“Fruits of Change” Seed Fund Prepares to Launch

A key element of PSYDEH’s ongoing “Fruits of Change” project is our novel form of equity-based funding. Global donor investors in our GlobalGiving crowdfunding campaign fund PSYDEH who channels this money to each of the four women-led NGOs we incubate during this early stage of their growth.

This fund’s objective is to incentivize indigenous women and their network of four NGOs to each produce an inaugural pilot project. The four projects will prioritize capacity building and knowledge sharing with fellow women around self-defined, current local problems.

The Fund’s five phases are:

1. An open “call for proposals”, modeled after Mexican government processes and linked to recent strategic planning with women leaders, to which NGOs are invited to respond by outlining their project plans and one local or state development policy.
2. Review of and score project submissions by a committee made up of representatives of the women’s NGOs and PSYDEH staff.
3. Awards are announced and funds distributed in two payments to underwrite a 6-month project during which PSYDEH offers consistent, intimate support.
4. Project success and better practices-sharing celebration with men and government officials.
5. Workshops with NGOs on how to use project success to apply for additional funding from the Mexican government and other funders in 2019.

Fund’s target outcomes are:

• Experiential Learning: women leaders use the Seed Fund to learn how to apply, adjust plans and then execute plans for their pilot projects consistent with their own unprecedented regional development agenda (Agenda).
• Gender Equity: women and their NGOs are seen as impact-making actors whose voice matters in their Region and country when promoting project success online and in a planned event with men and public officials in early 2019.
• Sustainability: women with PSYDEH support use Seed Fund experience and success as the context for their pursuing Mexican government funding in 2019. Moreover, and as important, the women’s NGOs feel “wind in their sails” in their pursuit of being a movement whose demands are heard and who are able to negotiate solutions for their communities and region.