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Draft: MATCH International Women's Fund - Now published.[edit]

MATCH International Women's Fund is a non-profit, non-governmental organization based in Ottawa, Canada, dedicated to funding women's rights movements and grassroots organizations working on women's rights worldwide with a particular interest in the global South.[1][2][3][4] Since the organization's founding in 1976 by two Canadian women, MATCH International has helped women's rights organizations in 71 countries with investments totalling $12 million for improvement of women and girls rights.[5][4] In 2013, the organization re-launched under the name MATCH International Women's Fund with the same aim to invest in women and girls in the global South.[3][5][6][7] As the only international women's fund in Canada, their motto is "Holding Ground and Breaking Ground" on women's, girl's, and transgender rights.[2][6][8] The organization's funding comes from individual donors, corporate partners, and the government of Canada.[1][8][9]

PredecessorMATCH
TypeNon-governmental organization (NGO)
Legal statusInternational Fund
HeadquartersOttawa, Canada
Region
Global South
CEO
Jess Tomlin
Websitehttp://matchinternational.org/

History[edit]

Before 2013, the MATCH International Women's Fund was the MATCH Fund launched in 1976 by Dr. Norma E. Walmsley and Ms. Suzanne Johnson-Harvor[10] with similar objectives of supporting women's movements worldwide.[1][5][11][12] They became inspired to found an organization that supports grassroots women's organizations in the global South after attending the 1975 UN Conference for Women in Mexico City.[11][8] The MATCH Fund was the first organization of its kind that 'matched' the needs of Canadian women with the similar needs in the global South, as well as being the first international nongovernmental organization that focused on women in the global south.[11][12]

In 2010, the Fund was on the verge of closing due to severe budget cuts from the Canadian International Development Agency, but never did.[3][11] After reevaluating its role in the ever-changing landscape of women's rights and development work, the Fund concluded that there was still an organizational need for a focus on grassroots women's movements in developing countries.[11]

In 2011, with the help of donor support and the World University Service of Canada, the MATCH International Women's Fund underwent its rebranding to become Canada's first international women's fund with a focus on social innovation.[11][7] In 2013, the Fund relaunched as MATCH International Women's Fund, the first and only Canadian Fund focused on women.[2][7] This successful rebranding was possible because of their heightened voice thanks to corporate brand developers and public relations and advertisement firms.[6]

The feminist organization has partnered with 71 countries and more than 650 organizations since its founding.[4]

Structure & Funding[edit]

Structure[edit]

At the head of operations of MATCH International Women's Fund is President and CEO, Jess Tomlin, who joined the organization in 2012 and has led the MATCH International Fund into its new phase.[13][3][14] She is followed by a Vice President of Finance and Operations, Vice President of Capital Development, and Vice President of Global Programs.[14] Other key positions are Finance Office, Senior Communication Strategist, Financial Analyst, Executive Coordinator, Development Assistant, Manager Global Programs, and Policy Lead.[14]

The Fund has a Board of Directors who is composed of a Chair, Vice-Chair and Secretary, Treasurer, and nine Directors.[15]

The MATCH International's Women's Fund's structure is also composed of an Advisory Council with a total of fifteen members with diverse expertise in women's rights, leadership, media, innovation, entrepreneurship, and peace and security; specific names can be found on the MATCH International website.[16]

Funding[edit]

As a non-profit, non-governmental organization, the Fund obtains its founding from private individual Canadian donors, other Canadian organizations and foundations, and the Federal government of Canada.[9][17][8] The money from their funding is brought directly to the women's organizations that they provide grants to.[1] The Fund's financial highlights can be found on the non-profit organization's 2016-2017 Strength in Numbers Report.[8]

Individual Donors[edit]

The MATCH International Women's Fund's funding comes from individual Canadian donors.[1] Last year, the MATCH private donors contribute almost $2 million to their annual budget.[9]

Private Sector[edit]

