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EAST AFRICA YOUTH DEVELOPMENT FOUNDATION
— · EIN · eawydf.org
profile · synthesized from sources

Regional grantmaking foundation advancing gender justice and rights for women and youth in East Africa. Resourcing grassroots women’s and youth-led organizations through flexible funding, capacity strengthening, and movement-building initiatives across Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania, and South Sudan. Focuses on feminist-led social transformation, with priority areas including bodily autonomy, economic justice, leadership, and climate resilience.

named programs · 5 · from sources

what they call their work

East Africa Learning Hub
Community of practice sharing tools, data, and strategies across Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania, and South Sudan to strengthen feminist movements.
Movement Care & Safety
Resources and support for wellbeing, digital security, and holistic safety for activists and organizers.
Policy & Advocacy Linkages
Connecting grassroots evidence to regional platforms and AU/EAC processes to influence policy.
Rapid Response
Time-sensitive support for protection, legal, and organizing needs in closing or volatile civic spaces.
Young Feminist & Youth Organising Fund
Micro-grants with coaching for first-time and emerging youth and feminist groups across East Africa.
activities · 4 groups

what they do

  • Women's Leadership & Empowerment Programs 2 activities
    • Grantmaking to women's and youth rights organizations
      Provides grants to grassroots, nascent, and unregistered women's rights and feminist groups in East Africa, including first-time core funding to scale programs. Awarded $8,000,000 in grants during 2024/2025 and $35,000,000 since inception, operating across four East African countries.
    • Strengthening organizational capacity of local partners
      Builds the capacity of women's and youth rights organizations by strengthening governance and financial systems, and providing training in safe organizing, advocacy, and peer protection. Has worked with 87 organizations since inception, trained over 120 grassroots leaders, and strengthened 25 organizations’ internal systems.
  • Gender-Based Violence Prevention and Response 1 activity
    • Community-level protection and gender-based violence response
      Supports community-based protection mechanisms including the establishment of 15 community protection committees, facilitation of community dialogues in 6 counties, and support to 10 counties and 5 district-level coalitions in developing coordinated gender-based violence referral pathways.
  • Support Programs for Marginalized Mothers and Girls 1 activity
    • Youth education and mentorship programs
      Implements education retention and mentorship interventions for girls, reaching 1,500 girls to date, and supports 12 safe-space hubs through rapid response grants to advance youth protection and engagement.
  • Uncategorized 1 activity
    • Research and strategic learning initiatives
      Conducts research and learning initiatives to inform strategy and regional advocacy, including producing 3 regional learning briefs on youth-led advocacy and conducting a 9-month strategic review in 2022 involving grantees and movement partners to assess 20 years of impact and shape future direction.
relationships · 3

who they work with

  • African Union Government — Connects grassroots evidence to AU processes through policy and advocacy linkages.
  • East African Community Government — Engages with EAC processes to connect grassroots evidence to regional policy platforms.
  • Strategic Advisory Committee Partner — Provided support during the development of the strategic framework.