List of Grant recipients of the 8th edition of MiniGrants
Applicant’s Choices – community MiniGrants (these initiatives were selected in a participatory process by the groups taking part in the 8th edition):
1. Black Protest Bielsko-Biala, Bielsko-Biala, slaskie
The group of activists is planning a meeting on menopause and WenDo self-defense and assertiveness workshops for people in the perimenopausal period from Bielsko-Biala and the surrounding area, as well as participation in the “All About Menopause” training for one of the group members.
2. Foundation “We Have a Swing”, Zdunska Wola, lodzkie
The Foundation, founded by mothers of people with disabilities, is planning a two-day regenerative respite trip combined with development workshops for 15 mothers of children/adults with disabilities.
3. Top Hat Foundation, Rybnik, malopolskie
The Foundation, in partnership with a complex of construction schools, will organize a series of workshops developing violence response skills for 12 girls aged 16-17.
4. Signers’ Group Foundation, Krakow, malopolskie
The Foundation, created by translators, lecturers and enthusiasts of the Polish Sign Language (PSL), is planning strengthening workshops with a Deaf psychologist conducted in PSL, intended for approx. 16 women and girls who are hearing impaired and culturally deaf.
5. Chemistry Collective Foundation, Warsaw, mazowieckie
The group that deals with the problem of the so-called rape pill and supports people with experience of intoxication will allocate the Grant for permanent activities of the Foundation: distribution of educational materials, trainings for venues, organization of partyworker stands in the summer season, setting up a website, and remuneration for accounting.
6. AMC – Active Moms’ Club, Hajnowka, podlaskie
A group of mothers of children with disabilities will organize monthly meetings, psychological training and creative workshops as well as relaxation and art therapy activities for mothers of children with disabilities.
7. Yarrow Collective, Poznan, wielkopolskie
The feminist collective consisting of 9 people, which created the Yarrow Festival – an event entirely devoted to menstruation – will organize the July edition of the festival: workshops, discussion panels, exhibitions, and performances, as well as educational and artistic activities on energy, sexuality, and social and cultural aspects of ovulation.
8. Women’s Revolution Collective, Warsaw, mazowieckie
The group, consisting of members of two collectives: Warsaw for Rojava and kurdistan.info, which work to support the Kurdish women’s movement, is planning 2 workshops on the history and methods of operation of the Kurdish women’s movement, for approx. 30 activists.
9. Village Housewives’ Association Zaleze Duze, Zaleze Duze, mazowieckie
The Association with approx. 15 members will organize a self-defense course with an instructor for women and girls from the village of Zaleze Duze and the surrounding localities.
10. Intercultural Senior Women’s Club, Gdansk, pomorskie
The group of approx. 30 women aged 60+ from Poland and Ukraine will organize meetings about the body and breasts, a Polish language course, and a “dance without a bra” celebrating the body and freedom, for women aged 60+ and younger women and girls from Poland and Ukraine.
11. Polish Center for Torture Survivors, Bialystok, podlaskie
A group of women who joined forces due to the escalation of the war in Ukraine is planning therapeutic workshops for 10 women with experience of sexual violence from the center for foreigners in Bialystok.
12. Torun Feminist Brigade, Torun, kujawsko-pomorskie
A group of activists, authors of the “IUD bookmark” with information about the right to have an IUD inserted or removed free of charge, will organize workshops on reproductive health, prevention of gynecological diseases, and methods of contraception, as well as psychological support for 10 women experiencing homelessness.
Decision Group’s Choices – Strategic MiniGrants:
13. Interaction Foundation, Krakow, malopolskie
The organization, dedicated to supporting intersex people and protecting their rights, plans to continue providing individual psychological support for approx. 10 people from the community.
14. Women’s Club in Debak, Podkowa Lesna, mazowieckie
A group of women with migrant and refugee experience plans to continue meetings and workshops (handicrafts, joint cooking, conversations in a circle) for women staying in Debak – a reception and residential center.
15. Multiphrenias, Warsaw, mazowieckie
Four girls, who organize monthly reading meetings for women with disabilities, will organize WenDo self-defense and assertiveness workshops for women with disabilities, with a translation into PSL (Polish Sign Language).
16. Support Point for Ukrainians, Krakow, malopolskie
A group of perinatal specialists providing free support for pregnant people with refugee experience will organize 4 editions of antenatal school for approx. 45 women who came to Poland after the outbreak of the full-scale war in Ukraine.
Justification of the choice of Strategic Mini Grants
The Decision Group has selected 4 additional strategic grants that complement the selection by Applicants with topics and perspectives close to the Fund’s priorities.
Two of the four strategic grants went to groups created by refugees and migrants: the Support Point for Ukrainians, which supports pregnant persons in access to perinatal care, and the Women’s Club in Debak – a group of refugees operating in the center for foreigners near Podkowa Lesna.
In this year’s edition of MiniGrants, we observed an increase in the number of applications submitted by refugees. The groups had a clearly feminist identity and acted for specific groups of women. The Decision Group bore in mind that the activities of both abovementioned collectives stand out among many projects for refugees, conducted by large humanitarian and aid organizations, often without reckoning with the voice of migrants. In the face of the violence inflicted by the border guards on refugees on the Polish-Belarusian border since 2021, and the so-called suspension of the right to asylum by the current coalition, our attitude is radical solidarity with people on the move.
The Decision Group also awarded a grant to Interaction Foundation. In the justification, the Group pointed out that out of 13 applications by LBTQPIA groups that passed to the second stage of selection, the community did not choose any. Interaction Foundation fills this gap as the only organization in Poland representing a community of people with diverse gender characteristics. Interaction has specialist knowledge, competences, and a community of intersex people whose needs determine the course of the Foundation’s activities.
Finally, the Decision Group chose the application of Multiphrenias group – a collective that organizes reading meetings for women with disabilities, and as part of the MiniGrant, it will organize self-defense and assertiveness workshops for women with disabilities. This is a group of women who experience severe exclusion, also in feminist spaces (many events are not accessible to people with disabilities). We believe that supporting grassroots organization of women with disabilities is crucial to creating and practicing feminism that is truly intersectional.