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Dear Friends,
May Greetings from the Global Fund for Women!
We are pleased to share an update on the Global Fund's unique Now or Never Fund, which was created as a direct response to the threats facing women's rights in the aftermath of the U.S. invasion of Iraq in 2003. This year, we are midway through the 5-year lifecycle of the fund and we thought you'd like to know how your contributions are being applied.
In 2003, when the Global Fund was in the midst of a traditional endowment campaign to raise $20 million, our Board of Directors decided to take immediate action in the face of growing attacks on women’s reproductive health, their safety and economic security in conflict zones, and their right to live free of fundamentalist assaults. The Investing in Women campaign was modified to include a $10 million Now or Never Fund.
This special fund has supplemented our annual grants budget, infusing an additional $1.5 to $2 million per year into efforts to preserve the hard-won gains of the global women's movement and to ensure the survival of leading women's groups in key countries that were reeling from budget cuts and the large cuts in U.S. development aid for reproductive health.
The Now or Never Fund has given us the opportunity to dream big, awarding more sizeable grants -- some as large as $150,000 -- to organizations with established track records in defending reproductive rights, finding peaceful alternatives to violent conflict and resisting fundamentalist forces that seek to further restrict women’s human rights. The more than 200 grants in 70 countries totaling $4.6 million have:
Ensured that women had a place at the important policy debates at the United Nations and at the national level.
Provided three years of, reliable, general operating support -- thus allowing the staff of these groups to focus on supporting women’s human rights rather than fundraising.
Allowed women to create innovative solutions to building peace in war-torn countries.
Read more about the work of our grantees on our blog.
This work would not have been possible without your support and belief in women's leadership. Grantees, donors, advisors and many others from our extended family around the world have given so generously of their time, talents, and financial gifts. Thank you for standing with us and with the women of the world.
In Solidarity,
Kavita N. Ramdas
President and CEO
Grantees Win Five Prestigious Awards
In the past month Global Fund grantees have won several prestigious awards.
Action India and FEMNET from Kenya are two of the three recipients of the Ashoka Changemaker's Award.
In Nepal, the Blue Diamond Society, a group advocating for improved human rights of sexual minorities received the Felipa de Souza Award from the International Gay and Lesbian Human Rights Commission.
Journalist Soledad Jarquín, who works with grantee group, Women's Communication and Information, in Mexico City was just awarded the National Award for Journalism, one of the most important awards in Mexico for her story Violación ejercida por militares (Rape by the Military).
Gégé Katana, the founder and president of the Solidarity Movement of Women Human Rights Activists based in Democratic Republic of Congo was presented with this year's Front Line Award.
This year's recipients of the Feminist Majority Foundation's Global Women's Rights Awards are all grantees of the Global Fund for Women. Dr. Sima Samar of Afghanistan, Yanar Mohammed of The Organization of Women's Freedom in Iraq and Dr. Rebecca Gomperts of Women on Waves.
Women Redefining Peace in the Middle East
At the end of May 80 women’s rights activists and researchers from around the world -- including ex-political prisoners, founders of international rights organizations, disarmament experts, journalists -- will meet in Ireland to discuss the private and public dynamics of violence against women, particularly in the Middle East.
Our own Zeina Zaatari, Program Officer for the Middle East and North Africa will be speaking at the conference. The event is being organized by the Nobel Women's Initiative, a group established in 2006 by Nobel Peace Laureates Jody Williams, Shirin Ebadi, Wangari Maathai, Rigoberta Menchú Tum, Betty Williams and Mairead Corrigan Maguire. Only 12 women in its more than 100 year history have been recognized with the Nobel Prize. The Nobel Women’s Initiative strengthens work being done in support of women's rights around the world - work often carried out in the shadows with little recognition.
Show Your Heart Every Month
Appreciate our work? Want to join the Global Fund for Women's efforts to advance women's human rights around the world? You can take action that is quick, easy and will make the most of your gift! Our Corazón Network of monthly donors are at the heart of what we do, providing dependable, year-round support and allowing us to conserve our natural and financial resources. As little as $10 a month will help us achieve our mission of making effective and responsive grants to women's human rights.
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