2026 Grants Call for FIMI’s Ayni Fund is Open: Empowering Leadership & Wisdom of Indigenous Women
Around the world, Indigenous women continue to play a vital role in protecting communities, preserving culture, and advancing human rights. Yet many Indigenous women-led organisations still face barriers in accessing financial resources and institutional support. A new global funding call aims to help address that gap by investing directly in Indigenous women and their communities.
The International Indigenous Women’s Forum (FIMI) has officially launched its 2026 Call for Proposals through the Ayni Indigenous Women’s Fund, inviting Indigenous women’s organisations and Indigenous women-led groups to apply for financial and technical support.
FIMI, a global Indigenous women’s mechanism working across regions where Indigenous Peoples live, supports advocacy, research, leadership development, and community empowerment. Through the Ayni Fund, the organisation seeks to strengthen Indigenous women’s movements and promote the full exercise of their individual and collective human rights.
“We know that the leadership and wisdom of Indigenous women have the power to transform realities,” the fund states in its announcement. The 2026 call is designed to support organisations working to create lasting social change within their communities.
Unlike traditional grant programmes, the Ayni Fund combines direct financial assistance with technical accompaniment. Successful applicants will receive funding for project implementation, as well as ongoing guidance, tools, and advisory support throughout the project cycle.
The call is open exclusively to Indigenous women’s groups and Indigenous women-led organisations that have not previously received support from the fund. Both grassroots community initiatives and projects with national or regional reach are encouraged to apply.
The fund has identified seven priority thematic areas for 2026. These include –
- Economic empowerment of Indigenous Women
- Access and rights to land and territorial resources
- Climate change resilience and disaster risk reduction
- Prevention and elimination of all forms of violence against Indigenous Women and Girls
- Political participation and advocacy
- Holistic health, well-being, and care of Indigenous Women
- Indigenous wisdom, art, culture, and sports
The inclusion of holistic health and the prevention of violence against women is particularly relevant to the broader Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights (SRHR) agenda. Across many Indigenous communities, women and girls continue to face challenges related to gender-based violence, unequal access to healthcare, discrimination, and limited participation in decision-making processes. Experts increasingly recognise that strengthening Indigenous women’s leadership is essential for improving health outcomes and advancing rights-based development.
As global conversations increasingly focus on equity and inclusion, initiatives such as the Ayni Fund highlight an important reality: sustainable development is most effective when communities themselves lead the change. By investing in Indigenous women’s leadership, the fund aims to support solutions that are rooted in local knowledge, collective rights, and community resilience.
Financial grant: Direct financial resources for the implementation of your initiatives.
Technical accompaniment: Advice, tools, and ongoing guidance throughout the development of your projects.
Who can apply?
This invitation is exclusively for groups and organisations of Indigenous Women that have not previously received support from this fund. We value and support proposals with different scopes and levels of impact:
📍 Community, local, and grassroots initiatives.
📍 Projects with national and regional scope.
⏳ How to submit your proposal
Applications for the 2026 funding round will be accepted from June 1 to June 30, 2026. Interested organisations are encouraged to review the implementation guide, which outlines eligibility criteria, application procedures, project formats, and submission requirements.
Proposal Submission Guideline