The MATCH International Women's Fund has corporate partners including Cairns O'Neil Strategic Media, Citizen Relations, The Colony Project, and Fish Out of Water Design Inc., Eastern Ontario Women in Finance, and Telus Corporation.[8] The MATCH International Women's Fund considers its high impact private sector partners vital to its success, especially during its rebranding and 2013 launch.[6]

Foundations[edit]

The MATCH International Women's Fund also has donor foundations including Foundations Canadian Federation of University Women, Elementary Teachers’ Federation of Ontario, Foundation for a Just Society, Institute for International Women’s Rights - Manitoba, LesLois Shaw Foundation, McLean Smits Foundation, Sisters of St. Joseph of the Diocese of London Foundation, Terrace Women and Development Collective, The Red Butterfly Foundation, The Cloverleaf Foundation, University of Winnipeg Foundation, Wellspring Advisors, Women’s Executive Network Foundation.[8][17]

Canadian Government[edit]

The MATCH International Women's Fund, as well as other women's organizations like the Nobel Women’s Initiative, have been pressuring the Canadian federal government to fund international grassroots organizations for women's advancement.[9][8] In 2017, the Trudeau government announced a new feminist international development policy as part for the Canadian foreign aid program that would find new ways to reach smaller organizations and groups while being accountable to the taxpayers.[9] Both organizations advocated for these small amounts to grassroots organizations to be passed through their non-profit organizations.[9][8]

Mission & Values[edit]

Mission[edit]

The MATCH International Women's Fund's motto is "Holding Ground and Breaking Ground".[2] This is linked to their mission that is the support small grassroots women's organizations that are holding ground and breaking ground in their respective country.[18] By changing societal beliefs, opening barriers and systems through funding of other organizations, MATCH International Fund's mission is to improve women, girls, and transgender rights.[18][2]

President and CEO, Jess Tomlin, explains “Our mandate is to get money into the hands of women’s organizations who are really working at the community level, and we’re particularly curious about investing in disruptive and innovated organizations”.[14][3]

Values[edit]

The non-governmental organization's (NGO) values include courage, ambition, tenacity, feminisms, innovation, agility, and collaboration, with the ultimate goal to put a stop to discrimination and violence against women and girls.[18]

Activities[edit]

The main activities of MATCH International Women's Fund includes the funding of grassroots organizations worldwide, sharing the stories of these organizations and the women behind them.[19][1] By funding grassroots organizations and sharing their stories, MATCH International Women's Fund brings change in more than 25 countries.[19][1]

Grants[edit]

The MATCH International Women's Fund is a new model of giving as it supports women's rights work globally through funding.[4] The MATCH International Women's Fund's main activity is to support grassroots women's organizations in developing countries through the giving of grants.[8] These capacity building grants are given to small organizations that work towards systematic change through collaboration and innovation, or through services and programs that promote and sustain women's rights.[12] These grants range between 10,000 CAD to 20,000 CAD and proposals for grant demands are open once a year.[12]

These grants to grassroots organizations allow for flexible funding as the partners directly communicate with the Fund's staff for their needs.[8] The MATCH Fund's responsive funding to these grassroots organizations allows for new innovative ideas and resistance.[7] The Fund also seeks to magnify the voices of their partners by sharing their stories, promoting their work, connecting to opportunities, and support.[8]

Campaigns[edit]

The MATCH International Women's Fund most prominent advocacy campaign is the #NoWomanFairytale, which is focused on three important topics: child marriage, rapeand female genital mutilation.[20] By funding and partnering with different gras-root women organizations worldwide, the MATCH Fund want to alleviate these controversial practices.[20] Each story ends with "And, little by little, the harmful practice of child marriage/rape/female genital mutilation came to an end", thanks to the work of women in grass-root organizations, which MATCH funds.[20]

On the Fund's website, MATCH has created a "how many laws did you break today?" quiz that brings awareness to the socio-cultural differences between Canadian women and women in the Global South.[3] By asking regular, banal questions such as "When you left your house today, did you tell a man where you’re going?" or "What did you wear to work today?" in order to show that in other parts of the world, fundamental human rights are denied.[3][21] The quiz ends with a number of laws that the respondent would have broke in a country of the global south, along with the penalties of breaking those laws such as imprisonment, lashes, electric shocks, arbitrary arrests, death threats, harassment, and death.[3][21] The quiz ends with MATCH asking for the respondent to pay their fine (i.e. a donation).[21]

