FWA Microfinance Initiative

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Lenore C. Albom

The FWA’s tradition of women helping women finds enthusiastic expression in our ongoing support for microfinance. The FWA Lenore Albom Microfinance Initiative continues the legacy created by Lenore Albom, a former FWA President, who introduced the FWA to the power of microfinance before her death six years ago. The FWA initiative focuses on funding executive leadership training for women working in microfinance organizations around the world. This funding increases the capacity of organizations that are helping women in developing nations support themselves and their families as well as advances the FWA’s mission of developing women leaders in the field of finance.

We are urging our members and friends to help the FWA raise $5,000 in funds that will enable two promising women working overseas to attend a week-long Executive Leadership training program.  See instructions for contributing for this important initiative.

For the third year, the FWA is partnering with Women’s World Banking (WWB), a pioneer in Executive Leadership training for women microfinance leaders. WWB and the University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton Center for Leadership and Change Management have co-designed a special week-long Executive Leadership training program. Promising women working in microfinance organizations worldwide are selected for this training.

Last summer the FWA sponsored three women from Uganda, Nigeria and India. Ann Nakawunde Mulindwa, Operations and Compliance Manager of Uganda Finance Trust Ltd. (MDI) wrote eight months later,

FWA President Kristin McDonough congratulates FWA Microfinance Award Recipient Ann Nakawunde Mulindwa

“The workshop was intended to train women to be better leaders…Since that time my leadership skills have become better and management decided that I seat [sic] in their management meetings much as am a middle level manager to advice [sic] them on women issues as well as build my skills in leadership.”

To continue this initiative of women helping women, we need your help! You can participate in the Lenore C. Albom Microfinance Initiative, which was established in 2006 as a special annual opportunity to make individual contributions in support of microfinance organizations. A total of $1,500 has already been contributed towards this year’s $5,000 goal. Please help us raise the remaining $3,500 by June 30th in order to sponsor two women microfinance leaders.

Instructions for Contributing:

Three ways to donate to the FWA’s Lenore C. Albom Microfinance Giving Program: Donate Online: Please click the following link to go to a secure donation form: http://pay2.fwa.org/displayemailforms.cfm?emailformnbr=115167. Donate by Phone: To make a credit card donation over the phone, please contact Jennifer Durst, Director of Development, at (212) 533-2141 x301. Donate by Check: Please make checks payable to the “FWA of New York Educational Fund*” and note “FWA Lenore C. Albom Microfinance Fund” in the memo field. Mail checks to: FWA Educational Fund Attn: Jennifer Durst 215 Park Avenue South, Suite 1713 New York, NY 10003 Matching Gifts: Also, many companies match employee donations. Please check with your personnel department to see whether your firm has a corporate gift matching policy that will enable your gift to go further. *Contributions to the FWA of New York Educational Fund, a 501(c)(3) charitable organization, may be considered as a tax deductible donation. For more information about the FWA’s involvement in microfinance, please visit the FWA Microfinance Initiative page at: http://www.fwa.org/community/microfinance.htm. Click here to view FWA Donor Privacy Policy.

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Background
It is in the shared spirit of women helping women, and through the hard work of the late Lenore Albom -- who was an FWA past president and TIAW Treasurer and board member -- that the FWA first became involved in microcredit and microfinance.

FWA's early involvement -- which consisted mainly of providing funds for women in various developing countries -- was based on FWA member's work in the field and spearheaded by Lenore after she returned from a trip to Guatemala with the founders of the TIAW Microenterprise Program, where TIAW opened the third of what was to be a long line of village banks around the world. Thanks to this early leadership and the FWA's continuing interest, FWA has expanded its involvment to include a variety of activities; it has primarily sought to explore and advance capital markets solutions that draw on the expertise of its members.

The FWA’s efforts currently focus on three areas:

Organizing Programming
In the past several years, the FWA has organized several important programs with the leaders of the microfinance industry, participating actively in the UN’s Year of Microfinance in 2005.

Volunteer Opportunities
These activities, in turn, have helped members’ interests expand even further into areas of fundraising and volunteer assistance using their professional knowledge and talents.

Financial Support
Through funds raised at the time of Lenore’s death in 2003, we provided financial support for a major microfinance institution, Women’s World Banking (WWB). An FWA delegation in 2005 visited ADOPEM, the WWB affiliate in the Dominican Republic, to see first hand how this institution was benefiting.

In 2006, the FWA established the Lenore C. Albom Microfinance Giving Program as a special annual opportunity to make individual contributions in support of microfinance organization(s) that are selected by the directors of the FWA Educational Fund. Funds will be collected this month, and disbursed by the end of the FWA’s fiscal year on June 30. The contributions will be directed only to U.S.-registered microfinance organizations. This year, we will support two scholarships for the most promising women working in the WWB and ACCION organizations world-wide, who will be brought to the United States for specialized leadership training.