Global Fund for Women and the International Museum of Women are merging in an unusual union between a grant-making organisation and a cultural institution involved in online activism
NEW YORK (Thomson Reuters Foundation) - In an unusual union between a grant-making organisation and a cultural institution involved in online activism, Global Fund for Women and the International Museum of Women (IMOW) announced their merger on Wednesday.
The two non-profits, based in San Francisco, are dedicated to promoting and supporting the human rights of women and girls.
Global Fund for Women provides support and funding to 4,700 grantees in 175 countries. IMOW, which draws over 700,000 annual visitors, is an online museum showcasing women’s issues. It also holds events and exhibits in 14 countries on five continents.
“We think we will be able to tell the story together much more strongly and be more effective in getting the resources into the hands of human rights activists on the ground,” Musimbi Kanyoro, president and chief executive officer of Global Fund for Women, told Thomson Reuters Foundation.
Through the merger the organisations hope to attract a broader audience to their work, focused on violence against women, female economic and political empowerment and sexual and reproductive health rights.
In addition, exhibits that illustrate the work of grantees will enable donors to see the results of their investment and inspire new funding partners, Kanyoro said.
Recent examples of IMOW’s projects include Muslima: Muslim Women’s Art & Voices, which deals with stereotypes of Muslim women, and MAMA: Motherhood Around the Globe, designed to raise awareness of maternal health.
The first joint project will be “Imagining Equality”, an online multi-media initiative, due out in June. It will ask women to send multimedia contributions on how they envisage gender equality.
Under the terms of the merger, IMOW will become part of Global Fund for Women, with Claire Winterton, currently IMOW executive director, taking becoming vice president of advocacy and innovation.
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