Their #LotteryOfLife quiz, launched in 2016, aims to increase awareness on the life of women and girls in the global south.[8] By taking this quiz based on some of your basic personal information (age, education, gender, etc.), the quiz tells you where you would be in the developing world.[22]

Another digital quiz found on the Fund's website titled "Why Are We Still Protesting This Sh*!?" (launched in 2017) questions one's knowledge on past and present women's marches and protests through pictures.[23][8] At the end of the quiz, the fact that women have been fighting and activating for rights for decades is paralleled by women in the developing world this fighting for rights and against culturally adopted practices.[23]

These three quizzes above are part of MATCH's campaign for awareness have been taken by more than 550,000 people since their launches.[8]

A new 2018 initiative can be found on the organization's website, it is titled Resting Stitch Face.[24] This is another initiative to increase awareness of the issues, in this case sexism, that women face. Here, cross-stitch is used to write sexist sayings, once the saying is chosen, backgrounds and colours to personalize the saying are picked.[24] Then, the possibility to share your personal cross-stitch on social media (Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, and Pinterest), download it or email it to yourself.[24]

Innovative Solutions[edit]

It was, President and CEO, Jess Tomlin that became interested in social innovation and the advantages it could bring to women's rights issues.[11] The fact that MATCH is innovative makes it the "first social innovation fund for women globally".[11] Instead of funding infrastructure and large organizations, the MATCH International Women's Fund believe that smaller grassroots women's organizations and their initiatives will bring about more meaningful change.[25] As Muhungi and Edwards claim, the MATCH International Women's Fund is an innovation in itself as the first international fund focused on women in Canada.[7]

The non-governmental organization works with 25 organizations across the world by funding a variety of projects such as an organization that work with survivors of sexual violence in Mexico, an organization that creates LGBT documentaries in Georgia, an organization that created an app to help Rwandan women during pregnancy, or even women-led tourist initiatives.[3][26][27] Other innovative solution for women issues is Kenya’s Boxgirls, an organization that trains girls in rural areas as a way to empower them.[25] In India, Nidhi Goyal is a blind stand-up comedian that encourages equality and acceptance through her comedy, the MATCH International Women's Fund supported Nidhi in the creation of an application that connected disabled women to volunteer caregivers.[8] Another innovation is the Mama Radio, a Congolese radio show about women issues that helps spread the word on rights, abuses, and equality.[8]

Membership[edit]

Win-Win Coalition & Win-Win Strategies[edit]

The MATCH International Women's Fund is also a founding member of the Win-Win Coalition, which advocates and supports for the empowerment and advancement of women by adding resources and by cross-sector collaboration.[28][29] The Win-Win Strategies partners with the assets of funds and organizations to empower women globally through business.[30] By using the knowledge and resources of funds and organizations with their own services of business building, such as connections, consultations, development, and building sectors.[30]

Women's Funding Network[edit]

The MATCH International Women's Fund is a member of the Women's Funding Network (WFN), which is an international alliance made up of 145 women's funds.[11]

Current Partners[edit]

The MATCH International Women's Fund as a total of 25 partners as of early 2018.[31] These are the partners that are receiving grants and funds by the International Fund for 2016-2017.

