WFW then and now
Posted by sponsor  |  November 9, 2009 5:53:27 AM

I have sponsored 3 women. The first year i heard from my sponsored woman several times but at the end of the program she was still not able to find work. The second woman I heard from not at all. This year's woman is in a different country and seems to be much less damaged by the wars. She says receiving info on birth control is the best piece of education. I have written to all the women several times each year. There was a big mix up at the end of last year. I think the goal is laudable – helping women in war torn countries to be able to take care of themselves – but I am less convinced about how the funds raised are spent. They just introduced very expensive gifts made by women in Kosovo whom I doubt will receive anything like that amount of money for their products. So, I am a bit on the fence about continuing to sponsor after this year.

Trouble with Sponsorship
Posted by connor  |  August 26, 2009 6:08:27 AM

I have sponsored seven women over the last six years and up until recently never had a concern. I have even kept in contact with several women after the year's sponsorship by hiring my own translator. It has been a rewarding experience and I love shopping and sending packages to my sisters. They are all beautiful and deserving women.

This year Women for Women's billing/sponsorship department got very confused and no matter how many phone calls it seemed never to get straightend out. Also, at this time I, too, noticed an increase in material asking for donations as well as more "glitzy" newsletters. I preferred Women for Women when it was more of a grass roots organization and you felt your donations were going straight to the women.

Nevertheless, I feel that Women for Women is a truly worthy organizaton and I love helping my sisters all over the world.

they share your contact information
Posted by arganiover  |  August 18, 2009 6:09:33 AM

I donated a small amount a few years back and I am sure by now they must have spent more in their mailing than what I initially donated. I am particularly bothered by the fact they shared my contact information with other organizations so now I also receive donation requests from other organizations too. I do not recall giving permission for them to share my information with others. How I know it came from them is because they have a typo in my name and they are all coming with the same typo. One of the organizations is Doctors Without Borders which I can see a similar mission but then I received one from the Democratic Party Headquarters. When I called, they agreed to remove me from their mailing list but were unable to tell me the names of the organizations they shared my information with, they say they share it with "like minded organizations". So now I will have to call each individual organization to get removed from their mailing list as well. Not pleased...

RE: W for W sponsorship
Posted by JSG  |  August 5, 2009 9:16:29 AM

To mareql –

I also sponsored a woman in Afghanistan for a year. I did not receive the final update until a few months after her “graduation”. The questionnaire she completed indicated what she learned in classes, how much she felt the program was beneficial, and how she spent the money. Also enclosed was a short letter from her. I’m sponsoring another woman in Afghanistan this year.

ways to connect
Posted by pamela73  |  June 3, 2009 11:42:20 AM

I have sponsored for a year now. I received 3 letters from Kosovo and 1 from the DR of Congo. Not all of these women are going to be in dire need, (i.e., deep poverty) but all live in nations torn apart by war and are in some way marginalized and in need of the training and support that WfW provides. As for seeing that your money is being put to good use, see their blog, "Notes from the Field," their YouTube channel, and their fan pages on Facebook. These have reassured me during the months when I didn't hear from my sponsored sisters that they are doing wonderful work in the world. They ask for money outside of sponsorship because they have many programs outside the 1-year sponsorship for program graduates - such as the Commercial Integrated Farmong Initiative, co-ops where women can sell their wares, and micro-lending programs to help them start small businesses. However, I have not gotten the impression that they feel that I am "not doing enough." The sponsorship coordinators have also been accessible through email and Facebook.

W for W sponsorship
Posted by mareql  |  March 4, 2009 12:38:56 PM

I sponsored a woman in Afghanistan this past year (primarily because my grandson is a medic with the Marines and told me how dire life was.) I had hoped to hear at least once during that time what the group she was in accomplished. I did not expect personal letters to flow back and forth between us but wanted some indication my money was put to good use.I was told when my year of sponsorship was ended I would be sent an update on her but not a word. Sorry W for W. You sent a lot of letters asking for $$ but not much else. I'm donating to my local SPCA.

sponsorship, letters and more
Posted by ltaylor  |  January 22, 2009 2:02:35 PM

I sponsor a woman through WFW, and I have also worked as a volunteer for their letter-sharing operations at the DC headquarters. I've had the privilege of reviewing hundreds of letters sent by survivors and I can tell you the impact this program is having on the women who particpate is nothing short of amazing. And priceless. Every volunteer session would never fail to bring me to tears.

While I have not received a letter from my own "sister," I also know that not all the women are in a position to write nor are they always comfortable writing. My sister is in the DRC, and the situation there has become extremely volatile once again. It's quite possible her life is in danger.

No organization is perfect. But from a first-hand look inside WFW's operations, it is a superb cause with an incredible, dedicated team doing their best with the resources they have available to them. I'm extremely grateful for Zainab Salbi's vision, and even more so for everyone who sponsors a woman and supports WFW's work in our world.

