accordance with the provisions of s418 of the Companies Act 2006.

Approved by the Trustees on 13[th] June 2024 and signed on their behalf by:

Dr Champa Patel, Chair of the UK Board of Trustees

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Independent auditor’s report to the members of Women for Women International (UK)

Opinion

We have audited the financial statements of Women for Women International (UK) (the ‘charitable company’) for the year ended 31 December 2023 which comprise the statement of financial activities, the balance sheet and statement of cash flows, the principal accounting policies and the notes to the financial statements. The financial reporting framework that has been applied in their preparation is in line with applicable law and United Kingdom Accounting Standards, including Financial Reporting Standard 102 ‘The Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK and Republic of Ireland’ (United Kingdom Generally Accepted Accounting Practice).

In our opinion, the financial statements:

Basis for Opinion

We conducted our audit in accordance with International Standards on Auditing (UK) (ISAs (UK)) and applicable law. Our responsibilities under those standards are further described in the auditor’s responsibilities for the audit of the financial statements section of our report. We are independent of the charitable company in accordance with the ethical requirements that are relevant to our audit of the financial statements in the UK, including the FRC’s Ethical Standard, and we have fulfilled our other ethical responsibilities in accordance with these requirements. We believe that the audit evidence we have obtained is sufficient and appropriate to provide a basis for our opinion.

Conclusions Relating to Going Concern

In auditing the financial statements, we have concluded that the Trustees’ use of the going concern basis of accounting in the preparation of the financial statements is appropriate.

Based on the work we have performed, we have not identified any material uncertainties relating to events or conditions that, individually or collectively, may cast significant doubt on the charitable company’s ability to continue as a going concern for a period of at least twelve months from when the financial statements are authorised for issue.

Our responsibilities and the responsibilities of the trustees with respect to going concern are described in the relevant sections of this report.

Other Information

The other information comprises the information included in the annual report and financial statements, other than the financial statements and our auditor’s report thereon. The trustees are responsible for the other information contained within the annual report and financial statements. Our opinion on the financial statements does not cover the other information and, except to the extent otherwise explicitly stated in our report, we do not express any form of assurance conclusion thereon.

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Our responsibility is to read the other information and, in doing so, consider whether the other information is materially inconsistent with the financial statements or our knowledge obtained in the course of the audit or otherwise appears to be materially misstated. If we identify such material inconsistencies or apparent material misstatements, we are required to determine whether this gives rise to a material misstatement in the financial statements themselves. If, based on the work we have performed, we conclude that there is a material misstatement of this other information, we are required to report that fact.

We have nothing to report in this regard.

Opinions on Other Matters Prescribed by the Companies Act 2006

In our opinion, based on the work undertaken in the course of the audit:

Matters on Which We Are Required to Report by Exception

In the light of the knowledge and understanding of the charitable company and its environment obtained in the course of the audit, we have not identified material misstatements in the Trustees’ report. We have nothing to report in respect of the following matters in relation to which the Companies Act 2006 requires us to report to you if, in our opinion:

Responsibilities of Trustees

As explained more fully in the Trustees’ responsibilities statement, the Trustees (who are also the directors of the charitable company for the purposes of company law) are responsible for the preparation of the financial statements and for being satisfied that they give a true and fair view, and for such internal control as the Trustees determine is necessary to enable the preparation of financial statements that are free from material misstatement, whether due to fraud or error.

In preparing the financial statements, the Trustees are responsible for assessing the charitable company’s ability to continue as a going concern, disclosing, as applicable, matters related to going concern and using the going concern basis of accounting unless the trustees either intend to liquidate the charitable company or to cease operations, or have no realistic alternative but to do so.

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Auditor’s Responsibilities for the Audit of the Financial Statements

Our objectives are to obtain reasonable assurance about whether the financial statements as a whole are free from material misstatement, whether due to fraud or error, and to issue an auditor’s report that includes our opinion. Reasonable assurance is a high level of assurance, but is not a guarantee that an audit conducted in accordance with ISAs (UK) will always detect a material misstatement when it exists. Misstatements can arise from fraud or error and are considered material if, individually or in the aggregate, they could reasonably be expected to influence the economic decisions of users taken on the basis of these financial statements.

Our approach to identifying and assessing the risks of material misstatement in respect of irregularities, including fraud and non-compliance with laws and regulations, was as follows:

We assessed the susceptibility of the charity’s financial statements to material misstatement, including obtaining an understanding of how fraud might occur, by:

To address the risk of fraud through management bias and override of controls, we:

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In response to the risk of irregularities and non-compliance with laws and regulations, we designed procedures which included, but were not limited to:

Owing to the inherent limitations of an audit, there is an unavoidable risk that we may not have detected a material misstatement within the financial statements while performing our audit in accordance with applicable audit standards. Irregularities may involve a collusion, forgery, intentional omissions, misrepresentations or override of internal controls. We are not responsible for preventing non-compliance and cannot be expected to detect non-compliance with all laws and regulations.

A further description of our responsibilities is available on the Financial Reporting Council’s website at www.frc.org.uk/auditorsresponsibilities. This description forms part of our auditor’s report.

Use of Our Report

This report is made solely to the charitable company’s members, as a body, in accordance with Chapter 3 of Part 16 of the Companies Act 2006. Our audit work has been undertaken so that we might state to the charitable company's members those matters we are required to state to them in an auditor's report and for no other purpose. To the fullest extent permitted by law, we do not accept or assume responsibility to anyone other than the charitable company and the charitable company's members as a body, for our audit work, for this report, or for the opinions we have formed.

18 June 2024

Catherine Biscoe (Senior Statutory Auditor) For and on behalf of Buzzacott LLP, Statutory Auditor 130 Wood Street London EC2V 6DL

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Women for Women International (UK) Statement of Financial Activities to 31 December 2023

Note
INCOME from:
Donations and legacies:
. Donations and Gift Aid
2
. Grants
2
Other trading activities:
. Events
Income from investments:
Other income
Total income
EXPENDITURE on:
Raising funds
4
Costs of charitable activities
Policy & Outreach
Overseas Programmes
Total expenditure
Net (expenditure) / income for the year
Net movement in funds
Funds at beginning of year
Funds at end of year		 2023
2023
2023
2022
2022
2022
Restricted
Unrestricted
Total
Restricted
Unrestricted
Total
£000
£000
£000
£000
£000
£000
86
1,218
1,304
70
1,401
1,471
1,959
91
2,050
2,146
89
2,235
-
354
354
-
286
286
-
15
15
-
3
3
-
-
-
33
-
33
2,045
1,678
3,723
2,249
1,779
4,028
-
1,123
1,123
-
845
845
-
154
154
196
444
640
2,180
717
2,897
2,200
703
2,903
2,180
1,994
4,174
2,396
1,992
4,388
(135)
(316)
(451)
(147)
(213)
(360)
(135)
(316)
(451)
(147)
(213)
(360)
241
782
1,023
388
995
1,383
106
466
572
241
782
1,023

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Women for Women International (UK) Balance Sheet as at 31 December 2023

Fixed assets
Tangible fixed assets
Current assets
Debtors
Short term deposits
Net current assets
Net assets
Funds
Income funds
Restricted funds
Unrestricted funds
General funds
Total funds
11
11
Creditors: amounts due within 1 year
10
Cash at bank and in hand
Note
7
9		 2023
£000
14
305
887
217
1,409
851
558
572
106
466
572		 2022
£000
15
631
1,062
215
1,908
900
1,008
1,023
241
782
1,023

Approved by the trustees on 13th June 24 and signed on their behalf by Dr Champa Patel

Chair of Board of Trustees

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Women for Women International (UK) Statement of Cashflows to 31 December 2023

Cash flows from operating activities:
Net (expenditure) for the year
Depreciation of fixed assets
(Decrease) in debtors
Increase / (decrease) in creditors
Net cash used in operating activities
Cash flows from investing activities:
Payments to acquire fixed assets
Net cash used in investing activities
Decrease in cash
Changes in the cash and cash equivalents in the reporting period
Balance at beginning of year
Decrease in cash in year
Balance at end of year
Analysis of change in net debt
Cash in hand
Notice deposits (less than 3 months)
Total		 2023
£000
(451)
8
326
(49)
(166)
(7)
(7)
(173)
1,277
(173)
1,104
At 1 Jan
2023
£000
1,062
215
1,277		 2022
£000
(360)
8
165
197
10
(16)
(16)
(6)
1,283
(6)
1,277
Movement
in year
£000
(175)
2
(173)		 At 31 Dec
2023
£000
887
217
1,104

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Women for Women International (UK) Notes to the Financial Statements to 31 December 2023

1. Accounting policies

a) These accounts have been prepared for the year to 31 December 2023. The accounts are presented in sterling and are rounded to the nearest thousand pounds. The accounts have been prepared under the historical cost convention with items recognised at cost or transaction value unless otherwise stated in the relevant accounting policies below or the notes to these accounts.

