Let’s Talk About Resourcing Reproductive Justice: Beyond Scarcity

At Women Deliver 2026, Resurj’s member, Dana, joined a lively chat with Christine Wabla (inroads) and Bethan Cansfield (Prospera) about how we can resource reproductive justice and shape feminist futures.

We kicked things off by naming what’s on a lot of feminists’ minds: resources are shrinking, political pressure is rising, and donors are getting more cautious. At the same time, anti-rights groups seem to have more resources, more organization, and a bigger presence than ever.

Bethan pointed out that there’s still a big gap between what feminist and reproductive justice movements know needs to happen, and what actually gets funded. This gap is real: it shapes what we can do, what’s harder to talk about, and who ends up carrying the burden.

But here is the thing: the conversation didn’t just dwell on what’s missing.

We started talking about what’s already working: feminist funds grounded on trust and flexibility, grantmaking where everyone has a say, emergency funds for crisis moments, mutual aid that fills the gaps when formal funding falls short, grassroots organizing powered by courage and community, and partnerships that keep us moving even when resources are tight.

Christine brought up something a lot of us feel but don’t always say: scarcity can push us to compete, even when what we really need is to work together. She asked, “How do we start the conversation again? How do we really talk and work in sync?”

There is more to resourcing than just money; it’s also about infrastructure.

Dana pointed out how the way money moves, and the legal and political rules around it, shapes who feels the pressure when things get shaky. From RESURJ’s work on fiscal sponsorship, one thing is clear: fiscal sponsorship isn’t just paperwork. It’s real infrastructure that shapes power, safety, speed, risk, and who does the work.

This really matters, especially for groups working in places where organizing is risky. For many SRHR groups, having infrastructure in another country can be a lifeline, but it’s not always safe or stable. If donors pull back, or banking and legal conditions change, the shockwaves ripple across the whole movement.

Anti-rights groups get this. They are not just well-funded; they have networks, institutions, ways to reach people, and long-term plans to keep building power and shaping the story.

We need infrastructure too, but not the kind that copies how corporations or big donors work. Ours has to be political, safe, flexible, accountable, and built on what keeps movements alive: trust, relationships, sharing knowledge, care, and collective responsibility.

Someone reminded us: let’s remember what feminist resourcing has already made possible. Not just the gaps and crises, but how flexible, trust-based funding has helped movements grow, stay accountable, and keep showing up.

Maybe that’s the quiet lesson here: abundance isn’t the opposite of scarcity. It’s something we practice even when things are tight.

We practice abundance when we share what we know, move resources with trust, refuse to let competition be the only story, build systems that protect (not punish), and remember that movements are built by people, relationships, courage, and care, not just by funding.

Especially in tough times, it helps to remember: we are not just reacting to crisis, we are building what comes next.