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About Us > Why a Women's Fund Why a Women's Fund?
"If you give a woman a fish, she will feed her family until outside forces take away her fishing rights or pollute the lake. If you help a woman BUY the lake, she will feed her family, keep the lake environmentally clean and have something to pass on to future generations."
The Women’s Funding Network
Research shows that traditional philanthropy is not meeting the needs of women and girls. Seventy-eight percent of the nation’s poor are women and their children, but less than 7.5 cents of every dollar donated by organized philanthropy goes to programs which specifically address the needs of women and girls.
Since 1980, more than 100 women’s funds have emerged across the country. The complex issues that affect the lives of women and girls are brought to light by these funds through information and education. Women’s funds do not replace existing resources; they augment them.
In January 2011, The Women’s Fund of Essex County joined The Women’s Funding Network (WFN) and their membership of more than 160 women’s organizations around the globe, including public charities, foundations and funds. WFN was established in 1985 as a global movement to optimize the impact and success of women’s organizations by giving its members access to a forum of shared knowledge, ideas, tools, consultancy and training.
The WFN knows that investing in women and girls sparks a powerful chain reaction that transforms not only women and girls themselves, but families, communities and nations.
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