The Trustees have assessed whether the use of the going concern assumption is appropriate in preparing the financial statements and have made this assessment in respect to a period of at least one year from the date of approval of these financial statements. The Trustees have concluded that, while we recognise the higher levels of risk facing the organisation as a result of the ongoing economic situation in the UK, there are no material uncertainties related to events or conditions that may cast significant doubt on the ability of the charity to continue as a going concern. This view is based on a detailed forecast of income, expenditure and cash flows to the end of 2024, and more summarised forecasts for 2025 and 2026. The Trustees have paid particular attention to unrestricted income and expenditure, which supports the charity’s day-to-day operations and are satisfied that the charity has sufficient free reserves to manage any unforeseen events impacting income or expenditure.

The charity constitutes a public benefit entity as defined by FRS 102.

b) Preparation of the financial statements requires the Trustees and management to make significant judgements and estimates. The items in the financial statements where these judgements and estimates have been made include:

c) Voluntary income is received by way of grants, donations and gifts and is included in full in the statement of financial activities when receivable.

When material and quantifiable, gifts in kind and donated services are included at a reasonable estimate of their value to the charity. Volunteer time is not included in the financial statements.

Income derived from events is recognised as earned.

d) Grant income is recognised in the period in which the charity is entitled to receipt and the amount can be measured with reasonable certainty.

Income from grants is deferred where the donor has imposed restrictions on the use of funds, which amount to pre-conditions for use that have not been met at the balance sheet date (e.g. the receipt in advance of a grant for expenditure in a future accounting period). Where funding is provided to support a programme of work to be delivered over a period of time, these are considered time-related conditions and the income is spread over the life of the grant agreement. Expenditure is used as a proxy for calculating the time-related adjustment to income.

Where grants are paid in arrears based upon expenditure incurred, income is accrued to the extent that recovery from the funder under a confirmed funding arrangement is considered probable.

e) Expenditure is recognised in the period in which it is incurred. Expenditure includes irrecoverable VAT.

f) Expenditure is allocated to the particular activity where the cost relates directly to that activity. However, the cost of overall direction and administration of each activity, comprising the salary and overhead costs of the central function, is apportioned on the following bases which are an estimate, based on percentage of expenditure incurred, of the amount attributable to each activity.

Overseas programmes 69% (2022 – 66%)
Policy and outreach 4% (2022 – 15%)
Cost of raising funds 27% (2022 – 19%)

Monies raised for overseas programmes are donated as restricted grants to Women for Women International (US). Women for Women International (US) subsequently spends these on programme activities in line with the donors’ wishes and is responsible for monitoring the spending of the grant by the recipient.

Such expenditure relating to the overseas programmes is recognised in these financial statements when the obligation to Women for Women International (US) arises.

42

Women for Women International (UK) Notes to the Financial Statements to 31 December 2023

1. Accounting policies (continued)

In some cases, Women for Women International (UK) retains a proportion of the monies raised for overseas programmes in order to cover the costs of the related administration and support. Such overhead costs are charged to the relevant restricted fund to reflect this expenditure.

Policy costs are incurred in pursuance of the aim of influencing policy and activities of governmental and other institutions that drive the developmental agenda for women worldwide.

Costs of raising funds are those incurred in seeking voluntary contributions and holding fundraising events including in person 2023 Car Boot Sale.

Support and goverance costs are costs relating to the organisational management and administration of the charity in support of its objects, and in compliance with constitutional and statutory requirements.

g) Tangible fixed assets are stated at historic cost less accumulated depreciation. Cost includes the original purchase price of the asset and the costs attributable to bringing the asset to its working condition for its intended use.

Depreciation is provided at rates calculated to write down the cost of each asset to its estimated residual value over its expected useful life. The depreciation rates in use are as follows:

• Equipment 33% • Furniture and fittings 20%

Items of equipment are usually not capitalised unless the purchase price exceeds £250.

h) Debtors are recognised at their settlement amount, less any provision for non-recoverability. Prepayments are valued at the amount prepaid. They are discounted to the present value of the future cash receipt where such discounting is material.

i) Cash at bank and in hand represents such accounts and instruments that are available on demand or have a maturity of less than three months from the date of acquisition. Deposits for more than three months but less than one year have been disclosed as short-term deposits.

j) Creditors and provisions are recognised when there is an obligation at the balance sheet date as a result of a past event, it is probable that a transfer of economic benefit will be required in settlement, and the amount of the settlement can be estimated reliably. Creditors and provisions are recognised at the amount the charity anticipates it will pay to settle the debt. They have been discounted to the present value of the future cash payment where such discounting is material.

k) Restricted funds are to be used for specific purposes as laid down by the donor. Expenditure which meets these criteria is charged to the fund together with a fair allocation of management and support costs, where permitted by the funder.

l) Unrestricted funds are donations and other income receivable or generated for the objects of the charity and comprise general funds and designated funds. The general fund comprises those monies which may be used towards meeting the charitable objectives of the charity and which may be applied at the discretion of the Trustees. Designated funds are monies or assets set aside out of general funds and designated for specific purposes by the Trustees.

m) Rentals payable under operating leases, where substantially all the risks and rewards of ownership remain with the lessor, are charged to the statement of financial activities on a straight-line basis over the lease term.

n) Contributions in respect of employees' personal pension plans are charged to the statement of financial activities in the year in which they are due.

o) Transactions during the year in foreign currencies are translated into sterling at the rate of exchange ruling at the date of the transaction, whilst assets and liabilities are translated into sterling at the rate ruling at the balance sheet date. Exchange differences are recognised through the statement of financial activities.

43

Women for Women International (UK) Notes to the Financial Statements to 31 December 2023

2. Voluntary income

Donations and Gift Aid
Donations from individuals and corporations
Sponsorship Income
Gift aid
Grants receivables
Governments
Saferworld CSSF
Foreign, Commonweath & Development Office - Jo Cox Memorial Grant
Trusts and Foundations
Players of the People's Postcode Lottery
De Rigo Vision S.p.A.
The Millby Foundation - Women for Women
Fresh Leaf Charitable Foundation
Swedish Postcode Foundation
The Al Swaidi Family
Allen and Nesta Ferguson Charitable Trust
Charlotte Tilbury Beauty
The Syncona Foundation (formerly The BACIT Foundation)
PRISM THE GIFT FUND / Choose Love
Joseph Rowntree Charitable Trust - GAPS
Other Trusts and Foundations
Grants from Major Donors
Total Income		 2023
2023
2023
2022
2022
2022
Restricted
Unrestricted
Total
Restricted
Unrestricted
Total
£
£
£
£
£
£
79
708
787
63
882
945
3
425
428
4
417
421
4
85
89
3
102
105
86
1,218
1,304
70
1,401
1,471
416
-
416
393
-
393
-
-
-
288
-
288
1,000
-
1,000
900
-
900
44
-
44
43
-
43
-
-
-
50
-
50
20
-
20
20
-
20
-
-
-
191
-
191
-
-
-
8
-
8
-
-
-
20
-
20
-
-
-
95
-
95
-
-
-
-
25
25
29
-
29
9
-
9
-
-
-
10
-
10
349
85
434
15
64
79
101
6
107
104
-
104
1,959
91
2,050
2,146
89
2,235
2,045
1,309
3,354
2,216
1,490
3,706

3. Gifts in kind and donated services

We were grateful to receive support in the form of gifts in kind and donated services, the estimated value of gifts and services which was received by the charity during the year ended 31 December 2023 was £16,145 (2022: £588,025). Of this amount, £10,194 (2022: £38,025) relates to goods and services provided to the charity as donations for fundraising events, and the charity does not consider that they would have purchased the items at the market price had these not been provided free of charge. The remaining £6,338 relates to essential support the charity would had to have paid for if not offered pro-bono. This has not been recognised in income or expenditure as it was not deemed material to the accounts.

