African Women's Development Fund
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The African Women's Development Fund (AWDF) is a fund-raising and grant-making initiative, which aims to support the work of the African Women's movement.
AWDF, the first Africa-wide fund-raising and grant-making fund, was established in June 2000 by three African Women who have been active in various institutions within and outside Africa. The founders, Ms Joanna Foster (Ghana) Dr Hilda Tadria (Uganda/Ethiopia) and Ms Bisi Adeleye-Fayemi (UK/Nigeria), have a track record of successful empowerment interventions, which have helped strengthen the African Women's Movement.
The objectives of AWDF are fund-raising within and outside Africa, grant-making on an Africa-wide basis, communicating the work and achievements of African women's organizations and providing technical assistance to grantees. AWDF began grant-making in October 2001 and by November 2006, had awarded grants worth nearly US$5 million to 386 women's organizations in 40 African countries.
The vision of the AWDF is for African women to live in a changed world with integrity and in peace.
To this end, our mission is to mobilize financial, human and material resources to support local, national and international initiatives for transformation led by African women, which will lead to the achievement of this vision.
Strategic Goals The strategic goals of the AWDF are:
- To support the African Women's Movement through grant-making and technical assistance.
- To secure adequate financial resources for all aspects of AWDF's work.
- To build a viable and effective institution.
- To implement a multi-purpose communications strategy.
- To develop and sustain a culture of organisational learning.
Philanthropic Goals The goals of the AWDF as a philanthropic institution are:
- To invest in the efforts of African women who are engaged in innovative efforts to develop their communities.
- To increase the amount of resources available to women's organizations and women"s projects in Africa.
- To strengthen the capacity and infrastructure of women’s organizations.
- To advocate with other donors and policy makers, for resources for African women.
- To establish alliances and build relationships with other grant-making institutions within and outside Africa, individual donors and organisations committed to promoting and protecting women’s rights.
The African Women's Development Fund (AWDF) funds local, national, sub-regional and regional organizations in Africa working towards women's empowerment. The AWDF is an institutional capacity-building and program development fund, which aims to help build a culture of learning and partnerships within the African women's movement. In addition to awarding grants, the AWDF attempts to strengthen the organizational capacities of its grantees. The AWDF funds work in six thematic areas:
- Women's Human Rights
- Political Participation
- Peace Building
- Health, Reproductive Rights
- Economic Empowerment.
- HIV/AIDS
The AWDF prioritizes programs, which develop and promote women's leadership and advocacy across all these themes. These thematic areas have been selected because they feature very highly on the agenda of African women and their organizations.
Zimbabwe Women With Disabilities in Development (ZWIDE): Program addresses women's human rights among both urban and rural women using $10,000 grant.
Women in Peace Building Network - Africa (WIPNET-AFRICA, Ghana): $40,000 grant awarded for two year programmatic and core support for women's peace-building efforts.
Femme Africa Solidarite (FAS): $15,000 grant supports women's organizations in the democratization processes (political participation) in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC).
Kawuku Women's Group (Uganda): $2,000 grant awarded to assist in purchases of equipment that aids women workers.
Swaziland Positive Living (SWAPOL): Grant of $36,000 awarded for institutional support and to bolster programs of home-based caregivers of people living with HIV/AIDS.
Reach for Recovery (Ghana): $15,000 grant awarded for institutional support and awareness raising activities on breast cancer.
Association de Femmes pour la Sante et le Developpement (ALAFIA, Togo): $5,000 given to implement a training program on women's rights for Togolese queen mothers.
