Project: Women of Color Fundraising Institute (WOCFI)
Grantee: Boston Women's Fund
Grant Year: 2000 and 2001

WOCFI is a collaborative project of the Boston Women's Fund and the Haymarket People's fund. It targets low-income women of color, for intensive and innovative training in fundraising, providing them with skills and resources to build and support powerful social change organizations. The model focuses on organizational effectiveness, and also builds capacity at the individual level. The yearlong curriculum includes training in writing/fundraising, computer skills (including word, excel), economics, and financial management. Participants meet in a residential setting on weekends and in the summer. They develop fundraising plans, write proposals, meet funders, practice "the ask", and build networks to sustain themselves and their work. A central tenant of the model is the infusion of race, class, and gender analysis throughout the curriculum.

In the coming year, WOCFI is evaluating and documenting the model to scale up to 3 new locations in the next 3 years. They are documenting and evaluating the curriculum, and restructuring the collaborative management model. The evaluation will assess the first three years of the program, and poise WOCFI for program improvements and growth.

The Three Guineas Fund awarded its first grant of $15,000 to WOCFI in May 2000. In October 2001, the Fund approved a 2nd award of $15,000 to WOCFI, to help the Institute restructure and document the model.

For more information on the Women of Color Fundraising Institute, please visit http://www.wocfi.org or call (617) 983-5200.

Back to Past Grants Page