WOMEN'S FUNDS
By Sande Smith, Communications Officer
The new Web site of the International Network of Women's Funds (INWF) opens with a drawing of the center of a spider web, outlined by three women poised as dancers. Within seconds, the web grows through the layering on of filaments, and the three dancers move outward towards the edge of the page. They are accompanied by lyrical piano music composed by Chiquinha Gonzaga, a mixed-race Brazilian woman of the 19th century. Through its dynamic growth, the web represents the ever-expanding reach of the women's funds that make up the Network.
Comprised of 16 funds, including those from South Africa, Ukraine, Mexico, Nepal, Ghana, the United States and Brazil, the thread that unites the groups is their commitment to raise money to provide support that will enable the full participation of women in all aspects of society.
One member fund, the Brazilian-based Angela Borba Fund (ABF) for Financial Resources for Women, designed and launched the site (www.iiwfn.org). Since its creation in 1999, the ABF has earned a reputation for cutting-edge programs, which embrace a notion of philanthropy that champions civil rights and investment in social change. In the last two years, ABF has awarded grants totaling $50,000 to 37 women's projects. In order to support communities that have been underserved by international funders, they have sponsored Afro-Brazilian women's groups, lesbian rights groups, indigenous women and women with disabilities, job training projects in carpentry and construction for low-income women, and consciousness-raising theater productions. The fund also awards grants to women's individual and group projects for gender research, training and networking. By 2004, the Fund's goal is to support at least 225 women's projects in Brazil.
Maria Mulher, an organization of Afro-Brazilian women who work with women survivors of domestic violence, is just one of the groups that ABF has funded with a grant of $1,700. The women of Maria Mulher create business cooperatives that provide food and beauty services, reasonably priced, to members of their community.
Another group funded by ABF is Sem Medo dos Botões (Do not be afraid to press buttons). This group aims to demystify communications technology for young girls and women. One of their projects trains girl students of the Grande Tijuca neighborhood, an area besieged by violence, in how to become professional radio operators.
In 2002, the Global Fund for Women awarded ABF a 2-year grant for $90,000 to do grantmaking that promotes women's rights in Brazil, raises awareness about social responsibility among Brazilian business people and government officials, and increases outreach to the other funds that are part of the International Network of Women's Funds. In March of 2004, ABF will host the Fifth International Meeting of the Network in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Attendees will discuss strategies to strengthen the international women's movement through women-led philanthropy.
Angela Borba - Fundo de Recursos para Mulheres
Amalia Fischer, Technical Coordinator
Renata Couto, Development & Communications
Rua Almirante Tamandaré, 66 sala 502
Rio de Janeiro RJ 22210-060
Brazil
Phone: 55 21 22 45 6114/38
Telefax: 55 21 2245 6138 or 2245 6114
Email: angelaborbafundo@ajato.com.br
Web site: www.angelaborbafundo.org
photo courtesy of Black Women's Collective of Baixada Santista