About the Foundation
Where the Way Leads Fund is a donor-advised fund hosted by TrustBridge Foundation, a Swiss-based foundation focused on cross-border giving.
Established in 2026, we are dedicated to supporting women leaders and their organizations advance access to justice in fragile and conflict-affected settings.
At a time when conflict-related violence against women and girls is escalating, and funding for women-led organizations continues to shrink, we exist to close the gap between urgent need and available resources by investing in the people and organizations closest to the crisis.
Our Vision
A future where women leaders and their organisations are resourced to find pathways to advance justice in conflict and fragile settings.
Why This Fund Exists
6o contexts globally are currently classified as fragile based on high rates of displacement, weakened rule of law, political violence, economic precarity, or systemic barriers to protection and justice.
In such contexts, violence against women, girls and vulnerable populations are heightened.
Women-led organizations are often the first to respond to violence, displacement, and institutional breakdown. They provide legal aid, survivor support, advocacy, documentation assistance, and pathways to protection long before international systems arrive.
Yet despite their critical role, these organizations remain chronically underfunded.
(OECD States of Fragility, 2025; UN Women, 2025.)
Defining Fragility
60+
Fragile contexts globally
8
Ongoing armed conflicts
What We Do
The core of our work is to give grants, but we are more than a fund.
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Supporting women-led grassroots organizations advancing access to justice, survivor protection, legal aid, and community-based response in conflict-affected settings.
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Investing in the long-term sustainability, visibility, and leadership of women-led organizations working on the frontlines of justice and protection.
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Advocating for more equitable, flexible, and trust-based funding approaches that better serve grassroots organizations in fragile and conflict-affected contexts.
Why women-led organisations?
Funding women‑led groups is a leverage strategy. They reinvest in families and communities, advance gender equality, and create inclusive forms of leadership and accountability that improve outcomes for women and girls.
“Women‑led” does not mean “only women served.”
Women‑led groups routinely serve diverse survivors and communities, but their leadership composition helps ensure that women’s experiences and safety are centered in design and decision‑making.
They are systematically underfunded despite their impact and are frequently excluded from formal decision‑making and coordination spaces.
Women‑led organizations are closest to the problem and the solutions. They have deep trust and reach into communities that international actors cannot replicate.
Fundraise
We raise capital from individuals, families, and aligned partners.
How The Fund Works
2. Assess
We direct funding to vetted women-led organisations.
Due diligence and compliance are conducted with our partner, TrustBridge Global, a Swiss-based foundation.
3. Mobilise
They deliver the work on the ground, report and check in with us on a regular basis.
4. Amplify
We document learning, strengthen visibility, and help unlock more funding for the field.
What We Fund
⚖️
Legal Assistance & Representation
to hold perpetrators accountable for violence and ensure survivors access remedies and reparations
👥
Community Engagement
address early violence, mobilize community support, change norms
🛡️
Safety and Emergency Support
to protect at-risk survivors and resettle them to a safe place
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Government coordination
to equip local government and improve coordinated response, strengthen legal protections people’s access to justice
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Frontline Leadership
We strive to understand, invest, grow and amplify the leadership and influence of women and underrepresented leaders at the frontlines of access to justice work.
A Different Approach to Philanthropy
We believe funding models should strengthen rather than burden women organisations.
Traditional Grantmaking
× Restricted project grants
x Bureaucratic
x Short-term funding cycles
× Donor-driven priorities
× Heavy administrative burden
The Foundation
✓ Core and unrestricted funding
✓ Lean and responsive
✓ Long-term partnerships
✓ Survivor-centered approach
✓ Facilitative and simplified administration
Building the foundation
The Fund is in its early stage of growth.
We have mobilized seed funding and are building toward an initial round of grants that will support 2–3 organizations, establish a strong proof of concept, and create the foundation for future scale.
We use TrustBridge Global Foundation as our donor-advised fund platform.
TrustBridge provides the infrastructure needed to receive, administer, and distribute philanthropic resources responsibly across borders. This includes fund administration, compliance review and KYC/AML procedures.