The Third Wave Foundation is the only national activist foundation that
supports young women between the ages of 15 and 30 through grantmaking,
public education campaigns, and networking. Since 1996, we have awarded over $500,000 towards young women activists and young women-led programs working towards social justice across the country.

The Sister Fund has served as one of our most important supporters since our inception and many aspects of our programs and structure are modeled after them! Not only did The Sister Fund fund us and open their office space to us during our first year, but they have helped us on a daily basis since then by providing emotional support, technical and fundraising advice, and programmatic vision. Our friendship with the Sister Fund has been critical to our success.

Concrete ways in which The Sister Fund supported us are:
* Providing fundraising contacts (both individuals and donors) in our early stages of development
* Supporting our first large fundraising event at the Puck Building--helping with the planning process, helping out with the outreach, inviting their constituency of people.
* Ongoing advice on the day-to-day operations of running a foundation, from information about a woman-friendly financial advisor to helping out with our financial procedures; and
* Since we shared office space for 3 years--we were able to learn by example from the ways in which Sister Fund staff interacted with grantees.

Women for Afghan Women (WAW) is an organization comprised of Afghan and non-Afghan women from the New York area who are committed to ensuring the human rights of Afghan women.

WAW promotes the agency of local Afghan women through the creation of safe forums where they can network, develop programs to meet their specific needs, and participate in human rights advocacy in the international sphere. WAW seeks to create a circle of empowerment by supporting local Afghan women’s involvement with their sisters in Afghanistan.

WAW raises funds for the reconstruction of Afghanistan, particularly schools and health facilities for women and children. Recognizing that the ability to earn ones living is fundamental to the empowerment of women, WAW supports the development of vocational training programs for women in Afghanistan who have been denied access to education and professional training.

The inclusion of women in all decision-making processes is a requirement of a democratic society. WAW advocates for the representation of women in all areas of life in Afghanistan: political, social, cultural and economic.

Sunita Mehta who has worked for The Sister Fund for many years, is a co-founder of Women for Afghan Women. In supporting Sunita in her work, The Sister Fund made its office space available for initial meetings from April to September 2001. After the tragic events of September 11, The Sister Fund allowed Sunita to spend 75% of her time through the end of November 2001 on Women for Afghan Women. The Sister Fund also provided a small discretionary grant and use of office supplies, phone, fax and copier. At the end of November, WAW held a two-day conference at the Graduate Center of CUNY which was a landmark not only in post 9/11 New York City but also for WAW, since it was the first New York gathering of Afghan women and non-Afghan women strategizing for Afghanistan’s future, a future which includes and prioritizes all its women.

In 2002, WAW moved into its own office and I was the first staff person. I currently am the Program Director of WAW, and Manizha Naderi has joined me as Community Outreach and Administrative Director. The entire Sister Fund staff are mentors to us both – they have helped us make connections in the funding world by inviting us to relevant conferences and events, and have also invited us to invaluable technical assistance workshops on non-profit management.

WAW’s programs are becoming more focused and well-defined as Afghan women and men around the world take part in the gargantuan task of nation-building. We are committed to ensuring the rights of women in Afghanistan and put our energy into:

1) Community outreach into the Afghan communities in Flushing, Queens:
Our community Outreach program, Itihad-E-Zan (Community of Women) has earned us the coveted Union Square Award, and we are currently looking for office space in Flushing, Queens. We hope to move very soon to the part of New York where our community lives.

2) Advocating that women be fully included in all aspects of reconstruction of Afghanistan:
We have just returned from Kandahar where we held our third annual conference, Women and the Constitution: Kandahar 2003. Our conference resulted in the Afghan Women’s Bill of Rights which the New York Times called “an extraordinary document” (See New York Times Editorial, September 24, 2003)

3) Fundraising for projects in Afghanistan run by and for women:
We have a special interest in ensuring that women and girls have access to education and healthcare. Our Afghan Women’s Fund, directed by board member Fahima Vorgetts has to date raised and given away to women’s NGOs in Afghanistan over $100,000.

The Sister Fund has been a true sister to us. As we raise money for projects in Afghanistan which prioritize women, one of our dream projects is the creation of a women’s fund for Afghanistan. Should we actualize this dream in the future, The Sister Fund will surely be our model.

www.womenforafghanwomen.org

UPDATE:
On December 31, 2003, Project People Foundation will conclude its programming on women's economic empowerment. The organization hopes to continue its vision and mission in 2004 through programs which empower women and youth both in the inner cities of the United States and in the townships of South Africa.