44

Women for Women International (UK) Notes to the Financial Statements to 31 December 2023

4. 2023 Resources expended

Staff costs (Note 6)
Overseas Programmes funding
Premises and other office costs
Marketing and events
Consultancy and other professional costs
Travel and other staff costs
Support costs allocated to grants management
Support costs
Total
2022 Resources expended
Staff costs (Note 6)
Overseas Programmes funding
Premises and other office costs
Marketing and events
Consultancy and other professional costs
Travel and other staff costs
Grants to other organisation (incl. WfWI Germany)
Support costs allocated to grants management
Support costs
Total		 Cost of
Generating Funds
£000
679
-
29
186
50
13
957
-
957
166
1,123
Cost of
Generating Funds
£000
482
-
28
158
46
11
-
725
-
725
120
845		 Policy & Outreach
£000
131
-
-
-
-
-
131
-
131
23
154
Policy & Outreach
£000
385
-
10
28
37
12
77
549
-
549
91
640		 Overseas
Programmes
£000
21
2,496
-
-
-
-
2,517
(49)
2,468
429
2,897
Overseas
Programmes
£000
358
2,200
-
-
2
16
-
2,576
(87)
2,489
414
2,903		 Support Costs
£000
263
-
152
-
37
73
525
49
574
(574)
-
Support Costs
£000
254
-
123
-
23
92
-
492
87
579
(579)
-		 Governance Costs
£000
44
-
-
-
-
-
44
-
44
(44)
-
Governance Costs
£000
26
-
-
-
20
-
-
46
-
46
(46)
-		 2023 Total
£000
1,138
2,496
181
186
87
86
4,174
-
4,174
-
4,174
2022 Total
£000
1,505
2,200
161
186
128
131
77
4,388
-
4,388
-
4,388

45

Women for Women International (UK) Notes to the Financial Statements to 31 December 2023

5. Net incoming resources for the year

This is stated after charging:

Net incoming resources for the year
This is stated after charging:
2023 2022
£000 £000
Depreciation 8 8
Auditor's remuneration
- Statutory audit 16 14
- Non-audit services 5 5
Operating lease rentals: property 29 23
Operating lease rentals: equipment 3 3

6. Staff costs and numbers

Staff costs were as follows:

Pension costs
Redundancy / severance payments
Salaries and wages
Social security costs		 2023
2022
£000
£000
977
1,286
108
150
53
69
-
-
1,138
1,505

Key management personnel during the year were our two co-Managing Directors. In the prior year, key management personnel included the

Pension costs
Redundancy / severance payments
£60,001 - £70,000
£70,001 - £80,000
£81,000 - £90,000
£120,001 - £130,000
The number of employees who earned more than £60,000 during the year were as follows:
Salaries and wages
Social security costs		 2023
2022
£000
£000
176
172
21
22
12
12
-
-
209
206
2023
2022
No.
No.
2
3
-
-
2
2
-
-

The average weekly number of employees (full-time equivalent) during the year was as follows:

Support costs
Cost of generating funds
Charitable activities		 2023
2022
No.
No.
13.4
9.6
2.6
15.3
6.1
6.2
22.1
31.1

No trustee received any remuneration in respect of their services as a trustee during the year (2022: £nil)

46

Women for Women International (UK) Notes to the Financial Statements to 31 December 2023

7. Tangible fixed assets

Furniture &
fittings Equipment Total
£000 £000 £000
Cost
At 1 January 2023 7 64 71
Additions in year - 7 7
At 31 December 2023 7 71 78
Depreciation
At 1 January 2023 6 50 56
Charge for the year 1 7 8
At 31 December 2023 7 57 64
Net book value at 1 January 2023 1 14 15
Net book value at 31 December 2023 - 14 14
Trading Subsidiary
On 13th May 2013, the Trustees of Women for Women International (UK) established a company, WfWI Services (UK) Ltd.
Women for Women International (UK) is the sole member of WfWI Services (UK) Ltd, a general trading company which sells
Women for Women International’s Share cookbooks and a calendar containing Share recipes.
In 2023 the trading company generated a profit of £145 on turnover of £625 (2022: Profit of £2,233 on turnover of £2,654).
The aggregate reserves of the company at 31 December 2023 and 31 December 2022 were £nil.
The financial statements of WfWI Services (UK) Ltd have not been consolidated with those of Women for Women
International (UK), as they are immaterial to the overall group position.
The registered office of the company is 7-14 Great Dover Street, London, SE1 4YR.
Debtors
Grants Receiveable 2023
£000
36		 2022
£000
448
Accrued Income 221 106
Prepayments and rental deposit 21 45
Other Debtors 12 17
Due from trading subsidiary
- profit for the year (note 8) - 2
- other amounts due 15 13
305 631

8. Trading Subsidiary

9. Debtors

47

Women for Women International (UK) Notes to the Financial Statements to 31 December 2023

10. Creditors: amounts due within 1 year

Trade creditors
Accruals
Pension creditor
Movement on deferred income
2023
2022
Fresh Leaf Foundation
Net assets at
31 December 2023
Tangible fixed assets
Net current assets
Analysis of net assets between funds
Deferred income
Commitments to overseas programmes
Taxation and social security		 2023
2022
£000
£000
20
94
742
698
51
43
38
54
-
11
-
-
851
900
2023
2022
Restricted
Total
Total
funds
funds
funds
£000
£000
£000
£000
-
14
14
23
106
452
558
1,000
106
466
572
1,023
Beginning
Funds
Income
End of
of year
received
released
year
£000
£000
£000
£000
-
-
-
-
-
-
Beginning
Funds
Income
End of
of year
received
released
year
£000
£000
£000
£000
20
-
(20)
-
20
-
(20)
-
General funds

11. Analysis of net assets between funds

11a. Movement on deferred income

48

Women for Women International (UK) Notes to the Financial Statements to 31 December 2023

12. Movements in funds

2023
Restricted funds:
Grants & donations with programme specific restrictions
Saferworld CSSF
Players of the People's Postcode Lottery
Swedish Postcode Foundation
Multi COs
Grants & donations with geographical restrictions
Afghanistan
DRC
KRI
Nigeria
Rwanda
South Sudan
Syria
Iraq
Sahel
Total restricted funds
Unrestricted funds:
Designated Funds
Programme development
General funds
Total funds
2022
Restricted funds:
Grants & donations with programme specific restrictions
The Millby Foundation
Charlotte Tilbury
Saferworld CSSF
Players of the People's Postcode Lottery
Swedish Postcode Foundation
Multi COs
Gender and Policy Network (GAPS)
Grants & donations with geographical restrictions
Afghanistan
DRC
KRI
Nigeria
Rwanda
South Sudan
Ukraine
Total restricted funds
Unrestricted funds:
Designated Funds
Programme development
General funds
Total funds
Total unrestricted funds
Total unrestricted funds		 £000
£000
£000
£000
£000
2
417
(421)
-
(2)
-
1,000
(999)
-
1
95
-
(78)
-
17
-
60
(3)
-
57
-
102
(73)
-
29
-
29
(29)
-
-
10
(10)
-
-
12
75
(89)
-
(2)
132
34
(164)
-
2
-
4
-
-
4
-
68
(68)
-
-
-
50
(50)
-
-
-
196
(196)
-
-
241
2,045
(2,180)
-
106
-
-
-
-
-
782
1,678
(1,994)
-
466
782
1,678
(1,994)
-
466
1,023
3,723
(4,174)
-
572
£000
£000
£000
£000
£000
-
50
(50)
-
-
-
95
(95)
-
-
-
393
(391)
-
2
20
900
(920)
-
-
-
191
(96)
-
95
-
49
(49)
-
-
104
42
(146)
-
-
-
19
(19)
-
-
-
288
(288)
-
-
-
95
(95)
-
-
-
45
(33)
-
12
264
-
(132)
-
132
-
21
(21)
-
-
-
61
(61)
-
-
388
2,249
(2,396)
-
241
-
-
-
-
-
849
1,779
(1,992)
-
782
849
1,779
(1,992)
-
782
1,383
4,028
(4,388)
-
1,023
1 January 2023
Incoming
resources
31 December
2022
31 December
2023
Transfers
Outgoing
resources
1 January 2022
Incoming
resources
Outgoing
resources
Transfers

49

Women for Women International (UK) Notes to the Financial Statements to 31 December 2023

13. Operating lease commitments

The charity had commitments at the year end under operating leases expiring as follows:

Property - less than 1 year
Other- less than 1 year
Other - 1 year to 5 years		 2023
£
8
2
-
10		 2022
£
8
3
2
12

14. Related parties

Women for Women International (US) (“ WfWI ”) is the sole member of Women for Women International (UK) (“ WfWI-UK ”). During the year:

15. Gender and Policy Networks (GAPS)

The activities of Gender and Policy Networks (GAPS) had previousely been hosted by Women for Women International (UK). From 14 April 2022 these activities were transferred to Saferworld (Registered Charity Number 1043843 England & Wales).

