Mary Ripley spent 18 months traveling the world with her mother via boat, train, car and rickshaw. She camped under a brightly colored tent in the Cairo desert. She saw Everest from her hotel room in Darjeeling. She felt a sense of overwhelming peace while watching Gandhi weave a basket.

“I love knowing that after I’m gone, my love for the world and its peoples will continue to be expressed through the Global Fund for Women,” says Pat Youngdahl.

"My heart is with the Global Fund for Women," says Inspiration Partner Jan Stoner. Read Jan's philanthropic reflections in discussion with Lanell Dike, from the Global Fund for Women.

In 1978, my husband and I hitchhiked across Africa from Senegal to Kenya. Over and over, people who had almost nothing opened their homes to us. Years later, I read about the Global Fund and thought, "Here's a way for me to give back to the places that had given so much to me."

"Global Fund for Women has inspired me so much as an entrepreneur, both to open my mind to new ways of giving back to the community and to expand my understanding of who my community is to include women whose lives I may never have had the opportunity to touch otherwise.  Hearing stories about the women whose lives have been changed by these donations - especially groups like Afghan Institute of Learning who are working under extremely difficult circumstances - not only warms my heart, but inspires me to give even more when I have the chance, because there is clearly so much more that can be done.

Last June, on the occasion of Father's Day, Global Fund for Women met with donor-photographer Bruce Beron.  Bruce  shared his inspiration on fatherhood and being a Global Fund supporter. “I am appalled and shocked by the injustices women and girls all over the world face. To me, supporting the Global Fund for Women is the most effective and unique way of addressing these issues.”

A long-time supporter from 1991, and former Balkans advisor of the Global Fund for Women, Marta Drury has made a career out of giving to and working for women and girls in the US and abroad.

Pam Eglinski gives because she wants to help create a world where women and girls live free of violence of all forms, and have access to resources and a safe and healthy environment. Pam found out about the Global Fund online and has been an active part of our donor community through the community of Inspiration Partners. These are Global Fund donors who demonstrate their commitment to women’s rights by exponentially increasing their giving.

“I really believe in women, in their strength, so rather than just doing yet another bunch of clothes, I wanted to tie the line to something more meaningful,” says Isda Funari, founder of Isda & Co, a company that donates a portion of its proceeds to the Global Fund.

"When I researched the global women’s human rights landscape, all roads seemed to lead to the Global Fund for Women. It is a highly respected organization. Other nonprofits have modeled themselves on the Global Fund."