Marys Pence

MARY'S PENCE INVESTS IN WOMEN ACROSS THE AMERICAS BY FUNDING COMMUNITY INITIATIVES AND FOSTERING COLLABORATIONS TO CREATE SOCIAL CHANGE.

THE ESPERA PROGRAM PARTNERS WITH WOMEN'S ORGANIZATIONS IN CENTRAL AMERICA AND MEXICO ON ECONOMIC AUTONOMY AND EMPOWERMENT. A KEY FOCUS IS ECONOMIC SECURITY THOUGH DEVELOPMENT OF SMALL ECONOMIC ENTERPRISES. WE PROVIDE FUNDING FOR LOCALLY OWNED LENDING POOLS, TRAINING ON BUSINESS SKILLS, AND COACHING OF SMALL BUSINESSES. WE WORK WITH EXISTING LOCAL WOMEN'S ORGANIZATIONS, AND WE PARTNER WITH THEM ON STRENGTHENING THEIR LOCAL ORGANIZATIONS. THIS PAST YEAR WE PROVIDED A YEAR-LONG WEEKLY LEADERSHIP AND ORGANIZATION EFFECTIVENESS PROGRAM, DELIVERED ONLINE WITH WEEKLY DISCUSSIONS TO 17 WOMEN IN 5 COUNTRIES. EMOTIONAL WELLNESS HAS BEEN A RECENT FOCUS, AND WE HAVE SPONSORED LOCAL GROUP WORKSHOPS, AS WELL AS ONLINE EMOTIONAL WELLNESS TOOLS. THE ESPERA PROGRAM PARTNERS WITH 11 GROUPS IN 5 COUNTRIES. OVER $145,000 IS IN CIRCULATION IN THE LOCAL LENDING POOLS, AND OVER 1,200 WOMEN HAVE BENEFITED FROM LOANS OVER TIME.

MARY'S PENCE FUNDS WOMEN'S ORGANIZATIONS IN THE US THAT ARE WORKING WITH THEIR LOCAL COMMUNITY TO CREATE LONG-TERM SYSTEMIC CHANGE. THE ORGANIZATIONS WE FUND ARE ALL SMALL, WITH BUDGETS UNDER $200,000. EACH ORGANIZATION ORGANIZES AND CREATES HEALTHY COMMUNITIES, ADVOCATES TO CHANGE UNJUST POLICIES, AND EDUCATES TO BUILD SKILLS AND INCREASE CAPACITY. OUR GRANTS ACT AS SEED MONEY FOR ORGANIZATIONS THAT ARE NEWLY CREATED, AND AS SUPPORT FOR ORGANIZATIONS THAT HAVE BEEN WORKING ON THE GRASSROOTS LEVEL FOR YEARS. IN ADDITION TO PROVIDING FINANCIAL SUPPORT, MARY'S PENCE CONNECTS OUR GRANTEES WITH OTHER LIKE-MINDED ORGANIZATIONS AND HELPFUL RESOURCES. THIS YEAR WE GAVE GRANTS TO 20 ORGANIZATIONS FROM ACROSS THE COUNTRY. WE HOSTED 4 TELECONFERENCES CONNECTING GRANTEES ON COMMON ISSUES.

OUR EDUCATION AND OUTREACH EFFORTS ARE BASED ON CATHOLIC SOCIAL TEACHING PRINCIPLES. MARY'S PENCE SHARES INFORMATION ON THE ISSUES OF JUSTICE, WOMEN'S RIGHTS AND HUMAN RIGHTS AND OTHER ISSUES FACED BY WOMEN AND FAMILIES IN POVERTY - HERE IN THE U.S. AS WELL AS IN LATIN AMERICA. OUR EDUCATION AND OUTREACH EFFORTS INCLUDE OUR NEWSLETTERS, EMAILS, AND LETTERS TO DONORS AND INTERESTED PARTIES, PARTICIPATION IN CONFERENCES AND WORKSHOPS, OUR CALENDAR OF WOMEN AND OTHER WAYS WE INTERACT WITH OUR COMMUNITIES.