50

Supplementary information Achievements and performance against strategic objectives

Strategic Objective 1: Invest in the social and economic empowerment of marginalised women

Last year, we said we would aim to achieve the following during 2023:

Programme Impact in Figures

We believe women have the power to transform their lives, but when women are undervalued and oppressed, their power is undermined. Conflict and war deepen this injus�ce. At Women for Women Interna�onal, we invest in women who are forgoten – those facing the greatest inequali�es in areas of conflict – and support them in learning the social and economic skills they need to rebuild their lives, their families, and their communi�es. In 2023, many of the countries in which we serve women faced con�nued conflicts and violence. We are proud to have begun serving women in Pales�ne which was registered as a country office in late 2023 and begun a pilot in Rwanda serving adolescent girls with a modified SWSN programme.

More than 30,484 women and girls were served directly through our SWSN programme in 2023 (including through Sister Organisa�ons and partners implemen�ng SWSN) and a further 8,334 women were reached through targeted interven�ons via partners.

51

Photo: Women in Rwanda as they share out their savings at the end of the Village Savings and Loan Associa�ons (VSLA) cycle

Strengthening our Stronger Women, Stronger Na�ons Programme (SWSN)

Women for Women Interna�onal is commited to constantly improving the SWSN programme to best support women’s growth and power. We do this through a rigorous process of evalua�on that demonstrates the impact of Women for Women Interna�onal ’s programming on women’s lives and businesses.

We are commited to con�nuously strengthening our monitoring and evalua�on capacity and over the last few years has invested in developing a new system to enhance the efficiency of par�cipant data. In 2023 our DPM technology was rolled out to all country offices. The new data entry pla�orm (Resco) re�red iformbuilder, and can be used offline making it more suitable for remote loca�ons. Resco provides real�me learning and analysis, as well as the ability to adapt to new monitoring needs including those for monitoring work with partners. Resco is linked to a new database in Salesforce and is supported by a new repor�ng dashboard. With this visibility to data, country office staff will be able to course-correct before endline by reviewing specific data points related to modules in the SWSN curriculum. The new dashboard provides mul�ple ways of analysing par�cipant outcome data in ways not previously possible, such as excluding outliers and disaggrega�ng data at the community level, or by disability, displacement, income genera�on ac�vity, or by a menu of many other variables.

Climate Change Adaptions and Resilience

With funding from Car�er Philanthropy, since 2022 Women for Women Interna�onal began a preliminary analysis of quan�ta�ve data from past program graduates that centers on iden�fying and isola�ng variables of known associa�on with measures of resilience to examine how resilience emerges in our data. In 2023, the MERL team generated a correla�on matrix and a sta�s�cal model using linear regression. With improved understanding of the factors driving women’s resilience in conflict-affected se�ngs, Women for Women Interna�onal has posited an evidence-based “resilience score” predic�ve of a par�cipant's ability to withstand shocks post-gradua�on. This quan�ta�ve data incorporates qualita�ve data collected from past program graduates, which has enabled us to understand why and how resilience has played a role in women’s lives. In 2024, the programme design and development team will explore how we use this data to inform programming.

Last November at COP28 we launched our latest Situa�onal Assessment and Policy Brief: “Cultvatng a more enabling environment: Strengthening women's resilience in climate vulnerable and confict-afected communites” . We produced this assessment based on surveys, focus group discussions, and

52

interviews with nearly 1,000 women across 14 countries: Afghanistan, Burkina Faso, the Democra�c Republic of the Congo (DRC), Iraq, Myanmar, Nigeria, Rwanda, South Sudan, Sudan, Mali, Ethiopia, Syria, Ukraine and Yemen. The Situa�onal Assessment includes key findings from our Country Snapshots that reveal trends in environmental impacts of climate change and conflict-related environmental degrada�on in Afghanistan, the DRC, Iraq, Nigeria, Rwanda and South Sudan including flooding, droughts, increasing severity and frequency of natural disasters, extreme heat, and pollu�on. Women surveyed cite the daily impacts of these trends, especially food insecurity, water scarcity, worsening health, the high cost of goods and growing conflict among the many complex challenges they face.

As an organisa�on we are in the nascent stages of applying a climate-lens to our advocacy and programming. Climate change is now unavoidable, and the associated risks must be proac�vely factored into our SWSN if we hope to con�nue to see strong resilience. This involves not just adding a session on climate resilience to our SWSN curriculum, but a review of all voca�onal tracks and training our staff on climate resilience. We know that climate change dispropor�onately affects small-scale farmers, who make up about 41% of the women in our programs globally, while the remainder of women not involved in agribusiness remain highly suscep�ble to the impact of climate on precarious local food systems. We want our voca�onal tracks and market linkages to be designed in a way that empowers women farmers with climate-sensi�ve methodologies, ensures that women know how to strengthen resilience by working together, and have a beter understanding of how their IGA interacts with a whole value chain that may be impacted by climate-related shocks. This Situa�onal Assessment and Policy Brief research has built the founda�on for us in understanding how changes to environment, gender inequality and conflict dynamics are intersec�ng to impact the women that we work with.

Women for Women International’s Power Journey

During 2023, our organisa�on remained commited to the strategic objec�ve of "Streamline Globally, Power Locally". To achieve this, we concluded the first round of mee�ngs for our pilot with our Country Power Project Assessment process in Iraq and Nigeria. Con�nuously refining our approach, we diligently incorporated feedback from both Country Offices (COs) and the Global Support Centre (GSC) to enhance our Assessment Tool. These pilot sessions yielded several noteworthy technical victories, such as the decision to shi� finance closing days to Mondays instead of Fridays. This adjustment ensures uninterrupted workflow for countries, contribu�ng to a more streamlined and efficient process. Moreover, the launch of the DPM system empowers Country Offices with greater flexibility and autonomy across all country offices. By leveraging real-�me data for program monitoring and results tracking, this ini�a�ve minimises reliance on the GSC, allowing Country Offices to operate more independently and conduct research with increased efficiency.

In October 2023, Country Directors convened for a retreat in Kigali, Rwanda, where they engaged in comprehensive discussions encompassing various aspects, including the Country Power process, aimed at iden�fying obstacles and devising solu�ons. The retreat proved highly produc�ve in deciding the subsequent steps of the process, notably enhancing the understanding of the Country Power process among CO/GSC staff. To achieve this, a presenta�on to update and orient staff on Country Power was a centre point of discussion during the GSC/SCO all-staff mee�ngs in March 2024. Addi�onally, the Country Power Steering Commitee and members of the Leadership Team commited to collabora�ng on a visionary document outlining milestones and sequencing for Country Power. This document is slated for dissemina�on among all staff members in early 2024 to ensure alignment of collec�ve goals and responsibili�es amidst this transforma�ve process. During the retreat, it was unanimously agreed to compile a list of proposed Country Power Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) to aid COs in measuring

53

progress. Furthermore, plans were devised to dra� an updated Country Compliance Checklist. Both documents are an�cipated to be finalised in the first quarter of 2024. Acknowledging the necessity for broader representa�on, the decision was made to expand the Steering Commitee to encompass more GSC staff members, with Sara Mulwa, Global Director of People, Capability and Culture, already joining. Another addi�on from SCOs is projected to be made in the first quarter of 2024, thereby further enriching the commitee's diversity and exper�se.

foo�ng with the Global Support Center and Supporter Offices, we are also seeing cultural and behavioural changes in staff. The Country Power process increasingly comes up in discussion and debate and enables conversa�on about how power flows in our organisa�on.

Next year, we will focus on:

Strategic Objective 2: Work with men to change attitudes

Last year, we said we would aim to achieve the following during 2023:

Globally, we reached 1,915 men in our MEP in 2023. A�er comple�ng the revised MEP curriculum in 2022, we set ourselves the ambi�ous goal of having the curriculum piloted in four countries.

