Blog

Grant awarded to Women’s Global Empowerment Fund (WGEF)

The Foundation is happy to again partner with WGEF to help women and children in Haiti with a $35,000 grant.
Funding from the McQuade Foundation
in 2017 would specifically be used for two of WGEF’s programs. The Healthy Period Initiative and the
Women’s Bakery Initiative in Cap Haitian, Haiti.
To address the issue of menstrual health, and the challenges women face with regard to access, hygiene
and socio-cultural stigma, WGEF created the Healthy Period Initiative (HPI).
WGEF aims to drive economic and socio-cultural change through enterprise and education. With the
purchase of a manufacturing unit, WGEF will produce a low cost sanitary product for the women and girls.
WGEF will also provide education and resources to assist in development of successful social enterprises
that provide safe and sanitary resources for all women in these communities. Funds will be spent in 2017
and will help purchase a machine that will quadruple the number of pads produced at one time. Additionally
funds will help pay for supplies and admin costs.
New to WGEF this year is the Women’s Bakery Initiative in Cap Haitian, Haiti.
Funding for the bakery will be spent in two ways. First, to construct a water project to help bring safe and
sustainable water to improve the bakery’s productivity and provide irrigation to large urban gardens.
Secondly, funds will be used to help the construction of a large urban vegetable garden
WGEF uses quantitative and qualitative data to measure effectiveness and relevancy. They complete a
yearly survey on a chosen subject; in the past this has included food security, sustainability and
empowerment. This year (2017) they are collaborating with students at Oxford University, England to create
an assessment tool to evaluate our program, impact, and long term sustainability (Aug 2017) focused on
how literacy facilitates success and empowerment in our program. Their staff and leaders continually
gather information from all programs to assess effectiveness and outcomes.

Paso Pacifico awarded Grant

Congratulations, Paso Pacifico has been awarded a grant of $18,500.00 to fund 6 women into the turtle ranger program.
Founded in 2005, Paso Pacifico’s mission is to restore and protect the endangered dry tropical forests and
coastal ecosystems of Mesoamerica. In working towards their mission, Paso Pacifico empowers local people
to develop more sustainable livelihoods in eco-tourism, fishing, agriculture, and forest management. They
also look to advance women and children as environmental leaders, while developing strong relationships
with private landowners.
In 2008, Paso Pacifico began a community ranger program whose goal was to protect threatened sea turtles.
The rangers work on 3 priority beaches in southwestern Nicaragua. The program has been a success because
the rangers are staffed by local people who over time, have received a wide range of training opportunities.
Despite the success, the ranger program has been primarily staffed by men due to cultural attitudes towards
women working on beaches.
In 2012, Paso Pacifico began involving local women in their sea turtle program by
constructing a sea turtle hatchery at Ostional Beach. Very quickly the value of bringing women into this
program was shown by the hundreds of nest that were able to be protected. Given this opportunity these
women would normally would not have otherwise, each of them gained a great deal of confidence.
Additionally, women have also stepped into the role of educators and now support the junior ranger program,
providing lessons and field trips to over 200 children since program inception.
To measure success, data is collected on the number of protected nests in these areas, examined to see if
rates are going up or down. Similar data is collected on poaching rates. Additionally, feedback is collected on
skills trainings and workshops attended by women to measure their effectiveness.
I am excited to watch this program as it combines my passion to help women and our environment.

Grant awarded to YWCA Central Carolinas

Congratulations to the YWCA Central Carolinas, they have been awarded a $25,000 grant for their Women in Transition Program (WIT).
WIT is the primary comprehensive transitional housing program in the greater Charlotte area serving
single women who have suffered homelessness. They can house up to 66 women at a time on their Park
Road campus, where participants receive case management services, have access to their fitness center,
educational workshops and social activities. Women can participate for up to 18 months while they gain the
skills and resources necessary to attain and maintain permanent long-term housing. Last year, 83% of
women who participated for four months or longer exited the program into permanent housing,
successfully moving from a situation of instability to one of security.
Funds from a grant from the McQuade Foundation will be used to fund the various operations of the WIT
program. Funds will be spent during their 2017 fiscal year.
To measure success, the YWCA measures the number of participants who remain in permanent housing
for 4, 6, and 12 months after completion of the program. In cases where women do not remain in permanent
housing, data is pulled to understand which barriers they faced. Also, data is pulled on the number of
women who open and maintain a checking/savings account upon exit and the number of women who
maintain or increase income upon completion of the program. This data helps the Y understand what is
and isn’t working.

