Grant and Funding Programs Offered by Grandmothers to Grandmothers Campaign

The Grandmothers to Grandmothers Campaign is a global, grandmother‑led movement created in 2006 as an initiative of the Stephen Lewis Foundation (SLF). Rooted in social justice and feminist principles, the Campaign brings together more than 10,000 grandmothers and “grandothers” in Canada, Australia, the United Kingdom and the United States. Their central purpose is to raise funds and stand in solidarity with grandmothers and community‑based organizations in 14 countries across sub‑Saharan Africa responding to the HIV and AIDS pandemic.

Through local groups and creative fundraising events, the Campaign has raised more than $40 million to date. These funds are channelled through the Stephen Lewis Foundation to community‑led partners that provide home‑based care, income‑generation initiatives, psychosocial support, education, child care, food security and rights‑based advocacy for grandmother‑headed households and children orphaned by AIDS.

The Campaign’s funding ultimately supports African grandmothers who have taken on the care of millions of children after losing an adult generation to AIDS. Community‑based partners use SLF resources to form support groups, launch savings and loans schemes, develop small businesses, run community gardens, and organize national grandmothers’ gatherings in countries such as Uganda, South Africa and Tanzania. With sustained financial backing, grandmothers have moved from crisis survival to community leadership, pressing governments for access to health care, inheritance and property rights, income security and protection from violence.

In addition to financial contributions, the Campaign emphasizes political voice and visibility. Statements such as the Toronto, Manzini, Uganda, South Africa and Tanzania Grandmothers Statements, as well as tribunals and public marches, highlight how funding is connected to broader struggles for human rights and gender and age equality.

The Grandmothers Campaign operates as part of the Stephen Lewis Foundation, a registered Canadian charity that specializes in supporting community‑led responses to HIV and AIDS. The SLF manages the grantmaking relationships, monitoring and reporting with grassroots partners in Africa, while Campaign groups focus on fundraising, education and advocacy in their own communities. This structure ensures that funds raised by grandmothers flow directly to experienced local organizations with strong community ties and accountability mechanisms.

Campaign resources, newsletters, impact reports and annual reports provide donors and group members with transparent information on how funds are used and the results achieved on the ground.