In 2023, we begun pilots in South Sudan, the DRC, Iraq and Nigeria. In Iraq, we’ve been able to launch our MEP in Mosul – a region once occupied by ISIS who subjected thousands of women to horrific sexual violence and brutally massacred people, targe�ng Yazidis and other ethnical minority groups. Through this project 25 men and their spouses – who are simultaneously enrolled in the SWSN programme – will also take part in couples dialogue sessions to support couples to communicate in a healthy way and aim to provide a more enabling environment for women at the household and community level. This will be the first �me that couples dialogue sessions have ever been implemented in Iraq. Meanwhile, in the where a record 6.9 million people have been displaced by conflict, we piloted a new MEP curriculum in South Kivu, which encourages men to take specific ac�ons in their homes and communi�es to empower women or

54

remove barriers to the realiza�on of their rights. Inspired by women in a Village Savings and Loan Associa�on (VSLA) group, men enrolled in the MEP got together to buy beter roofing materials for a disabled woman in their community, taking ac�on to support vulnerable women and ac�vely par�cipa�ng in ini�a�ves led by their wives, mothers, sisters, and family members. In South Sudan, 300 men were enrolled in May with 99% of those enrolled comple�ng all training sessions. Couples’ connect sessions are an integral element of the revised MEP curriculum and saw 294 of 300 couples atend. One male par�cipant, Anthony Diko Alakayi, said this of his experience: “I encourage more men who are married to par�cipate in joint sessions with their wives because this training is beter than medicine to solve family problems.”

The revised MEP curriculum has so far yielded posi�ve results from the training content and the extended dura�on of the training, which has allowed men more �me to digest and internalize the learnings and skills gained during training. These learnings from pilots are being collated, including challenges and learnings from the couples’ connect sessions, and will inform and further curriculum learning.

Next year, we will focus on:

Strategic Objective 3: Support marginalised women survivors of conflict so that they can influence decisions

Last year, we said we would aim to achieve the following during 2023:

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Change Agent programme: audit process, increasing reach and implementing action plans

In previous annual reports we have shared information about the development of our Change Agent programme. Our grassroots advocacy programme has been running since 2017, across Afghanistan, Iraq, Nigeria, South Sudan and the DRC where have a network of over 1,300 Change Agents. As part of our ongoing commitment to reflecting on learnings from the programme and making adaptations based on country office expertise, we dedicated time in July and August to auditing the programme and refining the systems that surround it. This has included reflecting on the selection criteria for the Change Agent programme, our pre and post-tests, the implementation of Change Agent action plans and longer-term advocacy in partnership with advocacy leads and advocacy trainers. This work will continue into Q1 and Q2 of 2024.

Change Agent programme: National retreat in the DRC

In November the DRC team organised a two-day Change Agent retreat in Kamanyola. Change Agent retreats are a fantastic opportunity to bring together newly trained and more established and experienced Change Agents to learn from each other. This is an opportunity to exchange updates on progress and challenges for advocating for changing attitudes, social norms, practices and decision-making processes relating to women’s rights. The November retreat in DRC brought together thirty Change Agents from six communities, trained at various moments over the last four years. Some of the key lessons that the newer group of Change Agents (trained in 2022) were able to learn from the more experienced group of Change Agents (trained between 2019 and 2020) included:

  1. It takes time to build productive relationships with local authorities and the community. The more recently trained Change Agents in Burhinyi and Rugembe appreciated the mutually beneficial and supportive relationships that the more experienced Change Agents have built with community members and leaders.

  2. It is possible to continue advocating without financial support from WfWI Women for Women International in the long term. The more experienced Change Agents stopped receiving funding in 2020 and have since continued to advocate for women’s rights with community leaders.

  3. There are increased opportunities for community leadership. The 2020 group of Change Agents have taken up leadership positions and have worked with external organisations as a result of the skills and confidence that the Change Agent programme provided them with.

South Sudan advocacy team attend the Gender is my Agenda Campaign

A central component within our theory of change is connecting national and regional advocacy opportunities in order to better uphold women’s rights. As part of this commitment, between the 13[th] and 15[th] of July, the South Sudan advocacy team attended the Gender is My Agenda Campaign’s (GIMAC) 5[th] meeting on the sidelines of the African Union (AU) Regional meeting in Nairobi with Carol Okul (Policy and Advocacy Specialist). The Global Policy and Advocacy team used the timing of this conference to parallel onboarding Poni Abraham (Advocacy Coordinator in South Sudan) with attending GIMAC. Poni, Carol Okul and Jenty Sawa (Advocacy Trainer) all attended GIMAC. This meeting provided a platform for stakeholders within the GIMAC Networks to review their progress, discuss challenges and share best practices in implementing AU decisions and promoting women’s rights and empowerment in trade.

Advocating to the African Union on Positive Masculinity for Men’s Leadership

Coordinated by GIMAC, at the end of November, our Associate Director of Gender Equality and Social Power (Annastacia Olembo) attended the 3[rd] Men’s Conference on Positive Masculinity in Leadership in South Africa which was coordinated by the African Union (AU). The conference brought together key decision-makers across the AU, as well as advocates and organisations working to drive positive

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masculinity, and focused on leaders’ roles in contributing to ending violence against women and girls (VAWG). The conference was the final of three consultative sessions that aimed to develop a Convention on Ending VAWG. This was an opportunity for Women for Women International to leverage insights from the Men’s Engagement Programme (MEP) to influence the development of this Convention and better understand the commitments that high level stakeholders within the African Union are willing to make to drive forward changes relating to positive masculinities and social norms.

The continued implementation of the Violence Against Women Platform in Nigeria

We have shared in previous reports about the Violence Against Women (VAW) platform that has been set up in Nigeria. Funded by the Ford Foundation, this platform was set up to bring together local leaders to advocate against VAW. The platform has been influential in shaping how community leaders come together to sensitise messages around violence prevention and community attitude changes towards women’s rights. In July 2023, VAW platform members led activities across their communities in Bauchi state in Nigeria and carried out visits to community leaders to engage them on the need to advocate against community norms that encourage violence against women. The VAW platform members have been planning to extend into further communities which will increase their reach with decision makers like local government members. Since July, the VAW platform members have been advocating with traditional leaders to encourage them to engage local governments as allies for the prevention of VAW. This local advocacy that is inclusive of multiple decision makers and stakeholders is a really important example of how we intend to influence social norms and practices around women’s rights at the community level. This best practice advocacy example from Nigeria has important lessons for scaling up working with allies.

Implementing the Swedish Postcode Lottery funded-project ‘Listen to Women’, with a focus on women’s participation, voice and leadership

Plans continue throughout this reporting period and into next year for implementing our Swedish Postcode Lottery funded grant. The grant – which officially started in December 2022 and will run to June 2024 - pilots an innovative and exciting new approach to how we work with Change Agents and supplements learnings about our programme with research on the enabling environments in Nigeria and Iraq that help or hinder women's freedom of speech and expression, as well as their ability to participate in decision-making and democratic processes.

The innovation within the Change Agent programme is to change andexpand the criteria for enrolment. Until now, all Change Agents trained through Women for Women International have been previous Stronger Women, Stronger Nations (SWSN) graduates. Through this new grant we changed this to enrol women who have not completed SWSN, this has enabled us to observe and assess the Change Agent programme's potential to be adapted and more widely scaled. Throughout 2023, we have been assessing the impact of this new approach to Change Agent training and have seen interesting results across Nigeria and Iraq. These include differentiations in approaches to funding, the role of former Change Agents in building support networks and changes in the selection process.

Next year we will focus on:

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and the implementation of the Change Agent programme. We are hoping to come together as a group of around 10 to connect, learn and strategise.

Strategic Objective 4: Use advocacy to transform the enabling environment for women’s rights at the grassroots, national and global levels to drive systemic change on gender equality for the most marginalised women affected by conflict

Last year, we said we would aim to achieve the following during 2023:

Our advocacy and engagement at the 67th Conference on the Commission on the Status of Women (CSW) at the United Nations in New York: March 2023

We advocated at the 67th session of the United Na�ons Commission on the Status of Women (CSW). CSW took place between March 6-17[th] 2023 in New York City, and Women for Women Interna�onal team members from the US, UK, Nigeria and Pales�ne were able to atend. They found it energising to reconnect with partners and the wider NGO community. While in New York, our team conducted many bilateral mee�ngs with UN member states, agencies and partners to ensure that the voices and priori�es of the women we work with are heard. Nisha Singh and Steph Siddall also picked up on the Afghanistan advocacy they conducted at the UN last September by suppor�ng advocacy around the UNAMA mandate and suppor�ng UN Women's facilita�on of a delega�on of Afghan women ac�vists.

