In this episode, Joy explores the surprising parallels between funding social movements and financing market formation companies. Joy Anderson, along with guests Katharina Samara-Wickrama and Medina Haeri, dives into what movement funding really requires: patient, long‑term investment; flexible core support instead of short‑term project grants; and a commitment to relationship‑building and collective strategy. They highlight how change often emerges after decades of groundwork and emphasize that breaking out of siloed thinking is essential because justice issues are deeply interconnected.

Joy then connects these insights to the logic of market formation, where organizations must build demand for something that doesn’t yet exist—requiring long time horizons, experimentation, narrative shaping, and capital that tolerates uncertainty. The episode frames this moment as a turning point, with feminist movements beginning to engage more intentionally with innovative finance. Through the Helia Collaborative–Criterion partnership, activists and finance practitioners are learning to speak each other’s language and co-create more resilient, systems‑level approaches to financing long-term change.

Episode Highlights

00:00 Funding Movements and Market Formation

10:05 The Role of Patience in Funding Movements

19:54 Building Relationships Across Sectors

30:09 Innovative Finance and Movement Collaboration

Relevant Links

• Criterion Institute website and LinkedIn
• Joy’s LinkedIn
• Medina’s LinkedIn
• Katharina’s LinkedIn

Part of the ImpactAlpha Podcast Network