Spring 2012 • Learning from the Grassroots

Investing in Local Solutions to Global Challenges The Fearless Women Leaders of Our Partner AFEDES in Guatemala by Rajasvini Bhansali, Executive Director

UPDATE

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“When we started our work,” Amarilis Guamuch, AFEDES’ fearless leader, told me upon my recent visit to Guatemala,

“we knew it would change families, communities and our country for good.”

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A few years ago, a Guatemalan organization called the Women’s Association for the Development of Sacatepéquez (AFEDES), an IDEX grant partner since 2005, discovered something troubling: Its programs were not making much of an impact.

SEEkInG TO ImPrOvE ECOnOmIC OPPOrTunITIES

AFEDES, founded in 1993 by a group of Maya Kak’chiquel women seeking to improve their economic opportunities, was re-constituted in 1998 after the Guatemalan civil war ended. Although AFEDES had a robust economic program involving microcredit, financial management, income-generating skills building, and more, they began to see that some women were deeper in debt than at the start of the program. Women were not participating as actively outside their homes as AFEDES had hoped. Inside their homes, nutrition levels were not improving.

“We knew that patriarchy would be challenged; so would the church and the economic system. We knew that, together, women would recuperate not only the soil and seeds on our land, but in fact, the soul of our society.” —Amarilis Guamuch

Today, AFEDES works with more than a 1,000 women. They are training women to become community organizers and advocating for a rural women’s shelter specifically for indigenous women in the region, a policy victory they intend to realize this year.

mICrO-CrEDIT ALOnE nOT ThE SOLuTIOn

Although micro-credit at the time was seen by many in the aid community as a magic bullet to eradicate poverty, the women of AFEDES looked deeper and came to an important conclusion: Women’s oppression could not be solved by credit alone. The organization started a new, 18-week program to empower indigenous women by educating and informing them about the legal and social mechanisms that exist to protect them from injustice.

Rajasvini Bhansali, Executive Director of IDEX (left), and Amarilis Guamuch (right), community organizer and indigenous Maya Kak’chiquel leader of IDEX partner AFEDES in Guatemala.

Milvian Aspuac, Program Coordinator at AFEDES, talks to members during a training workshop on women’s rights.

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ThE IDEX TEAm

STAFF

Rajasvini Bhansali Executive Director

Deborah Goldberg Communications & Public Outreach Manager

Pilar Gonzales Director of Philanthropic Partnerships

Greg Hunt Resource Development Manager

Kate Raymond Finance & Administration Manager

Yeshica Weerasekera Director, Program Partnerships

Katherine Zavala Program Manager, Grassroots Alliances

BOArD

Mamta Ahluwalia, Secretary

Ayesha Barenblat

Rajasvini Bhansali

Diane Dodge

Jim Kelly

Suresh Mathai

Paula Morris, Co-Chair

Geraldine Poon, Treasurer

Nusrat Rabbee

Gerald Richards

Ken Tamura, Co-Chair

Melissa Tsang

Paula Vlamings

InTErnS & vOLunTEErS

Isabel Alface

Jose Alface

Cinthia Caraval

Steven Contreras

Hannah de Blaeij

Leticia Figueroa

Lebzy Gonzalez

Louise Goodwin

Betsy Gran

Daniela Governatori

Keiko James

Thara Jinadasa

Susan Kahn

Rajiv Khanna

Katie Levin

Harsha Mallajosyula

Rafe McBride

Nick Miluso

Ramya Naidu

Kathy Pirman

Susan Putney

Elle Segal

Jessica Sleight

Jim Wallace

WhAT hAPPEnS WhEn WE InvEST In LOCAL LEADErS?

Yet, the story of AFEDES is not just the story of what can happen when we invest in women. It is also about what can happen when we invest in the local leaders and organizations in our world’s most marginalized communities. Like AFEDES, these leaders have the best understanding of the culture, history, and conditions of their own communities, and are in the best positions to address the root causes of poverty, injustice, and inequality.

