Deadline: 1-Mar-23
The International Initiative Program is now open for applications to advance opportunity, equity, and well-being for women and girls in developing countries by helping them overcome hardship, reach their full potential, and help their families and communities to flourish.
The Foundation funds programs that deliver or promote:
- Economic Opportunity: Skill building, entrepreneurial and employment training, and access to capital and markets.
- Education: High quality and relevant education in an environment in which girls feel safe and encouraged.
- Health: The physical and psychological well-being of girls, and women and their children.
Priorities
The Foundation gives priority to programs that have one or more of the following characteristics:
- Community-informed: Actively engage and seek input from the communities served, thus ensuring activities are culturally responsive and appropriate to the needs of women and girls in that local context.
- Women-led: At a local level, women are taking leadership roles in the planning and implementation of the program.
- Address Systemic Barriers: In addition to helping individuals, where possible the program seeks to address systemic (e.g., family, social, cultural) obstacles faced by beneficiaries.
- Address Psychological and Emotional Barriers: In addition to providing technical assistance and education, the program helps beneficiaries overcome limiting beliefs and increase their agency and resilience.
- Contribute to Environmental Sustainability: Seek to maintain or improve the quality of water, land, air, and biodiversity in the program design and implementation.
Funding Information
- The average grant size for the International Initiative is $30,000 or less.
- WFF will not consider a grant request that is greater than 15% of an organization’s current annual budget.
Requirements
In order to be considered, programs must meet all of the following requirements:
- Be a new program for the organization currently in development or within its first year (from the date of application submission) or implementation. The Foundation will consider funding the replication of an existing program in new regions or countries.
- Propose program goals and outcome metrics that relate specifically to increasing opportunity and well-being of women and girls. Grantees will be requried to report on the program’s success by providing metrics on qualitative and quantitative outcomes.
- Include an evaluation plan through which one can measure not only outputs, but also the magnitude of change in the lives of the beneficiaries as a result of the program.
Eligibility Criteria
- The International Initiative funds only international programs implemented by organizations registered in the United States as a 501(c)(3) tax-exempt organization.
- Organizations must be a registered 501(c)(3) for seven years to apply for a grant.
- Applications from an organization acting as a fiscal sponsor will be considered when a Fiscal Sponsorship Agreement has been signed by both parties and submitted with the application. Fiscal Sponsor’s must be able to demonstrate substantial and direct fiscal and program oversight. The foundation does not accept applications from fiscal agents.
- Organizations must have a U.S. bank account in applicant’s name which grant funds can be deposited.
For more information, visit WFF.