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Our response to the G7 Summit in Hiroshima, Japan

From May 19[th] -21[st] , G7 Leaders met in Hiroshima, Japan for their 49th summit and published this Communique. Stephanie Siddall (Director of Global Policy and Advocacy) was involved in influencing the development of the communique through her role as a Women 7 (W7) and the development of recommendations within the W7 Communique. Whilst some of the recommendations were met, overall no concrete political or financial commitments were made relating to gender equality. Our full response can be accessed here.

The Resourcing Change Consortium’s participation at WPS week: October 2023

Every year, organisations and advocates focusing on women’s rights in conflict gather in New York for a week of meetings, talks and events as part of Women, Peace and Security (WPS) Week. This week is timed to coincide with the anniversary of UN Security Council Resolution 1325, and the UN Security Council’s open debate on WPS, which is an opportunity for member states to hear from civil society and set out their own WPS priorities and actions. In October 2023, along with five of our women's rights organisation partners from the CSSF-funded Resourcing Change project, a group of Women for Women International staff travelled to New York to participate. Throughout WPS week we advocated about the importance of resourcing WROs; without core, long-term and flexible funding, organisations that are genuinely making an impact and building peace in their communities will be unable to continue their work. Our partners felt like their voices were heard and centred in discussions across the week which, as Tazita says, is “walking the localisation agenda – not just talking it”:

"The reality is that the Resourcing Change Consortium are doing something different. Especially in our context, you see we have people [the Resourcing Change consortium] that are working with us…always supporting us and guiding us, they want your voices to be heard. In most cases [with other organisations] we are told there is no budget. For example [for WPS week], [INGO] project leads could have been the ones come to represent our voices – just imagine! Your approach is different, you wanted us to come. This is an approach that many can benchmark – then we shall be walking the localisation agenda, not just talking it”. Anna Tazita Samuel, Women for Change, South Sudan.

Towards the end of the week, we facilitated a high-level dialogue for Member States and UN Agencies to hear directly from women working toward peace and gender equality in fragile and conflict-affected communities and to engage with them on their expectations and priorities for advancing the pillars of the WPS agenda. The event was co-designed with our partners who shared their expertise on what meaningful engagement and partnership looks like and what the role of the international community should be in strengthening women’s movements. The event launched our new policy and learning brief: “Localising Women, Peace, and Security: Partnering and resourcing women’s organisations in fragile - ” settings differently to enable locally led and integrated interventions.

Launching our new situational assessment and policy brief on the intersection of environment, gender and conflict at COP28: November 2023

In November at COP28 we launched our latest Situational Assessment and Policy Brief: “Cultivating a more ' - enabling environment: Strengthening women s resilience in climate vulnerable and conflict affected communities” . The brief was launched at an in-person roundtable event in partnership with Goals House in Dubai, where Kavin Mirteekhan (advocacy lead in Iraq), Dorong Grace (one of our Resourcing Change partners from South Sudan) and Dr. Alaa Murabit (a member of our international board) were in

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conversation about the intersecting impacts of gender inequality, climate change, environmental degradation and conflict.

We produced this assessment based on surveys, focus group discussions, and interviews with nearly 1,000 women across 14 countries: Afghanistan, Burkina Faso, the DRC, Iraq, Myanmar, Nigeria, Rwanda, South Sudan, Sudan, Mali, Ethiopia, Syria, Ukraine and Yemen. The Situational Assessment includes key findings from our Country Snapshots that reveal trends in environmental impacts of climate change and conflictrelated environmental degradation in Afghanistan, the DRC, Iraq, Nigeria, Rwanda and South Sudan including flooding, droughts, increasing severity and frequency of natural disasters, extreme heat, and pollution. Women surveyed cite the daily impacts of these trends, especially food insecurity, water scarcity, worsening health, the high cost of goods, and growing conflict among the many complex challenges they face. As an organisation we are in the nascent stages of applying a climate-lens to our advocacy and programming. This piece of research has built the foundation for us in understanding how changes to environment, gender inequality and conflict dynamics are intersecting to impact the women that we work with.

UK policy and advocacy influencingconsultations, responses, meaningful partnerships and feminist foreign policy

The UK Government's new National Action Plan for Women, Peace and Security (WPS)

As a leading signatory to the first WPS resolution (UNSCR 1325), the UK Government - alongside many other UN Member States - holds itself to account with a National Action Plan on WPS. In April, the Gender Action for Peace and Security (GAPS) network published their 2022 Shadow Report on the UK Government's progress on their National Action Plan on Women, Peace and Security. Women for Women International led on drafting the chapter on Consultation and Meaningful Participation.

In the previous board report, we shared how this reporting period would focus on responding to global policy on gender equality. At the end of February, the UK Government launched its 5th National Action Plan (NAP) on WPS for 2023-2026. As an independent organisation and in partnership with GAPS, we were involved in consultation for the development of the NAP. In the consultation workshops, we advocated for a concrete MERL framework, for clear funding commitments, and for civil society - particularly women's rights organisations (WROs) working in conflict-affected countries - to be recognised as strategic partners in conflict prevention. We fed our response to the launch of the NAP into a joint response published by the UK GAPS Network. Throughout the NAP's implementation, we will continue to hold the UK Government accountable for their commitments to advancing the implementation of the WPS agenda.

The UK Government's International Women and Girls Strategy

On March 8[th ] 2023 International Women's Day, the UK Government launched its International Women and Girls Strategy. Over the last year, we have been feeding into consultations with the UK's FCDO to try and shape the final version of this strategy. We published an initial response here on the UK website and shared it on social media via this twitter thread. We were also interviewed by the Guardian and quoted extensively in a piece they published after the strategy launched. We have done more in-depth analysis and published a blog to reflect on this new strategy as well as the new NAP on WPS. We also shaped and developed the UK GAPS Network's statement, which you can read here. To ensure the successful implementation of the strategy we have been working closely with the UK Government on consultation sessions coordinated by the Gender and Development Network. The Global Policy and Advocacy team have met with the Minister for International Development and Africa Andrew Mitchell, with the Director of Humanitarian and Conflict Melinda Bohannon and most recently with the Director of the Women and

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Girls Department Amy Clemitshaw. Across these consultation sessions we have shared our best practice in partnership and consultation through the Beyond Consultations tool and the Resourcing Change project.

The White Paper on International Development

The FCDO developed a White Paper which set out its approach to international development between 2023 and 2030. The FCDO sent out a call for evidence to inform the paper and through our role at the Gender Action for Peace and Security (GAPS) network we co-lead the submission and shared expertise to inform the content on meaningful partnerships. Unfortunately, we were disappointed by the consultation process for the development of the paper, with short timelines that were reduced across August there was little opportunity to consult with diverse feminist movements. Given our expertise in meaningful consultation we shared constructive feedback on future engagement with civil society to ensure better representation of our partners in the global south.

Influencing the development of feminist foreign policy thought leadership

In July the Global Policy and Advocacy team led a workshop on Meaningful Partnerships, Women’s Rights Organisations (WRO’s) and Localisation at the Gender Action for Peace and Security Network’s Feminist Foreign Policy event. This was a useful space to think about how our work in the Resourcing Change consortium – a project funded by the UK Government focusing on accessible funding for local WRO’s (read more here), might fit into future Feminist Foreign Policy.

This workshop contributed to the GAPS series of policy briefs on future Feminist Foreign Policy, GPAT have drafted the brief on meaningful partnerships which was published ahead of the Dutch Feminist Forum in November 2023. Director of Global Policy and Advocacy, Stephanie Siddall, was invited to attend the Shaping Feminist Foreign Policy (SFFP) Conference, hosted by the Government of the Netherlands, that took place at the beginning of November. SFFP 2023 was a unique experience with participants from civil society organisations, government representatives from more than 40 countries, the private sector and academics from all over the world. Whilst the conference brought together wide representation from civil society, we felt that it fell short on commitments and lacked high-level government representatives with the leverage to drive forward the commitments that participants were advocating for.

