DRAFT - Rematriation

In 2021 the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation expanded their partnership with Lightful to build the resilience of 200 more organisations by funding them to participate in Lightful’s flagship learning programme, BRIDGE.

The Foundation was focused on supporting organisations working to address COVID-19 needs at a local level in their communities through a racial equity or gender equality lens. Lightful worked with United Philanthropy Forum and Women’s Funding Network to find organisations at the right stage in their digital journey.

Rematriation hosts a private platform, providing indigenous women with the first safe space of its kind, to connect with each other. They also host a public website and open social media accounts to empower allies and supporters. They want to promote their cause, while also protecting the privacy of the community.

Rematriation was ahead of the curve, producing hybrid events before the pandemic hit but they had never done any online fundraising before and were unsure where to start.

GOAL: To increase audience reach & enhance their fundraising strategy with digital tools

Rematriation, and other organisations in the cohort, had concerns about the power dynamics of their institutions telling individuals’ stories. They wanted to let the voices of their communities drive the content but they didn’t know how. With Lightful’s help they were able to break down these perceived barriers to storytelling through a bespoke masterclass and e-learning module on ethical storytelling, encouragement and training.

Increased audience reach & the ability to fundraise online

Even in the short period of undertaking the 6 month programme, Rematriation was able to grow their Facebook audience and engagement. These results will continue to grow as they implement what they have learned and further hone their skills. The programme is designed to affect lasting change, but it's always great to see immediate impact from participant learnings.

• Facebook audience grew by 41%

• Facebook engagement grew by 8%

Thanks to their new fundraising channel, since the end of the programme, Rematriation has been able to hold a weekend dialogue for indigenous people to discuss what the Rematriation movement means to them. Hosting spaces like this is a vital part of their work. The team at Rematriation now feel confident that they will be able to give indigenous voices a worldwide presence and shine a light on the indigenous worldview.