glossary

A person's capacity to make choices and act in accordance with their values and desires

Work of looking after the physical, psychological, emotional and developmental needs of one or more other people

Support to strengthen an organization's skills, systems, and processes, such as leadership, fundraising, finance, or MEL

Funding that an NGO can use for its overall work, including salaries, operations, and programs

Long-term reserve funds for an organization, where the main amount is kept intact and not spent and only the interest or income earned may be used, helping ensure financial security for the future

Analytical lenses that shape how work is designed, staffed, and resourced

Work that strengthens the broader sector, such as capacity-building, networks, and infrastructure, rather than delivering direct services

The length of time an organization can continue operating using its existing available funds before additional funding is required

Funding that is sufficient to meet an organization's programmatic and operational needs, allowing it to sustain its activities

A situation in which an organization has more funding available than is required to meet its programmatic and operational needs, resulting in an excess of available resources

A situation in which an organization has less funding available than it needs to sustain its programmatic and operational work, resulting in a shortfall between its available resources and funding requirements

A five-point framework (gender-discriminatory, gender-blind, gender-sensitive, gender-responsive, gender-transformative) for assessing how deeply a program accounts for gender in its design and implementation

Ensuring that gender perspectives and attention to the goal of gender equality are central to all activities

Programs designed to improve development outcomes, irrespective of gender needs

Programs designed to respond to the specific needs of women and girls with sensitivity

Programs designed to transform gender roles, norms, and power relations in society

The time taken for a grant to move from the initial engagement or application process to grant disbursement

Lived experiences of inequality and discrimination are shaped by intersecting identities across caste, class, age, religion, disability, sexuality, ethnicity, and geography. This dimension examines how gender equity funding reaches, reflects, and responds to these differences

Gender inequality is produced through overlapping social, economic, environmental, and institutional forces. This dimension examines how gender equity funding operates across intersecting sectors such as education, health, climate, and livelihoods.

Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Queer/Questioning, Intersex, Asexual, and other sexual and gender minorities

The process of gathering new data, analyzing evidence, and creating reports or products to support informed action and decision-making

Organizations with annual expenditure of INR 50 lakh to INR 3 crore

Organizations with annual expenditure under INR 50 lakh

Capital provided with a long-term investment horizon, where investors are willing to wait for returns and tolerate greater uncertainty or risk associated with longer-term outcomes

Program areas represent the main thematic focus areas of organizations in the sample

Leadership grounded in lived experience and close connection to the communities an organization serves

Income generated by an organization through its own activities, products, services, or other revenue-generating models

Community-based groups, typically comprising women, that come together around a common purpose and may pool savings, provide access to credit, and support collective action and empowerment

The work of designing and implementing programs, mobilizing necessary resources, and providing direct help or support to individuals and households

Organizations with annual expenditure of INR 50 lakh to 3 crore

Gender equity funding organized through domains where inequality is structurally embedded; a dimension examining how thematic entry points shape how gender is defined, prioritized, and resourced

A funding approach emphasizing flexible, unrestricted capital and reduced reporting burden, based on trust in the grantee organization's judgment

Organizations with annual expenditure of INR 10 crore to INR 50 crore

Organizations with annual expenditure above INR 50 crore