Africa[edit]

  • Akili Dada (Kenya)
  • Akina Mama wa Afrika (Uganda and The Great Lakes Region)
  • Association BIOWA (Benin)
  • Boxgirls Kenya (Kenya)
  • Fem Alliance (FEMA) (Uganda)
  • Fonds pour les femmes Congolaises (Democratic Republic of Congo)
  • Law and Advocacy for Women (LAW) (Uganda)
  • Mama Radio (Democratic Republic of Congo)
  • Rape Crisis Cape Town Trust (South Africa)
  • Resource Center for Women and Girls (Kenya)
  • Tshwaranang Legal Advocacy Centre (TLAC) (South Africa)

South America[edit]

  • Asociación de mujeres migrantes y refugiadas (AMUMRA) (Argentina)
  • Asociación Oxlajuj B’atz’-Trece Hilos (Guatemala)

Central America[edit]

  • Asociación de Mujeres Las Golondrinas (Nicaragua)
  • Asociacion de Victimas Por La Paz y el Desarrollo (Colombia)
  • Corporación Vamos Mujer (Colombia)
  • Equifonía, Colectivo por la Ciudadanía, Autonomía y Libertad de las Mujeres AC (Mexico)

Southern Asia[edit]

  • Feminist Approach to Technology (FAT) (India)
  • Her Turn (Nepal)
  • Resolve T2C (India)
  • The Nidhi Initiative: Point of View (India)
  • Urgent Action Fund (Afghanistan, India, and Pakistan)
  • Women Awareness Centre Nepal (Nepal)

Western Asia[edit]

  • StudioMobile – Accent on Action (Georgia)

Caribbean[edit]

  • WMW Jamaica (Jamaica)

Recognition[edit]

In 2017, the MATCH International Women's Fund won a Communications Management award by the International Association of Business Communicators and in 2015 won an award on innovation by the Canadian Council on International Co-operation.[8] In the same year, the MATCH International Fund's President and CEO, Jess Tomlin, was awarded the Gold Stevie award for "Most Innovative Woman of the Year - Government or Non-Profit".[2]

Accreditation[edit]

In 2016, MATCH International Women's Fund became accredited by Imagine Canada, a non-governmental organization that focuses on charitable Canadian organization and helps make them trusted and standardized in five key areas of affairs (governance, accountability & transparency, fundraising, management, and volunteer work).[32][19][8]

Results[edit]

Annual Report 2016-2017[edit]

The MATCH International Women's Fund's Annual Report for the 2016-2017 year concludes the first 3 year cycle since their rebranding in 2013.[8] During these three years, the Fund has partnered with 30 grassroots organizations with 60 grants for a total of 1 million dollars in support.[8][7] Among others, these grants resulted in:

  • Increase access to healthcare services: 200 Colombian women were given access to crucial services[8]
  • Increase in girls' confidence: over 5,000 girls for Nepal attended workshops to increase confidence and reject child marriage. As a result, the boys also learned to respect the girls[8]
  • Abolishment of a restricting law: women needed the permission of their husband to start a business in the Democratic Republic of Congo[8]
  • Increase in development, curiosity, and self-confidence: 20 Indian girls attended innovative labs and workshops on science and technology[8]
  • Increase in security protocols and procedures: an additional 14 grants were used to strengthen security to better protect these organizations and people[8]

See Also[edit]

Comments[edit]

Great start. It's not vital to include criticism, if there isn't any - please treat the sub-headings as suggestions, not as requirements. Your draft is shaping up well. Dwebsterbu (talk) 21:27, 17 February 2018 (UTC)

Peer Review: Good intro, good context given to the readers as it makes us want to learn more about MATCH. Well-rounded presentation of what the NGO is all about, many aspects are covered and good organizations making it easy to read and stay engaged.

Peer Review by Hanel Lim : Very well written! The article covers a great deal of information under well divided categories. Readers would be able to study further by following external links and see also. The article referenced the organization's website a lot, but it does not seem to be a problem since it referenced many other sources.

