Unidas Program Awards $10,000!

The Unidas girls’ philanthropy program successfully culminated this year’s efforts by awarding $10,000 to ELLA Group on May 13, 2006. ELLA (“Empowering Lives of Latinas in America”) Group is a newly established nonprofit organization focused on creating a safer environment for women and girls, particularly Latinas. The organization will use the $10,000 to fund its Unidas for ELLA program that will offer classes in the Rape Aggression Defense Systems (RAD) for women and radKIDS ("Resist Aggression Defensively") for children aged 5-12. Both are nationally recognized safety and empowerment programs. Courses include physical technique training combined with awareness education delivered in English and Spanish. All courses are taught by certified instructors at low or no cost to participants.

Unidas taught thirteen Tucson high school-aged girls about leadership, philanthropy and social justice issues. Under the auspices of the Women’s Foundation of Southern Arizona, Unidas participants researched and analyzed the social justice issues facing girls in their community, and walked through a grantmaking process, including creation of a request for proposal, application review, interviews, and allocation of grant funds.

The Unidas participants, representing high schools across Tucson, attended bi-weekly meetings from the beginning of January through the middle of May. The program began with an overview of philanthropy and the nonprofit sector. The participants then researched issues that affect young women, discussed the issues, and determined which nonprofit organizations in Tucson specifically address those issues. Through a consensus process, the girls ultimately selected rape and sexual assault as their grantmaking issue.

Six grant applications were reviewed by the young women. After a great deal of discussion, three organizations were invited to interview with them. During the interviews the three organizations were asked specific questions about their programs and the proposed use of the $10,000. A lively discussion ensued, resulting in a final decision to fund ELLA Group for $10,000.

The Tucson component represented only part of WFSA’s efforts around girls’ philanthropy this year. We will be launching a second Unidas program in Ajo on June 1. We will share experiences of the Ajo Unidas program with you in a future newsletter.

The Women’s Foundation is excited about the success of this year’s Unidas program and plans to offer it again in the fall. Please stay tuned for application information! WFSA is extremely grateful to both the Lovell Foundation and Every Voice in Action Foundation TM for funding and supporting this important project.