Drop off follow up
Posted by survivor  |  January 2, 2009 6:46:54 AM

To Fred - You are correct, fundraising has taken a large portion of the funds at Women for Women - hence my comment regarding the glitz and glamour lending itself to fundraising. The decision to support Women for Women is one's own decision to make. I chose not to support them anymore based on my experienced.

sponsorship/letters
Posted by Rita  |  December 29, 2008 6:34:51 AM

I have sponsored women for several years, and it has been a very positive experience. Letters came from all my sisters. I also sent a lot. My e-mails were answered from the main office when I had a concern. Having traveled a lot to third world countries I can tell you that simple things like sending letters is not always so easy as it is in the USA. There are some countries that I am unable to mail letters or packages to; my friends would never get them. Corruption is everywhere in the poor countries! Women for Women sends the letter DHL or Fed Ex at certain times.

I attended a local presentation by this group a couple of years ago and it was outstanding! There were 2 survivors there giving their first hand experiences of how this organization changed their lives. They also had a great power point. I will continue to support them!

Clarification of Charity Navigator's rating system
Posted by Fred  |  December 23, 2008 3:55:49 AM

I do not have any personal experience with this organization, aside from being on their e-mail list. I work for a nonprofit organization, and am quite familiar with Charity Navigator and their rating system. Therefore, I can say with certainty that they would NOT downgrade a charity because they are "moving away from it's 'grassroots appeal' to glitz and glamour, hence the drop in rating."

If you look at their financial statistics, their fundraising expenses went from 9.2% and 9.3% to 16.6% in the past 3 years. That is a significant increase in the percentage of money being spent on fundraising; and THAT is the primary cause for the change in rating from 4 stars to 3.

I just thought I would clarify that one point. Unfortunately, it sounds like they have other issues of concern as well.

Very Disappointed
Posted by BMK  |  December 22, 2008 6:47:49 AM

I once sponsored a woman through Women for Women. I am a social worker and see much charity abuse and therefore I try to be careful when selecting a charity. I sponsored a woman from Iraq and due to safety concerns (hers) was unable to correspond with my sponsee. What bothered me was that this was a single young woman whose profile and follow-up report did not seem to indicate extreme need or much desire for assistance. Second, as indicated in another comment, I felt as if W for W had become a bit taken with themselves and seemed to spend much of their funding on requesting more and more money from me. They made me feel that what I was doing was not enough. I received email after email asking for more, more, more. I canceled my sponsorship at the end of the sponsorship period. However, they automatically sent me another sponsee. I kept emailing/calling them to remind them that I had chosen to end my sponsorship. Noone I spoke to/emailed seemed to communicate with each other and this went on for a few months and then they had the nerve to ask me to send in money for the new sponsee for the months between the time I initially canceled my sponsorship and the time they finally got it straight that I was no longer a participant. After this debacle, I was glad that I had chosen not to support this organization any longer.

Drop off
Posted by survivor  |  December 8, 2008 6:41:16 AM

I once sponsored a sister at Women for Women but the services dropped considerably over the last year. It seems all they want is money for the CEO to appear on TV. I made the tough decision not to continue sponsoring because it seemed that the organization was moving away from it's "grassroots appeal" to glitz and glamour, hence the drop in rating. I think the final straw was a panel discussion I attended in New York some months back. It was poorly organized and not very informative. They also lost the AMEX contest. It's just not what it once was.

Disappointing
Posted by Erin15  |  December 5, 2008 6:36:15 AM

What's disappointing is the lower rating. What happened?

mail
Posted by acarlson  |  October 24, 2008 5:36:55 AM

I received a letter from my "sister" that brought me to my knees. Her words did more encouraging for me then I think I could have ever done for her. She said "even if we could not meet on this earth we will meet in heaven" and that she prays for me and my family everyday. This charity is making a difference and I will continue to support a sister somewhere on this earth if it makes just the smallest difference. Getting a letter is like a gift, I hope that not getting a letter will not stop anyone from working with this great charity. Your gift changes lives.

Reality of mail
Posted by d415  |  May 23, 2008 11:48:27 AM

I just went to an event and am new to W4W. From what I have seen this is an AMAZING charity. The people, the aid, the purpose.

Just wanted to drop a note about foreign mail.

I visited Thailand and Singapore recently. I sent something to myself from a major Post Office in Singapore and it took more than 11 weeks to receive it. The item I sent from a PO in rural Thailand I have still not received and it has been 4 months. This is just a postcard(for the pic), and doesn't need to be translated. And it's just one correspondence, not a there and back. We're not dealing with metropolitan areas here, and I think it is a sign of what we ARE dealing with that the response times are not what we would expect here in the States.

Not a disappointment
Posted by Erin15  |  April 30, 2008 5:57:37 AM

Women for Women International is not a pen pal service. They clearly state that the woman you sponsor may not reply to your letters. With that said, I received a very interesting and informative letter from my sponsored sister and I was very satisfied with my sponsorship experience.

a disappointment
Posted by jadwin59  |  April 21, 2008 5:42:09 AM

I sponsored several women through Women for Women. Though I wrote letters to all of them, their replies suggested the letters never reached them. WFW was cagey about this when I inquired, saying "it takes a long time for letters to arrive and be translated." In some cases, as much as 6 months elapsed between my sending a letter and receiving one back from my sister saying "I haven't heard from you."

If you take seriously their promise that you will communicate with your sponsee, be aware that this may not happen.