Grant awarded to the United Nations Foundation

The Foundation has awarded a $10,000 grant to the United Nations Foundation.
The UN Foundation was created in 1998 as a U.S. public
charity by entrepreneur and philanthropist Ted Turner.
Since then, the role of the UN Foundation has evolved
from a traditional grantmaker to an actively involved
problem solver.
Within the framework of more than 10
specific issue campaigns, they work closely with the UN
Secretary-General to solve the great challenges of the
21st century – poverty, climate change, energy access,
population pressure, gender equity, and disease.

To date, the UN Foundation and our partners have helped
the UN keep girls in school; prevent child marriage;
increase access to reproductive health education,
services, and supplies; provide families with sustainable
energy; cut measles deaths by 85 percent in Africa;
distribute more than 6 million anti-malaria bed nets to 25
African countries; reduce polio incidence by 99 percent
worldwide; and champion the payment of close to $2
billion in U.S. dues to the UN.

Grant awarded to FINCA International

Funding will support 3 main activities of the BrightLife Program, which will receive a $25,000 grant.
The Foundation is happy to be partnering with FINCA for the third year.

Worldwide data states that over 1 billion people lack access to electricity, and 3 billion lack access to clean
cooking and heating solutions. In Uganda, close to 90% of Ugandans are not connected to the electric grid
and 75% of Ugandans rely of unclean energy sources for cooking and heating. Additionally 35% of Ugandans
lack access to clean water.
Innovative and affordable products have been developed in areas of energy,
access to clean water, and sanitation. Products include low-cost solar lanterns, clean cook stoves, and water
filters. Over the past 2 years, FINCA’s BrightLife program has tested a unique approach to bringing these life
savings products to the “Bottom of the Pyramid” populations in Uganda.
FINCA has however encountered problems due to many of the products failing to reach their desired target
market In response to customer feedback, FINCA re-evaluated its business model for BrightLife, and has modified
their approach.
Today they are growing their presence deeper into the un-electrified Ugandan countryside by
focusing on:
1. Growing our Community Mobilizer program – this program will help reach deeper into rural markets
by building trust networks. In 2017 FINCA intends to grow the program by focusing on training and
employing women and youth. The goal is for community mobilizers to help products reach their
desired destination, while remaining intact.
2. Launching a customer awareness and education campaign – the products the BrightLife program
intends to distribute require customer education on product usage. This program will train the
community mobilizers of how to use products, so they can share with our community members.
3. Revising our financial model to better match customer cash flows – products that BrightLife
distributes are more effective and more energy efficient energy substitutes for families and should be
priced to mimic the way customers purchase energy products. The pay as you go product will allow
families to pay for energy and products on a daily, weekly or monthly schedule, whichever works
better for each client.
Funds for the BrightLife program will be spent from January to December 2017 and will be used across 25
locations in Uganda.
Success is measured by FINCA looking at product uptake as well as the social impact that the model has on
end users of the products. Outreach indicators such as the number of households reached and the number of
indirect beneficiaries will also be measured.

Grant award to Trickle Up

Congratulations to Trickle Up, they have been awarded a $25,000 grant.
In 2016, Trickle Up served 850 women, girls, people with disabilities, and indigenous peoples in the Americas.
They implemented projects in Guatemala and Nicaragua and advised new local partnerships. Over the next 5
years, Trickle Up’s goal is to reach 25,000 participants, benefiting a total of 125,000 people in the Americas. A
grant from the McQuade Foundation will help Trickle Up reach that goal. Funds will be used to support their
current projects in Guatemala, Nicaragua, Mexico, and Paraguay in their fiscal year ending August, 2017.
Projects not only include their empowerment program but also include different Government partnerships
aimed to the improvement of social conditions.
Once a woman begins the program, she joins a savings group of 10-25 women who learn to save together and
take out loans to reinvest in their businesses. This is the first group many of these women have ever been a
part of. These groups help women with self-confidence and decision-making. Trickle Up implements projects
specifically for young women and girls to increase their social empowerment and economic opportunities.
They seek to increase participants’ income and financial literacy, capacity to access and manage savings and
credit, and knowledge of sexual and reproductive rights. The goal is for women to become empowered,
effective self-advocates, and leaders in their communities.
To monitor success, Trickle Up uses an evaluations system that is based on quantitative and qualitative data,
mobile data collection, and participatory approaches that asks a series of questions to participants. They
analyze outcomes of participants, families and communities to help further define and measure success.

AdoptAClassroom- Mesquite

Congratulations to the Teachers at Virgin Valley Elementary School at
200 Woodbury Lane Mesquite, 89027.

28 Teachers registered for AdoptAClassroom.
Each of the 28 teachers will receive $500.00 toward their classroom needs for a total grant of $14,000.00.