InvESTInG FOr ThE LOnG-hAuL = LASTInG ChAnGE

The problem is that this is not the way most international philanthropy is currently practiced. Instead, large-scale development efforts are initiated and led by people and organizations external to the communities directly impacted by poverty and injustice. These efforts fail to take into account the knowledge and experience that already exists in these communities, and don’t have a deep understanding of the efforts that will be most effective in the long run. The results are often limited and short-lived, and groups on the frontlines, like AFEDES, don’t get access to the funding they so desperately need to thrive and grow.

ThE IDEX WAy

At IDEX, we believe that we still have much work to do to turn this largely broken model of philanthropy on its head. We pioneered and continue to champion a partnership-based grantmaking model in Africa, Asia, and Latin America that powers social change from the ground up.

We provide f lexible, long-term grants directly to grassroots groups that have the trust of their neighbors and the knowledge of what is needed in their own communities.

nEW EXTErnAL EvALuATIOn TESTS Our mODEL

Recently, we commissioned an external evaluation report because we wanted to hear directly from our partners as to whether our model works.

According to the findings, nearly 100 percent of our grant partners found our model effective and nearly 90 percent stated they have been able to develop local, community-based solutions.

Find out more about our impact and read our new report. Head to: www.idex.org/impact.php

LEArnInG FrOm ThE GrASSrOOTS

My visit with groups like AFEDES in Guatemala left me humbled by the courage of these community leaders to move forward in their quests for justice despite tremendous obstacles and to work toward dismantling systems of oppression for good.

My trip to AFEDES left me more convinced than ever that we must put power back in the hands of marginalized communities by supporting local solutions, honoring grassroots leadership, and relying on local knowledge.

When matched with the vision, resolve, and ingenuity of communities all over the world, this model is a proven formula for lasting change.

Generosity & tHe irs: An Estate Planning Seminar

thursday, May 31st 5:30 – 7:30pm At the san Francisco Foundation

Please join us for an estate planning seminar on charitable planned giving.

Featuring Yulissa Zulaica and Deb L. Kinney, Partners, DLK Law Group, PC

(www.dlklawgroup.com)

Co-sponsored by IDEX and the Latino Community Foundation (www.latinocf.org).

No charge, solicitation free, and no obligation. Light refreshments will be provided.

RSVP online at www.GenerosityAndtheirs.eventbrite.com

Limited to the first 35 RSVPs. Questions? Please contact Pilar Gonzales, IDEX Director of

Philanthropic Partnerships, at 415-824-8384 or pilar@idex.org

Participants listen in during a workshop on women’s rights.

how Effective is Our Partnership model? new report reveals Our Impact

BIG nEWS! A new external report - “Evaluation & Learning Report: IDEX’s Decade-Long Global Partnership Work” - is out! Looking at 10 years of our way of working, the report seeks to answer one BIG question: How effective is our partnership model? We wanted to hear directly from our partners - the real experts - to evaluate whether our approach works - and what the impact of IDEX’s support has been for their organizations and the communities they reach. Thanks to your steadfast support, “IDEX resources are making a lasting difference in the lives of many,”

to read more about our impact and the full report, please go to www.idex.org/impact.php

Alliance Magazine: “IDEX finds endorsement for its f lexible approach”

Foundation Center’s Philanthropy Front and Center: “IDEX Releases New Learning and Evaluation Report”

Council on Foundations’ re: Philanthropy Blog: “Investing in Local Solutions to Global Problems”

For these articles and more, please go to www.idex.org/news

ThE Buzz ABOuT Our nEW ImPACT rEPOrT

Spotlight on Our Supporters—Max Garcia and David Beck

A few years ago, Dave Beck and Max Garcia, two friends who met during college at UC San Diego, found themselves in Argentina to get their software company off the ground.

“Some time after college, Max and I traveled throughout Central and South America, and later we returned to Argentina to live and grow our business,” says Dave.