Influencing Germany's Feminist Foreign and Development policies: Change Agents spotlight

Policy developments on gender equality were also significant in Germany during this reporting period. Women for Women International-Germany was heavily involved in consultations during the development of the German Foreign Office's (GFO) new Feminist Foreign and Development Policies. These were launched in early March, marking a significant milestone that Germany has officially committed to a feminist foreign policy. The policy (available in English and German) features our Change Agent Programme in Nigeria (which the German Foreign Office has contributed funding to). We are one of the few NGO projects that was featured in the publication, which you can find here with photos from our programme in Nigeria on page 53.

US Consultation on the US Government's National Action Plan on Women, Peace and Security

During this reporting period the US Government began its drafting process for the next iteration of the National WPS Strategy (formerly known as the US National Action Plan) and our US-based Global Policy and Advocacy Manager (Nisha Singh) participated in two closed-door US Government civil society consultations, including one where she moderated part of the plenary alongside senior officials from the State Department, USAID, and the White House Gender Policy Council. We will continue to influence the

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process through the year 2024, including by drafting and disseminating a Shadow Strategy which Nisha is working on now through her role on the Executive Committee of the Civil Society Working Group on WPS.

Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)

Our 2022 dataset (2023 update)

This year marks the halfway point for meeting the Sustainable Development Goals deadline in 2030. We know that the experiences and priorities of the women we work with are often missing in international decision-making spaces. That’s why each year, we’ve committed to updating our interactive SDG dataset to capture and share their lived realities, as well as the transformational impact that our work has. Since 2017, we have been annually publishing our monitoring and evaluation data on how our work aligns with the SDGs. Explore our 2022 update to the interactive dataset here and read our blog with our key findings. We launched the 2022 update at the same time as our new UK website for policy and advocacy, you can explore our pages on community advocacy, partnerships and evidence here.

Engagement with the United Nations General Assembly and the SDG Summit 2023

Director of Global Policy and Advocacy, Steph Siddall, attended the SDG Summit as part of the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA). Whilst at UNGA Steph participated in the launch of the #SheDares campaign that included the launch of the 2024 participatory research project that involves engaging women survivors of war for them to lead a global consultation and research project to share their lived experiences and their recommendations for action. This innovative research project will be led and designed by Change Agents. We intend to share the findings of this research with world leaders at the UN’s ‘Summit of the Future’ in New York next year.

Becoming a signatory to the Women Peace and Security – Humanitarian Action Compact

Last month, ahead of UNGA, we joined the Women, Peace and Security Humanitarian Action Compact. By joining the compact we have expanded our contribution to an evidence base that captures the realities of marginalised women living in FCAS and extended our partnership opportunities. The compact is essentially an accountability mechanism. As a signatory we commit to sharing some of our annual data to contribute to a global dashboard that tracks progress on implementing the WPS agenda. You can access the tracking framework here. This data will go beyond national averages to disaggregate data that is inclusive of the women enrolled on our programmes.

With over 200 signatories there is also great opportunity for extending and strengthening our partnership with actors in the WPS space. The compact is very active on social media and holds regular internal events into pillars of the WPS agenda on financing, accountability, participation, protection, economic security and leadership. We see this as an opportunity for strengthening the WPS capacity of advocacy leads across the organisation, encouraging consultation opportunities and integrating national perspectives into WPS accountability where relevant.

Next year we will focus on:

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Con�nuing to advocate and implement with partners from the Resourcing Change consor�um: With learnings from the successful convening of 5 WROs as part of WPS week in October 2023 we will con�nue with regional and global advocacy opportuni�es with our partners from the consor�um.

Strategic Objective 5: Raise £6 million from grants, corporate partnerships, grassroots contributions, major donors and events and sponsorships

Last year, we said we would aim to achieve the following during 2023:

Grants

Restricted grants, providing resources for programming, totaled £2.1 million this year, which was below our target income. Our par�cular thanks go to players of People’s Postcode Lotery for their con�nued support via Postcode Jus�ce Trust.

Corporate partnerships

Unrestricted income from corporate partnerships in 2023 was £475k (2022: £611k), which is down from last year. Key highlights in 2023 included securing fashion brand ME+EMEm – which donated £79,000 to our work from their sample sale. In August 2023 we were delighted to win the Allen and Overy Global Charity of the Year Partnership securing a 2-year partnership which aims to raise £1m. This was a huge achievement for the team, and we are excited to see the impact this partnership can have.

For Interna�onal Women’s Day this year, we were proud to have 19 partners support us, including Monica Vinader and Charlote Tilbury, and food partners Caravan, Lina Stores and Kitchen 8, all dona�ng during March.

of the year and six partners took part in our Giving Tuesday campaign including Charlote Tilbury, 111SKIN, slip, ME+EM and Charlote Tilbury who promoted their holiday stockings in aid of Women for Women Interna�onal through their social channels, influencers and our Ambassadors.

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Grassroots

In 2023, our community once again showed their generous support with over 950 supporters donating to one or more of our campaigns with a combined number of 1,100 donations. Our crisis appeals focused on our Conflict Response Fund were especially successful. In 2023 we ran four crisis appeals in response to the Sudan and Israel and Palestine war, as well as in aid of the Syrian and Afghanistan Earthquake response. Together, these campaigns received 325 donations, raising over £16,700.

In 2023, we launched our #ShakeItInSisterhood Danceathon fundraiser which attracted 37 guests and raised over £21,000 – exceeding our initial target of £18,000. We also recruited for both the London and Brighton Marathons, the Royal Parks and Hackney Half Marathons and Swim Serpentine which we purchased places for. Our 33 fundraisers who signed up to these challenge events as part of our #SheInspiresMe Squad, raised over £16,000 - £5,000 more than what was raised in 2022. In addition, we are deeply grateful to the 24 people that helped raise money through their own fundraising events and challenges, covering everything from feminist festivals to quizzes, office bake sales and birthday raffles.

Our successful partnerships with University Raising and Giving (RAG) associa�ons con�nued in 2023 as we partnered with three socie�es, including Leeds RAG, Edinburgh ESCA and Durham DUCK. Our RAG partners raised over £4,200 through ac�vi�es like the Three Peaks Trek Challenge, Meadows Marathon, RAG Week and more!

Sponsorship and Regular Giving

During the course of 2023, we were able to match over 1,250 sponsors with more than 1,600 sisters in our Stronger Women, Stronger Na�ons programme. At the end 2023 we had 1,335 ac�ve sponsorships with the addi�on of 4 corporate sponsors.

In addi�on to our regular sponsorship donors, we closed 2023 with 531 regular monthly givers. Of those 420 are members of our Power Up Club.

In 2023 we held four Power Up Club events, ranging from virtual dance and yoga classes to an empowerment workshop with our Champion Scarlet V Clark. Our most successful event was with Ambassador Clarissa Ward, drawing an audience of 65 atendees as she discussed her memoir, On All Fronts: The Education of a Journalist . As we look ahead to the 2024 launch of the rebranded sponsorship programme under its new name Stand With Her , the Power Up Club will also evolve within the new regular giving structure, removing the minimum monthly gi� amount of £7 to encompass all non- Stand With Her regular donors. At the end of 2023 we closed the year with a total of 531 regular donors, who will become our new Power Up Club.

Events and Philanthropy

Major Donors and Events

In 2023 we raised £549k of unrestricted income through events and major donors (2022: £433k), a yearon-year increase of 27%.

central London and brought together a huge range of brands and fashion icons. Our 2023 #SheInspiresMe Car Boot Sale raised just over £280,000. We sold 1445 �ckets, raising £19,796 from �cket sales and with press and VIP guests we welcomed over 1,500 guests in total. We had 23 boots, with the Women for Women Interna�onal Bou�que bringing in the most income, raising £32,000. The most profitable new

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boots were ME+EM raising £18,300, Charlote Olympia & Skye McAlpine raising £14,700 and the Women for Women Interna�onal Beauty boot which raised £7,600. We had 14 pieces of coverage with 342k es�mated views and key �tles included Evening Standard and ES magazine (both print and online) and Elle (online).

Our Leadership Circle also grew again in 2023 with two new members joining at the Support Level (£1,000) and one at the Champion Level (£5,000 per year commitment). Leadership Circle members atended a number of bespoke cul�va�on events, including a panel event hosted by McKinsey for Interna�onal Women’s Day, an exclusive event at Bicester Village during Women’s History Month, and an in�mate webinar about our work in Iraq. A key highlight for last year was an increased dona�on from the Murial Jones Founda�on.