  1. ^ a b c d e f g "Foreign Affairs Committee on April 12th, 2016 | openparliament.ca". openparliament.ca. Retrieved 2018-02-13.
  2. ^ a b c d e f "The MATCH International Women's Fund - Most Innovative Woman of the Year | Stevie Awards". stevieawards.com. Retrieved 2018-02-13.
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h i "MATCH trying to ignite difficult conversations for Women's Day". Ottawa Citizen. 2016-03-07. Retrieved 2018-02-14.
  4. ^ a b c d "MATCH International to launch Canada's first international women's fund to accelerate change for women and girls". www.newswire.ca. Retrieved 2018-02-14.
  5. ^ a b c "History - MATCH International Women's Fund". matchinternational.org. Retrieved 2018-02-14.
  6. ^ a b c d "Match International Women's Fund". Win-Win Coalition. Retrieved 2018-03-03.
  7. ^ a b c d e f Muhungi, Wariri; Edwards, Erin E. (Winter 2018). "Supporting Women's Rights in Troubled Times". Stanford Social Innovation Review. 16 (1). ISSN 1542-7099 – via EBSCOhost.
  8. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x y z "2016-2017 Annual Report: Strength In Numbers - MATCH International Women's Fund". matchinternational.org. Retrieved 2018-03-04.
  9. ^ a b c d e f "Canada urged to fund small, grassroots international women's aid groups - Macleans.ca". Macleans.ca. 2017-06-26. Retrieved 2018-03-03.
  10. ^ Ms Johnson-Harvor passed away in 2016. A commemoration can be found at http://matchinternational.org/suzanne/
  11. ^ a b c d e f g h i Sarah, Saska-Crozier, (2016). Can Applying a Gender Lens to Social Innovation Promote Women's Rights and Gender Equality? (Thesis). Western University.{{cite thesis}}: CS1 maint: extra punctuation (link) CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  12. ^ a b c d "MATCH International Women's Fund: Grants for Girls and Women". Inside Philanthropy. Retrieved 2018-03-05.
  13. ^ "Jess Tomlin". HuffPost Canada. Retrieved 2018-02-15.
  14. ^ a b c d "Meet Our Team - MATCH International Women's Fund". matchinternational.org. Retrieved 2018-03-03.
  15. ^ "Board of Directors - MATCH International Women's Fund". matchinternational.org. Retrieved 2018-03-03.
  16. ^ "Advisory Council - MATCH International Women's Fund". matchinternational.org. Retrieved 2018-03-03.
  17. ^ a b "Our Supporters - MATCH International Women's Fund". matchinternational.org. Retrieved 2018-03-05.
  18. ^ a b c "Why We Do It - MATCH International Women's Fund". matchinternational.org. Retrieved 2018-02-15.
  19. ^ a b c "About - The MATCH International Women's Fund". matchinternational.org. Retrieved 2018-02-15.
  20. ^ a b c "Child Marriage: #NoWomansFairytale - MATCH International Women's Fund". matchinternational.org. Retrieved 2018-02-27.
  21. ^ a b c "How many laws did you break today? - MATCH International Women's Fund". matchinternational.org. Retrieved 2018-02-27.
  22. ^ "I was never born". lotteryoflife.matchinternational.org. Retrieved 2018-02-27.
  23. ^ a b "Why Are We Still Protesting This Sh*!? - The MATCH Fund". matchinternational.org. Retrieved 2018-02-27.
  24. ^ a b c "Resting Stitch Face - MATCH International Women's Fund". matchinternational.org. Retrieved 2018-03-09.
  25. ^ a b "Boxing boosts girls in Kenya". Ottawa Citizen. 2014-03-06. Retrieved 2018-03-03.
  26. ^ "Innovative Solutions - MATCH International Women's Fund". matchinternational.org. Retrieved 2018-03-03.
  27. ^ "This is What Funding for Women's Rights Looks Like". Ottawa Citizen. 2014-03-07. Retrieved 2018-03-05.
  28. ^ "Founding Members". Win-Win Coalition. Retrieved 2018-03-03.
  29. ^ "About Us". Win-Win Coalition. Retrieved 2018-03-03.
  30. ^ a b Norwich, Connected Worlds Web Design. "About Us :: Win-Win Strategies". Win-Win Strategies. Retrieved 2018-03-03.
  31. ^ "Meet Our Partners - MATCH International Women's Fund". matchinternational.org. Retrieved 2018-03-03.
  32. ^ "The Standards | Imagine Canada". www.imaginecanada.ca. Retrieved 2018-02-15.
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