For too long, organisations in the North Pacific have been underfunded and overlooked in regional gender equality efforts. By listening deeply and acting intentionally, the Pacific Feminist Fund and Urgent Action Fund Asia & Pacific are shifting this narrative – strengthening grassroots leadership, resourcing local movements, and amplifying Northern Pacific feminist voices on regional and global stages.

In 2023, the Pacific Women Lead Annual Reflection and Analysis Workshop (ARAW) revealed a critical gap: the North Pacific remained underfunded and underserved in regional gender equality efforts. This insight sparked a powerful response from Urgent Action Fund Asia & Pacific (UAF A&P) and the Pacific Feminist Fund (PFF), who committed to extending their support to this often-overlooked region.

In May 2024, a joint scoping mission by UAF A&P and PFF took place across Chuuk and Pohnpei in the Federated States of Micronesia (FSM), the Republic of the Marshall Islands (RMI), Palau, and Guam. The team met with numerous women’s organisations, gaining firsthand insight into the challenges they face – from unreliable telecommunications and limited human resources to entrenched power hierarchies and militarisation. Communities also shared concerns about strict banking regulations, food and housing insecurity, and environmental threats such as water contamination, typhoons, and deep-sea mining.

Beyond the challenges, the visit was rich with cultural exchange. The team engaged with elders, activists, poets, storytellers, listened to stories, and deepened their understanding of local customs and resilience. These conversations helped PFF identify grassroots organisations and networks to invite for its first grant call, and informed UAF A&P’s ongoing programming.

UAF A&P also used the opportunity to uplift local feminist work, introduce funding opportunities, and offer hands-on support to potential applicants. Follow-up consultations with communities in the Northern Marianas further strengthened relationships and revealed a deep enthusiasm for collaboration.

The impact was immediate and tangible. Between July and December 2024, UAF A&P awarded nine grants to women and non-binary activists and groups across the FSM, RMI, Palau, and Guam. These grants supported local efforts to advance gender justice, amplify feminist leadership, and respond to urgent community needs.

PFF’s decision to intentionally target the North Pacific for its first round of grants marked a significant shift away from the traditionally Fiji-centric funding model. In September 2024, PFF launched an invitation-based grant call for organisations in FSM, Guam, Kiribati, RMI, Nauru, Northern Marianas, Palau, and Tuvalu – ensuring that resources reached smaller, often overlooked civil society organisations.

Six successful applicants were selected from Guam, Kiribati, Marshall Islands, Tuvalu, and Nauru. Of the six applicants, two were supported under AIR: one in Tuvalu and one in the Marshall Islands – each advancing feminist leadership and movement-building in their local contexts.

• Tuvalu Grantee Partner – Works in close collaboration with the Gender Affairs Department (GAD), co-hosting in-country trainings and engaging a broad network of young women, adolescent girls, women and girls with disability, faith-based organisations, and LGBTIQA+ communities. This support through PFF was focused on strengthening values-based leadership for women and adolescent girls living in Funafuti and seven outer islands.
• Marshall Islands Grantee Partner – A movement-led organisation committed to amplifying the voices of Marshallese women, protecting cultural knowledge and human rights, and safeguarding island environments. This support will allow them to host their annual conference in November 2025, convening 24-chapter presidents from neighbouring islands to share issues, showcase local projects, and engage ministries and stakeholders in awareness-raising workshops and trainings.

Together, the Women’s Funds have played a pivotal role in filling funding gaps, strengthening local feminist movements, and expanding Pacific representation in global spaces. PFF enabled 26 Pacific activists and feminists to participate in two major movement-building events held in Thailand in 2024: the 4th Asia Pacific Feminist Forum (APFF) and the 15th AWID Forum. Seventeen (17) activists from Fiji, Papua New Guinea, Vanuatu, Kiribati, Samoa, Marshall Islands and Nauru attended APFF. Nine (9) activists from Tuvalu, Kiribati and Fiji attended AWID. This milestone marks a significant shift in regional representation, especially for feminist activists from the Northern Pacific, whose participation in such global forums has historically been limited. Their presence helped amplify diverse Pacific perspectives, strengthen cross-regional solidarity, and deepen engagement with global feminist movements.

Beyond amplifying Pacific feminist voices on global platforms, this opportunity also fostered deeper regional connections – particularly among activists from the Northern Pacific. Similarly, partners from Kiribati and Tuvalu have now established a relationship and are actively learning from each other’s work. This emerging solidarity not only bridges geographic distance but also nurtures shared wisdom, collective care, and values-based leadership across island contexts.

PFF has taken deliberate steps to ensure Northern Pacific representation is embedded within its grant making processes, particularly through the composition of the Grant Appraisal Committee (GAC) and the Movement Validation Advisor (MVA). Recognising the historical marginalisation of Northern Pacific voices in regional funding spaces, PFF has intentionally recruited feminist leaders from these communities to participate in decision-making roles. This inclusion goes beyond symbolic representation – it ensures that funding priorities and movement validation are shaped by those with deep cultural knowledge, lived experience, and long-standing commitment to feminist organizing in the Northern Pacific.

This story is a testament to what happens when listening leads to action, and when feminist funding is guided by equity, solidarity, and a commitment to leaving no one behind.