“Living and working in Latin America influenced our world view and even how we operate our company,” says Max. “We felt connected to the people and to their struggles, which planted the seed in really wanting to give back.”

Dave says it was about three years ago when he was searching on Charity Navigator, the online charity evaluator, for organizations doing good work in Latin America and IDEX popped up with a high rating.”

“Being a small company, we really wanted to make sure that we would be able to make an impact,” explains Dave.

Their company, Rotunda Software, first started out as a hobby to help local organizations schedule their volunteers. Today, Dave and Max, both 31, are back in San Francisco and have grown their company from working with a few churches to now working with hundreds of non-profits.

“In our company, we’re surrounded by people, like our clients, who are making a positive difference in the world,” says Dave.

“People get excited when we tell them that we’re involved with IDEX. It’s not just about charity. It’s about capacity building, it’s about solutions that are coming from the grassroots. That’s an exciting community to be a part of.”

The work of IDEX is possible only through the generosity and commitment of our donor community. Grants to our international partners come entirely from our network of philanthropic supporters. Please consider making a donation to IDEX today.

IDEX is a 501(c)(3) organization and all donations are tax-deductible to the full extent of the law. IDEX’s EIN (Tax ID) number is 77-0071852.

So when Dave and Max moved back to San Francisco, they both ref lect that IDEX “was a natural choice.”

“Looking at organizations IDEX supports, not just with grants but with helping to build their capacity, it just made a lot of sense,” adds Max. “Many have textbook solutions to solve poverty but miss out on all sorts of context – the local people, culture, and experiences. We liked that IDEX starts at the local level and really values what is working.”

“What do I tell people about IDEX? I tell them it’s a unique model,” says Max. “When you go to the website or talk to staff, you get an immediate sense that it’s a different kind of non-profit. Over the years, as we’ve attended events and learned more about IDEX and the great organizations that are partners, we’ve become even more inspired.”

“Some time ago we told two of our friends about IDEX and now they are volunteers,” Max adds. “People get excited when we tell them that we’re involved with IDEX. It’s not just about charity. It’s about solutions that are coming from the grassroots. That’s an exciting community to be a part of.”

All of us at IDEX are grateful to Dave and Max for their ongoing support and friendship.

“There were tons of charitable organizations when we started looking,” says Max, (right), posed here with Dave (left). “But we weren’t looking for a charity just for charity’s sake.”

Newsletter Editor: Deborah Goldberg • Design: Susan Putney • Printer: Copy Circle, San Francisco, CA

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nO n - PrO FIT O rG

u. S. P O S TAGE

P A I DS A n Fr A nCIS CO, C A

PEr mIT nO. 11 8 81

What: IDEX Young Professionals Group’s Annual Event

When: 6-10pm on Thursday, June 14, 2012

Where: Mission Cultural Center, 2868 Mission Street, San Francisco, CA 94110

rsVP: www.IDEXMomentum.Eventbrite.com

INSIDE...

• What Happens When You Invest in Local Leaders?

• The Results Are In! New Report Reveals IDEX’s Impact

• Spotlight on Our Supporters

Please join us for the IDEX Young Professionals Group’s second annual event, featuring music, dancing, drinks and appetizers - and a silent auction featuring beautiful photographs from around the world. 100 percent of the evening’s proceeds will benefit IDEX and our international partners.

JunE 14Th, 2012

mOmEnTum: A BEnEFIT FOr IDEX

SAvE ThE DATE! About IDEX

IDEX identifies, evaluates, and grows the best ideas from local leaders and organizations to alleviate poverty and injustice around the world. IDEX connects a passionate and engaged network of supporters to the visionary leaders and organizations creating lasting solutions to their communities’ most pressing challenges. Since its founding in 1985, IDEX has supported more than 500 grassroots, community-led projects in Africa, Asia and Latin America. Annually, IDEX’s partners serve approximately 1.2 million people in impoverished communities, including marginalized women, small farmers, indigenous communities, low-income urban residents, sexual and ethnic minorities, and youth. Visit us online at www.idex.org