We’re an initiative that prioritises collective power-building, values-based decision-making, and any organisational structure we have is in service to that work.
The Cambridge Dictionary defines “initiative” as “a new plan or process to achieve something or solve a problem,” and Merriam-Webster defines it as “an introductory step.”
Our work is an introductory step toward modelling a new way of organising movements. We recognise that current models of organisations have done and are making an attempt in imagining new ways of working within a system that was not designed for equitable institutions.
This work will focus on resourcing grassroots efforts to co-create dignity. While we are not beginning as a collective, we are focused on sharing power in both our work and how we do it.
Thus, a collective may emerge from this work with CTI serving as a co-conspirator, convenor, and resource hub for local, community-based work. At the moment we operate as an initiative.
We have created an organisation using the Merriam-Webster dictionary definition of “an administrative and functional structure,” but find that other, broader definitions of “organisation” (and assumptions about what that means in the global development space) limit our ability to maintain the democratised, grassroots, decolonial approach that is essential to our vision. Any organisation formed will serve a purely administrative purpose. We are not interested in our organisation housing work, centralising power, or growing into a global movement. We recognise that organisations are not movements, and organisations that try to become movements in themselves often replicate colonial patterns of power-over while privileging Global North norms and frameworks.
Additionally, organisations are typically housed in one “sector” and prioritise one movement, even in how they engage in cross-movement work. An initiative-collective model allows for the kind of deep, trust-based cross-movement work we envision. It also allows us to easily wrap up our operations when this work is no longer needed.Our co-founders both have extensive histories in movement organising and activism in a variety of anti-oppression movements, uniquely positioning us to build trust with grassroots organisers.
Our organisation will support the existing work of movements, facilitating connections between movements, and resourcing movements that are rooted in and developed by the communities they support. Our approach leaves plenty of room for dreaming and imagination – not just by us but by our grassroots partners in this work – and that imagination is often restricted when the focus is on organisational development.
The framework for understanding what it means to co-create dignity (thereby addressing exploitation) will be new to some global development sectors, but its elements will not be “new.” Through convening cross-movement co-development with African feminist theorists, movement leaders, activists, organisers, and workers in other development spaces, we can create a framework that honours, draws upon, and integrates existing models of care and community, rather than contradicting, overriding, or disrupting them. imagination is often restricted when the focus is on organisational development.
No! Because exploitation and related violence are cross-movement issues, no one kind of organisation can address the issues. We believe that all oppression is interconnected, and thus we work with all organisations working to address the interrelated issues that address exploitation by fostering dignity.
Many organisations that resource movement work offer a single set menu of ways to support organisations, and they may primarily think of resources as money. While Collective Threads Initiative has a panel of options to choose from (and does have funding available where needed to implement our overall work), we also offer additional support customised to meet the needs of the individuals, organisations, and collectives we partner with.
Meaningful engagement means ensuring that people who are or have been impacted by an issue are essential partners in developing, implementing, and evaluating the effectiveness of strategies to address the issue. While there are many ways to measure whether engagement is meaningful, the ultimate test of “meaningfulness” is whether or not the participants feel a sense of belonging in the process. Meaningful engagement of people with lived experience of violence begins at the moment you realise someone might be experiencing violence. Meaningful engagement of people with lived experience of violence begins at the moment you realise someone might be experiencing violence. (-The Meaningful Engagement Handbook)
CTI is not just funding work—we are reshaping how movements are resourced, sustained, and led from within. We understand resourcing as more than just finance. Support includes technical assistance, strategic convenings, leadership development, and knowledge-sharing networks.
Existing funding models prioritise single-issue interventions, making it difficult for movements to sustain cross-cutting work. CTI challenges these norms by:
To avoid mission drift, we have the same rubric for evaluating our partners – those we hope will resource us as well as those we choose to resource. CTI is intentional in selecting partners who align with our cross-movement vision to avoid mission drift. Our partnerships prioritise collaboration, shared power, and sustainability rather than transactional funding relationships.
We evaluate partners based on their commitment to:
CTI collaborates with grassroots collectives, coalitions, and activist networks, ensuring that resourcing decisions are made with and for impacted communities.
As an initiative, we will resource and implement activities. We will implement our own activities that align with the pillars of work that we are doing. We will also co-create and implement activities with partners or resource organisations to achieve this goal. We recognise as community organisers, movement builders and practitioners first. We aim to redefine the concept of resource and also the way we resource to reduce power dynamics.