BACKGROUND:
Project People Foundation’s (PPF) first "home" and first project--- The South African Black Doll Project---was launched at The Sister Fund seven years ago. From May 1995 until August 1996, the Sister Fund opened its heart and doors to support the mission and vision of PPF which is to foster woman’s empowerment through basic skills development and employment. During the critical start-up phase, The Sister Fund nurtured this newly formed not-for-profit organization by providing donated office space; storage for donated black dolls; all back-office services (phones; fax; email; mailings; messenger service etc.) as well as technical assistance through The Sister Fund organizational development consultant.

With such generous assistance available PPF was afforded the luxury of concentrating entirely on the task of collecting, transporting and distributing 15,000 donated black dolls from the U.S. to waiting children living in the townships of S.A. This one year national campaign ended in September, 1996 and through the continued support of The Sister Fund, the original doll give-away project evolved into a doll design and manufacturing program which has trained and employed over 300 women and is responsible for the marketing of over 25,000 dolls, stuffed toys and hand-beaded items in S.A., U.S. and Europe.

What began as an inter-faith charitable initiative between an African American Christian woman and a South African Jewish woman benefiting children in the townships surrounding Cape Town, has become a successful cause-related marketing enterprise that has recently been replicated in a township area surrounding Johannesburg.

PPF will be forever grateful to Helen LaKelly Hunt, and the board and staff of The Sister Fund, for their initial and ongoing generous support which continues to benefit women and children living below poverty in the townships of South Africa.

For nearly two years, starting in February 2002 and lasting until September of 2003, The Sister Fund incubated The Technical Assistance Project for African American Female Executives (TAP/AAFE). The project was designed by President/CEO Violet Mitchell to provide guidance, networking, leadership skills and creative problem solving for those individuals who currently hold top-level positions at non-profit organizations.

Statement by Violet Mitchell:
“I have spent more than thirty years in city government as a manager, planner and funder of programs administered by non-profit organizations. My career and personal passion is community service particularly as it relates to women, girls and youth. My role as First Deputy Commissioner provided a unique opportunity for me to gain insight into the operation of non-profit agencies. I observed the difficulties many agencies had with managing their budgets, interacting with board members, developing strategic plans and meeting their contractual goals. This was especially true for agencies operated by African American female executives. For most of them the problem was their lack of access to resources, not having a safe place to land so they could readily resolve their community’s issues. I have long believed that African American female executives deserve and need support and assistance. The project was created out of a lack of resources to provide opportunities for female executives to explore their cultural agenda, network and to participate in a system that supports and nurtures them.

The leadership of the Sister Fund was vital to the growth of TAP/AAFE. It provided visibility, viability and the opportunity for us to work out the kinks inherent in any new project. My introduction to the Sister Fund actually happened as a result of my attendance at a reception for the Executive Director, Kanyere Eaton. I requested a meeting so I could discuss TAP/AAFE and was delighted that she offered to host a reception and several workshops to promote the project.

On March 25, 2002, The Sister Fund hosted a reception and introduced the project to a select group of African American Female Executives and offered them the opportunity to participate in a series of workshops designed to provide information, support and networking opportunities. Thirteen individuals with various levels of responsibility in their organization as well as several executives from the private sector attended the reception. They expressed enthusiasm about the opportunity to participate in the project and subsequent workshops.

TAP/AAFE benefited from the support, exposure and promotion provided by the Sister Fund who committed resources to nurture this unique and burgeoning project.”

Currently, TAP/AAFE has expanded its menu of services to female executives who attend their workshops. They are in the process of developing a long term strategic plan which will include; a conference for women who want to start or grow a non-profit organization, workshops on fundraising and leadership development and perhaps the most exciting will be a celebratory event saluting women who have made a difference in the lives of women and girls.

For more information about TAP/AAFE and to be included on their mailing list call or e-mail them: (718)855-8099 or sistercircles@aol.com.

The Renaissance Retreat is a collective of feminist theologians of Asian, Latin, Native American, African American and European descent from various universities and seminaries across the country. Sharing from their divergent spiritual and religious traditions, which include Native spirituality, Catholicism, Judaism, Buddhism and Christianity, these women gather to explore creative strategies for articulating the values of woman-centered ethics to a mainstream audience. This is a program of The Sister Fund, and has thus far been solely supported by The Sister Fund. The group has received in-kind and financial assistance as well as staff support. The Renaissance Retreat had a retreat in July, 2002 in Abiquiu, New Mexico where the members collaborated on the writing of an anthology which speaks to their experiences of faith, spirituality and empowerment. The group hopes that a published book of essays and short stories will result from their efforts.