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Women are caught in the midst of a maelstrom of influences that limit their human rights. Just for starters, there are the weak world economy, wars, civil violence, the insuperable gap between rich and poor, and the polarized opinions of progressives and fundamentalists that paralyze efforts to change policies. But some organizations can help women help each other.
I met Ashwini Narayanan at Opportunity Collaboration. She runs MicroPlace
for eBay and says the world needs ten times more money than we've raised
to help the billion people who need a micro loan. MicroPlace makes it easy
for you to invest in organizations that loan to the poor: you can fight
poverty and get your money back with interest! Check it out The Global Fund for
Women advocates for and defends women's human rights
by making grants to support women's groups around the world.
They believe that women should have a full range of choices,
and that women themselves know best how to determine their needs
and propose solutions for lasting change. This philosophy is
reflected in their flexible, respectful, and responsive style
of grant making. Some organizations offer Donor Advised
Funds, which are set up to let you send money to the specific
international charities you want. If you live in the United States,
you get a domestic tax deduction for your contributions. Two are:
Charities Aid Foundation America
and Give2Asia Micro Credit Enterprises, which gives entrepreneurial women in the developing world small loans, launched in 2005 and started what I hope will be a new trend in microfinance. MCE has only one employee. It's a virtual organization run by newly-retired top executives who volunteer their time so that virtually all of the organization's funds benefit the poorest of the poor. MCE posts documents on the Internet and waives copyright because they hope others will use their model and materials. So do I! |
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There are some principaled, effective
non-Profits that give grants to women. They do careful research
on the groups who receive funding, help them run effective programs,
and monitor their results. Global Fund for
Women, Mama Cash and the African Women’s Development Fund
all belong to the International Network of Women’s Funds,
which has 17 members in countries as diverse as Nepal and Brazil,
Hong Kong and Germany. All understand “philanthropy”
to be “a shared responsibility and opportunity to give,
to receive, and make a difference, so women participate fully
in society with full human rights in a just, equitable world.”
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The Ethical Traveler is sponsoring a letter writing campaign to protest trafficking in Cambodia, which is the subject of a chapter in Women Who Light the Dark. Click here to send a letter to the Minister of Tourism in Cambodia advising him that you will not visit a country that has done so little to stop this untenable violation of human rights. Kiva. Stanford MBA Jessica Jackley Flannery and her husband founded this web-based nonprofit that helps individuals make $25 micro-loans to specific small businesses in developing countries whom they select on line. Since its launch in 2005, more than 123,000 lenders have used PayPal to loan more than $12million to some 18,000 entrepreneurs in 39 countries. According to one magazine, “Kiva is transforming philanthropy.” |
Health Keepers. Members of a network of rural microenterpreneurial women can each start her own business and sell health-protection products door to door---from a basket on her head that contains insecticide-treated mosquito nets, water purification pills, reading glasses and condoms, which she can counsel her customers about using. Health Keepers’ businesses are funded by Freedom from Hunger, whose Credit with Education program trains and qualifies them. MORE |
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| Some Community Foundations will allow you to donate
money overseas (the Silicon Valley Community Foundation is one.) The Women's Edge Fair Trade Shopping Program allows you to purchase beautiful jewelry and handicrafts made by women artisans. When you buy through this site, ten percent of the proceeds support Women's Edge's Global Opportunity for Women campaign. jessica’s hope. This organization was founded by
the five children of Jessica C.J. Clere to increase
awareness of Ovarian Cancer symptons, treatments
and research. One hundred percent of all contributions
to jessica’s hope support research at Georgia Tech
to find a test for early Ovarian Cancer detection and
improve the survival rate. |
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If you want to set up your own global fund, and are a client of Citigroup Private Bank who wants to make a minimum donation of $250,000 to women in other countries, their Philanthropic Advisory Services can help. MORE Ergonomics. Karen Piegorsch founded Synergo Arts to teach local carpenters to produce and distribute an ergonomic bench that improves
Latin American blackstrap weavers’ health, productivity, quality and income. Synergo is producing training materials now to launch early in 2008 and your contribution can help! |
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