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Regional program grants Grantmaking rationaleAs a new foundation that began making grants in 2004, New Field’s board and staff felt it was important to learn from the experience of organizations already funding community-driven initiatives benefiting African women and their families. We also felt it was essential to pay careful attention to pan-African initiatives that recognized women’s and children’s rights. Some of our earliest partners therefore included Global Fund for Women, Firelight Foundation and African Women’s Development Fund. Our early research confirmed that, regionally, rural women have major responsibility for their families, food production and peace-building, and yet are profoundly under-resourced and under-valued. We also learned that the women’s movement in Africa is a vibrant one and can be effective in bringing about positive change. Accordingly, our Regional program priorities have evolved since 2004. What began as a somewhat experimental, learning-based approach has grown into a more focused effort to get resources into the hands of rural African women, to support the development of African women’s leadership, and to build women’s capacity to manage resources effectively. We believe it is important to complement funding that advances positive social change at the local level with support for inter-connected efforts at regional level. Increasingly, in its regional program, New Field supports organizations (or their regional offices) that are African-led, women-led and Africa-based and that have an ongoing interest in the themes of economic justice, gender equity and peace. Current
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