From 6th – 18th September 2023, we opened doors to the DO GOOD pop-up in support of Women for Women Interna�onal at Bicester Village. This really was guilt-free and circular shopping at its best, with pre-loved, vintage, and new designer pieces donated from over 50 brands and individuals. Through the 13-day period, we sold 646 items with an average price of £91 and welcomed 20,496 guests through the door. 100% of the proceeds went towards our work and we raised just over £60,000.

On Wednesday, 1st November, we welcomed over 150 guests to celebrate 30 years of global sisterhood and the power of inspira�onal women at the V&A Museum. Following an evening recep�on, our guests were treated to an exclusive private view of the highly an�cipated Gabrielle Chanel Fashion Manifesto exhibi�on.

Communications

In 2023, we ran our #PowerToChange campaign to highlight the power of women around the world and give supporters opportuni�es to get involved in ac�vi�es that helped them get inspired by change-makers around the world. Against the backdrop of the war in Ukraine and the humanitarian crisis in Afghanistan, and soon a�er the Syria-Turkey earthquakes, we called on the interna�onal community to invest in women in fragile and conflict-affected areas because they are the key to a peaceful future.

We received over 1,997 UK sign-ups to our mailing list through Women’s History Month ac�vi�es in March with 22 corporate partners also taking part globally in the #PowerToChange campaign. Two of our top-�er partners, Charlote Tilbury and slip, also contributed to a giveaway bundle that supporters could enter on social media, which received over 100 entries and helped to expand our reach. We also had six celebrity Ambassadors engage with the digital campaign, including CNN Foreign Correspondent Clarissa Ward who joined our Managing Director Sara Bowcut for an event and whose book we gi�ed to new donors to our sponsorship giving programme, helping us to secure 23 new sponsorships (at £264 per sponsorship per year) in March.

In 2023, we were men�oned in 353 pieces of press, with an es�mated 8.46 million views. Titles included BBC Radio 4, Sky News, Stylist, the New York Times, iNews, Vox, Elle and The Guardian.

Our marke�ng and communica�ons work has helped us grow our audience of supporters seeing an increase in our priority social media following across all channels, including Instagram (+4,572), Facebook (+2,908) and TikTok (+471). We also saw our mailing list grow by 2,197 new subscribers.

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Ambassadors

Our Ambassadors play a key role in helping women survivors of war rebuild their lives, using their pla�orms to raise the voices of the women we serve, and we are so grateful for their ongoing support. In 2023 we launched a new level of external support – Women for Women Interna�onal Champions. Our Champions play a key role in helping us reach new audiences by using their pla�orms and influence to amplify our mission and the voices of the women we serve, par�cularly on social media, within their networks and at our events. By sharing informa�on about our work, they help to grow our supporter base and welcome more people into our global community. In 2023 we announced 8 UK Champions:

Next year, we will focus on:

Strategic Objective 6: Raise Women for Women International (UK)'s profile / visibility through effective communications

Last year, we said we would aim to achieve the following during 2023:

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Increasing the number of people who ‘see’ and ‘think’ about Women for Women International (UK)

offer supporters chances to engage in ac�vi�es inspiring them through the efforts of change-makers worldwide. Amidst the Ukraine war, Afghanistan's humanitarian crisis, and the Syria-Turkey earthquakes, we urged the interna�onal community to invest in women in fragile and conflict-affected regions, recognising them as pivotal to a peaceful future.

During Women’s History Month in March, our ac�vi�es atracted over 1,997 new UK subscribers to our mailing list, with 22 corporate partners globally suppor�ng our #PowerToChange campaign. Notably, top�er partners Charlote Tilbury and slip contributed to a social media giveaway, garnering over 100 entries and expanding our outreach. Addi�onally, six celebrity Ambassadors, including CNN Foreign Correspondent Clarissa Ward, par�cipated in our digital campaign. Ward even joined our Managing Director, Sara Bowcut, for an event, and her book was offered as a gi� to new donors, resul�ng in 23 new sponsorships in March.

We gained media aten�on, being featured in 353 press pieces (58% growth year-on-year), reaching an es�mated 8.46 million views. Coverage spanned various outlets such as BBC Radio 4, Sky News, Stylist, the New York Times, iNews, Vox, Elle, and The Guardian.

In 2023, we extended our external support network with the introduc�on of Women for Women Interna�onal Champions. As part of their terms of reference, Champions agree to u�lise their pla�orms and influence to amplify our mission and the voices of the women we serve, par�cularly on social media, within their networks and at our events. By sharing informa�on about our work, they help expand our supporter base and welcome more individuals into our global community. Eight UK Champions were announced in 2023: Amelia Windsor, Chris�ne Amour-Levar, Eshita Kabra-Davies, Hayley Nolan, Lida Nasiri, Maria Kastani, Mimma Viglezio, and Scarlet V Clark.

Growing our mailing list audience

Our marketing and communications efforts facilitated audience growth, evident in increased social media followers across key platforms: Instagram (+4,572), Facebook (+2,908), and TikTok (+471). Furthermore, our mailing list expanded by a net total of 2,197 new subscribers (10% growth), accounting for churn rates.

Expanding and diversifying our community and third-party fundraising

Since its launch in 2021, our Power Up Club has seen con�nuous growth, with supporters commi�ng to a monthly dona�on of £7 or more. By the end of 2023, our membership reached 420, hos�ng four events including virtual dance and yoga classes, as well as an empowerment workshop with Scarlet V Clark. The highlight was an event featuring Ambassador Clarissa Ward, atrac�ng 65 atendees as she discussed her memoir, On All Fronts: The Education of a Journalist . Looking forward to 2024, our rebranded sponsorship

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programme, Stand With Her, will integrate the Power Up Club, welcoming all non-Stand With Her regular donors. By the end of 2023, our regular donors totalled 531, becoming our new Power Up Club.

In the UK, we ended 2023 with 1,120 sponsors suppor�ng 1,335 sisters through our Stronger Women, Stronger Na�ons programme. Despite a decrease due to the cost-of-living crisis, our community con�nued their generous support, with over 950 donors contribu�ng to our campaigns, totalling 1,100 dona�ons. Crisis appeals focused on our Conflict Response Fund were successful, raising over £16,700 through 325 dona�ons in response to conflicts in Sudan, Israel and Pales�ne, and earthquake relief efforts in Syria and Afghanistan.

Our #ShakeItInSisterhood Danceathon fundraiser exceeded expecta�ons, raising over £21,000 with 37 guests. Fundraisers par�cipa�ng in events like the London and Brighton Marathons raised over £16,000, £5,000 more than 2022. Addi�onally, 24 individuals organised various fundraising events, from feminist fes�vals to office bake sales, collec�vely suppor�ng our cause. We provide support to these donors, offering guidance, training, branded materials, and dedicated staff assistance.

In 2023, our partnerships with University Raising and Giving (RAG) associa�ons con�nued, collabora�ng with socie�es like Leeds RAG, Edinburgh ESCA, and Durham DUCK. Together, they raised over £4,200 through ac�vi�es such as the Three Peaks Trek Challenge and RAG Week.

Next year, we will focus on:

Strategic Objective 7: Run an effective and financially sustainable organisation

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Last year we said we would aim to achieve the following during 2023:

has allowed our teams to take informed decisions and carefully considered risks to achieve more for the women we serve.

We con�nued to deliver Our People Programme: a holis�c curriculum of development and engagement opportuni�es focused on well-being, inclusion, equity, culture and values offered to all Women for Women Interna�onal (UK) staff. In 2023 we added financial well-being to our programme, providing all our staff with 1-2-1 financial coaching.

considered behaviours aligned with our code of conduct and discussed how to respond to ethical dilemmas.

aiders to the team through comprehensive training from MHFA England.

We were thrilled to appoint a new Board Chair following an in-depth, robust recruitment process at the end of 2022. In early 2023, we welcomed Champa Patel with a comprehensive, though�ul and inclusive onboarding programme.

We con�nue to work closely with our colleagues throughout the Women for Women Interna�onal Movement globally to ensure that our staff can work seamlessly to deliver the responsibili�es of their role and our resources are u�lised efficiently and for the highest impact.

Next year, we will focus on:

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