Investing in Organisational Change
When the Women’s Legal Centre (WLC) began reimagining itself in 2017–2018, shifting from a broad “gender equality” frame to an unapologetically African feminist mandate, it faced a moment of real risk. Resources were scarce, leadership had just changed, and the organisation was determined to speak plainly about patriarchy, meaningful equality, and the diverse lived realities of women. Some long-standing partners asked if the feminist “rhetoric” could be toned down. The Constitutionalism Fund did the opposite: it leaned in. The CF’s core support paid for lawyers and administrators, covered rent and overheads, and acknowledged a simple truth: litigation, advocacy, education, and movement-building are complex and take time. With this backing, WLC could sustain its “engine room”. For WLC, the fit was more than financial; it was philosophical. The Centre worked to make constitutional rights real for ordinary women, while the CF sought a constitution that lived beyond paper. That early vote of confidence drew others back: as WLC recalls,
“If CF is willing to take a chance on this group of women in Cape Town, maybe we should have coffee”.
Reporting was simple and meaningful, with regular check-ins that focused on impact rather than compliance. During 2020, when WLC lost a colleague and was unable to access its office, the CF was among the first to call, asking if people were okay and how they could assist.
There were challenges, too. The CF’s transition to a new fiscal sponsor caused confusion around money transfers. But reporting remained consistent, and WLC experienced this less as donor negligence than as a partner working through its own change. The power dynamic never felt lopsided; as one respondent put it, “It felt like building together”.
If donors look for quick wins, WLC’s flagship work on Muslim marriages offers a different lesson. Since 1998, the Centre has pursued recognition for Muslim women’s marriages. Some donors grew weary: “Don’t talk to us about this anymore”, but the CF stayed the course. With its support, WLC carried the case from the High Court to the Constitutional Court, winning a landmark 2022 judgment that now allows Muslim women to obtain legally recognised divorce orders and property division. Today, WLC is deeply involved in shaping a new Marriages Act, doing the time-consuming work of submissions, advocacy, and monitoring to ensure real implementation.
The Centre has also played a vital role in defending LGBTQI+ rights at a time of rising anti-rights organising. As they note, WLC is not itself an LGBTQI+ movement, but “the legal backbone that cases rely on”. The CF’s funding filled a critical gap, allowing WLC to hold a line that others could not. Equally important, the Fund treated WLC’s internal changes, such as adopting a policy to brief Black women advocates and raising salaries after a survey showed lawyers were underpaid, as constitutional practice in their own right. As WLC stresses, justice is not only about legal judgments; it is also about who gets to stand and speak in court.
Even when WLC’s entire board stepped down in early 2020, a moment that might have alarmed other donors, the CF responded as a thought partner, recognising the process as part of a managed transformation rather than a crisis. From the first encounter at the Public Interest Law Gathering to later site visits, the Fund was a steady presence. WLC notes there could have been more grantee convenings, but also praises the Fund’s lean operating model as “small, cost-efficient, money went where it was needed”.
Perhaps the quietest yet most strategic act came near the end, when the CF seeded WLC’s endowment. The amount was modest, but catalytic: it marked a shift from idea to institution, allowing WLC to tell future donors that someone has already invested; help us build it.
Extract from the Stategic Review Report.