Teachers need help now more than ever.
K-12 teachers spend $600 a year of their own money on classroom supplies. AdoptAClassroom.org helps offset these costs by funding the classroom materials that students need to learn and succeed.
91% of teachers purchase school supplies for their students. Unfortunately, this has become the norm.
That’s because most states are providing less support for K-12 schools than ever before. And over half of public school students are low-income.
Currently, this gap is being filled by teachers themselves, with 60% of all classroom supplies being purchased by teachers out of their own pockets.
This leaves a big resource gap in many classrooms. Kids just aren’t getting the materials they need to learn.
That’s why our mission (at AdoptAClassroom) is to give teachers a hand and provide needed classroom materials so their students can succeed.

I encourage you to go to their website and see if teachers in your area are registered, and that you too will help support a classroom in your community.

Kathryn

AHALA/CODENI “Super Scholarship”

The Foundation is pleased to partner with AHALA/CODENI to offer recipients youth with outstanding participation and academic achievement the opportunity to study an undergraduate or graduate degree at a renowned private university in Mexico or abroad. The Foundation has committed to scholarships totalling $150,000 over the next 7 years. The ‘Super Scholarship” will cover enrollment expenses and tuition, a computer, books and other school supplies, as well as a monthly stipend to cover basic living expenses (rent, utilities, groceries and public transportation) for the duration of the program (one to four years). The recipients will be selected by CODENI Administration from students who have obtained academic excellence and “outstanding participation”. “Only recently has the community’s consciousness been broadened to consider higher education (high school and college) as a possibility for themselves and their children. Until now, higher education possibilities have been limited to public and lower-level private schools. The possibility to attend a renowned private university or study abroad represents a new level of opportunity for our youth. It signifies a major breakthrough for underprivileged, impoverished youth a country controlled by racism and class barriers.” said Danielle Strickland, Founder of CODENI.

Grant awarded to YMCA of Roanoke Valley

Congratulations to the YMCA of Roanoke Valley, they have been awarded $30,000 over 2 years to support
STEM after school support for children of minority and low income.

The primary beneficiaries of the grant will be the 60 children in the first
and second years of the after school program. Additionally, the program will be available to other students
who schools have identified as needing help in these areas. Students will come from Hunt Park Elementary,
Morningside Elementary, Lincoln Terrace Elementary, Fairview Elementary, and Monterey Elementary.
The great need for this grant lies in the fact that without a strong foundation in science and math,
individuals are limited to the education and employment options they receive in life. Research shows that
foundational deficiencies can begin as early as the second grade and early education years are critical to
establishing a path to success. There are tutoring options available, but there is not an organization in the
Roanoke Valley providing STEM related support for low income and minority children after school. Because
of these reasons, the Y feels they are making a sustainable difference. Giving these children a true chance to
succeed in life, that otherwise would not happen, is what the program is about.

Funds will be used to cover the costs of running the 28 week after school program. Items such as staffing,
training and supplies are a part of the itemized budget provided. The programs will begin at the end of the
regular school day and will take place at each school location. The Y staff will travel to each school, which
keeps transportation costs low while keeping the children in a familiar learning environment. A healthy
snack will also be provided to children each day. Funds will be spent during the 2016 and 2017 school years.
To measure success, the Y will meet and review with the teachers of each child in the program. The teachers
will report on each child’s progress and grades.

Grant award to AHALA/Codeni

Congratulations to AHALA/Codeni, the McQuade Foundation is pleased to continue to support your “Life Project Program” for the next 2 years.

The Annual $35,000 grant will benefit 50 teens and women ranging in ages from 13 to 50. The
project will seek individuals who are eager to develop life skills through education and formal employment.
Additionally, the project will benefit these individuals’ families, by the participants setting examples of what
if takes to obtain a formal education and earn a stable income. By investing in these life projects, AHALA
feels all 50 participants are making significant contributions to their efforts of overcoming their dependence
on the street, thus making a sustainable difference on their and their family’s lives.
This project will be a continuation of the 2 year grant AHALA received in 2014 from the foundation. Originally
the project was to target 20 individuals. Due to the success of the project, currently there are 38 teens and
mothers with life projects in CODENI. Continued support will help ensure the projects remain intact and are
successful. CODENI does collaborate with two other organizations in Guadalajara (MAMA and Mairos Don
Bosco). CODENI regularly refers children to both organizations, as they see a need.

Expenses will include 3 full time salaries with benefits for professionals who will coordinate
the projects, provide personal counseling and tutoring, and referrals. Funds will also cover school and job
training, transportation, mirco-financing for personal businesses, and will provide for field trips to recognize
achievements and laptops for participants. Funds will be spent during a 2 year period from January 2017 to
December 2018.
To track progress, each participant in the program will be measured on their monthly, semester and overall
project goals. This information in entered into the CODENI database to evaluate the relevance of the mission
of CODENI. Twice a year the data is analyzed, after which reports are submitted to AHALA. Finally goals of
each participant are considered and analyzed on how well each individual has been accomplishing those
goals.