Strategic Objective 1: Transformative Leadership and Good Governance

Through this pillar CRAWN Trust seeks to address intersecting barriers that hinder women including young women and women with disabilities to meaningfully be involved in public and political life.  Unequal power relations, gender norms and discriminatory behaviours and practices keep holding women back from participation in leadership and governance processes and positions while the patriarchal nature of public institutions coupled with gender blind normative frameworks exacerbate the challenge. CRAWN Trust will partner and collaborate with women rights organization (WROs) and other stakeholders to increase the voice and agency of women leaders by creating opportunities to develop their leadership skills through transformative leadership capacity building and mentorship programs, facilitate movement building and networking opportunities for women and marginalized groups. CRAWN Trust will also seek to transform leadership and governance in Kenya through values instillation, promote women’s full participation in decision making structures and processes, gender equity and contribute to birthing leaders who lead with skill and integrity.

 Strategic Objective 2: Sustainable Livelihoods and Climate Action

Sustainable Livelihoods and Climate Action is a cornerstone of CRAWN Trust’s mission to empower women and marginalized communities by addressing the root causes of poverty and vulnerability. This pillar recognizes that economic empowerment and climate resilience are deeply interconnected, especially for women who often face systemic barriers to financial resources, decision-making spaces, and sustainable livelihoods. Through targeted interventions, CRAWN Trust works to create inclusive economic opportunities that uplift women from the grassroots level, while also ensuring that their voices and needs are central to climate action and governance.

One of the key components of this pillar is the promotion of women’s economic empowerment through financial inclusion and entrepreneurship support. CRAWN Trust facilitates access to credit by partnering with micro-finance institutions and offering business grants to women entrepreneurs. The “Women and the Economy” series serves as a dynamic platform for connecting women to business opportunities, skill-building resources, and financial networks. In collaboration with the University of Nairobi’s WEE Hub, the organization supports the growth of women-led enterprises and disseminates research findings that inform policy and practice. Tools like the Faidika Workbook provide practical guidance for women in business, helping them manage daily operations, set goals, and navigate financial systems with confidence.

In its poverty reduction efforts, CRAWN Trust focuses on building sustainable livelihoods by equipping women and marginalized groups with the skills, resources, and support systems needed to thrive economically. This includes training in business management and enterprise development, linking women to startup capital and mentorship, and facilitating access to markets and cooperatives. The organization also supports the formation of Voluntary Savings and Loan Associations (VSLAs), which enhance financial inclusion and foster community-based economic resilience. These initiatives aim to reduce economic inequalities and promote long-term development by enabling women to become active participants in the economy, not just beneficiaries of aid.

On the climate front, CRAWN Trust is committed to ensuring that women are not left behind in climate governance and decision-making. The organization’s “Green Champions of Change” project promotes women’s leadership in climate action and advocates for gender-responsive policies and budget allocations. Surveys conducted in three counties help identify eco-friendly and inclusive climate solutions, while partnerships with innovation hubs and participation in global forums like the African Climate Summit and COP create opportunities for cross-learning and advocacy. CRAWN Trust understands that women are disproportionately affected by climate-related disasters due to economic and social disadvantages, but also recognizes their potential as early adopters of sustainable practices and key decision-makers at the household level. By integrating climate action with economic empowerment, this strategic pillar ensures that development is not only sustainable but also equitable and inclusive.

Strategic Objective 3: Networking, Movement and Alliance Building

Women’s movement building and Alliances are important for bringing together diverse women’s rights organisations (WROs), activists, grassroots groups and allies to achieve change on a larger scale. Movement building helps identify common goals, share lessons and networks, and moves away from working in silos. Movement building also helps to amplify the voices of structurally marginalised and discriminated groups of women and girls, including women and girls of different ages, ethnicities, class or religions and disabilities. CRAWN Trust will help build momentum and facilitate the strengthening of the women’s movement by providing recruitment of members, capacity-building support, fostering digital platforms for collaboration, supporting knowledge creation, and organizing learning exchanges and advocating for women’s movements to be at the forefront of efforts to end gender inequality and promote women rights and those of marginalized groups.  CRAWN Trust will build a movement of women rights organizations equipped with the necessary skills and competence to work in harmony to defend their rights, execute their responsibilities and strengthen their participation in the social, political and economic spheres. The organization will also work on building strategic partnerships and collaborations with other like-minded stakeholders including government, private sectors and economic regional commissions.

Strategic Objective  4: Research and Policy Advocacy

CRAWN Trust believes that for any policy advocacy initiative to be sustainably successful, it MUST be evidence-based. Therefore, the organization will invest heavily in gathering relevant data to support its policy and advocacy work. The organization’s Research and Policy Advocacy programme aims to improve the use of research in promoting sustainable livelihoods and development opportunities for women and marginalized groups. The need for research to inform advocacy efforts has been an essential factor in the development of the communities across Africa. CRAWN intends to provide men, women, PWDs, and other marginalised groups with the skills and knowledge to demand for accountability and access equity, justice, inclusivity, and fairness from duty bearers while also making their valuable contributions to the promotion of gender equality and women rights in their communities.

 Strategic Objective 5: Institutional Effectiveness and Sustainability

CRAWN Trust will make it a priority that its institutional effectiveness and sustainability ensures community members access the needed services through the four strategic focus areas. The organization will focus on capacity building for staff members and advisory board on leadership, governance, programmes delivery, monitoring & evaluation, and sustainability of the organization. The people in the organization will be supported to have the skills, motivation, and opportunity to make the best contribution to the organization. The capacity strengthening for the organization will strive to accomplish programmatic objectives in a cost-efficient manner, ensuring that there are effective internal control systems to protect assets and maximizing the benefits derived from use of those assets. They also need to be organized and to relate to each other in ways that are most conducive to productive outcomes.