For those of you who seriously want to raise money for your programs, we would like to share some lessons learned, on the chance that they may be helpful to you. In the paragraphs that follow, we write about why and how we created the Global Fund for Women and about some of the things we learned as we raised money.

Why was the Global Fund created? The Global Fund for Women was created because groups of women, especially in poorer countries, are often bypassed in international development programs-partly because of traditional approaches to change and partly because women's groups are often unused to working within established structures. New women's groups were emerging at a very rapid rate all over the world, but women continued to be the poorest of the poor and left out of the centers of power. By creating a foundation that would give money to women's groups, we wanted to increase the ability of women to participate effectively in their societies. We knew that financial support for women's groups was insufficient and some groups of women were being left out altogether. For these reasons, we decided to raise money in order to give it to women's groups in a flexible way.

We began the Global Fund in June 1987 with a few hundred US dollars that we ourselves donated. The three founders of the Global Fund were not wealthy, so we had to obtain money from somewhere else to realize our dream.

How did we implement the program? Like most women creating a group, we began as volunteers. (Anne Firth Murray ran the organization for the first eighteen months as a volunteer while she worked full-time at another job.) We asked for help from friends and foundations.

We quickly learned that in order to raise money:

• We needed to be very clear about what we were trying to accomplish and how we would go about setting in place our program.
   
• We needed to clarify our values: What did we stand for? What did we believe in?
   
• We needed to clarify the roles of the various people involved: Who would be on our governing board and advisory council? Who would take leadership to speak for the organization? What processes would we follow to make decisions?
   
• We needed to put in place a logical and clear system of managing money so that if we were able to raise funds, we could be accountable to the donors.

We began to answer these questions, and people began to give us money so that we could give it away to women's groups.

Through processes that we tried to make open and "transparent", we developed structures and ways of operating that use some aspects of hierarchical systems while at the same time respecting the great importance of participation and consultation. We recognized that we needed to have someone who would take responsibility for the day-to-day operations of the organization, and we knew that we had to give that person freedom to be creative and responsible. At the same time, we knew that we needed a council of "wise women", our Board, who with commitment and caring would monitor the workings of the organization. We developed a list of beliefs that would guide our operations.

Over the years, many individuals and organizations have come to share our vision for a better world, and they have given money to The Global Fund. We have learned a great deal from these generous people.

What did we learn? Many of the lessons learned have been highlighted in the above paragraphs. A first lesson about fundraising, however, is this: In order to raise money, it is necessary to:

ASK for it. After you have asked and received, it is essential to THANK those who gave and try to INCLUDE them in your work. Then THANK them again, ASK again, THANK them, and so on. ("Ask and ye shall receive!")

In order to ask for money and/or other resources for one's program, it is necessary to have in place the following programmatic components:

• A clear vision of what one wants to do and why. ("If the cause is right, the means will come.")
  
  
• A clear and logical plan for how the vision will be achieved and who will play which roles in the organization.
  
  
• A clear and explainable idea of how much the program will cost and how the funds will be managed, as well as a commitment to excellent management and clear reporting procedures.
  
  
• A commitment to diversity in fundraising. Diversity is essential in all aspects of the work of an organization. Through diversity one learns and is able to gain access to different groups of people andtherefore different funding sources. A fundraising plan must include goals for obtaining funding from several different sources (service clubs, membership, income producing activities, foundations, corporations, bake sales, government funders, etcetera). All activities are enhanced through diversity: Think of a garden, which can only be healthy and pest-free if there are many different kinds of plants. Think of personal investments, which need to be diversified to be stable over the long term.
  
  
• A commitment to treating all parts of the organization with equal respect and trust. This is a very important aspect of fundraising: the board, advisors, and staff of an organization are important. So are the "clients." Equally important are the donors and potential donors. The organization seeking money is like a bridge between a community of need (women) and a community with resources (donors). Donors must be treated as equals, just as the clients of an organization (to whom the service is being provided) must be treated as equals. For a women's organization wanting to raise money, this approach, which embodies respect and caring, is of extreme importance.

Keep in mind that we are not raising money just for the sake of it. We are raising funds to change the world in positive ways. Therefore the way we do business is as important as what we do. We can treat one another well, raise money, and do good things!

Introduction

Women, Money, Empowerment

Lessons Learned

Raising Money for a Small or Beginning Project

Organizations that Give to Women's Groups

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