Our Blog

A letter from WE Executive Director, Sarah Adams, sharing the latest update on our new grants process and the open call for LOIs:

I’m excited to share an update from our new grants review process. We have received nearly 100 Letters of Inquiry (LOIs) from organizations doing extraordinary work across the globe — including in South Sudan, Cameroon, Morocco, India, Thailand, Afghanistan, Mexico, and from many communities here in San Diego and throughout the U.S. With still two days left until the LOI submission window closes, we expect to hit that incredible milestone, signifying the great and pressing need for support that exists today.

It is inspiring and humbling to read about the work that these organizations and women are doing. Each submission offers a powerful glimpse into the realities and immense challenges for women around the world — from living in conflict zones, unsafe conditions, and with the threat of gender-based violence; to navigating oppressive social norms and exclusionary legal and economic infrastructures; and, to facing the growing impacts of climate change. And yet, the organizations write with determination and highlight resilience. Their efforts are bold, creative, and deeply rooted in the needs of their communities.

Programs described in the LOIs include critical elements such as: microfinance groups; training design and delivery; supplies and equipment for business start-ups and other entrepreneurship projects; stipends and training for women in tech, rights advocacy, and environmental conversation fields; and, other transformative initiatives for girls and women of all ages, currently living at or below the local poverty line.

As we move forward, our dedicated Grants Committee is thoughtfully reviewing each LOI. Selected organizations will be invited to submit full applications in the coming weeks and finalists will be invited to a more in-depth interview. We look forward to sharing more about our progress in the next two months.

At a time when federal funding cuts are being felt both locally and globally — and when only a small fraction of philanthropic dollars reach organizations focused on women and girls — WE remains deeply committed. We are proud to stand with our long-time grant partners and excited about the opportunity to welcome new partners into our network.

Your generous donations this year continue to build our grant pool that fuels this work, respond to increasing needs, and reach more women.

When women rise, communities thrive. Thank you for continuing to stand with us, and creating change, together.

Rosette Garcia is a dedicated community leader, activist, and philanthropist with a longstanding focus on safeguarding rights and ensuring justice and inclusion for striving communities, especially women and girls. 

Previously an elected trustee of the Cardiff School Board, she was active in her children’s schools, throughout their k-12 years, participating on a bond measure campaign, a strategic planning process, and myriad other committees. She now spends her time advocating on social and policy issues as well as engaging at the grassroots level to encourage civic engagement.  

She has held a number of nonprofit leadership roles, including as a director for six years on the board of the local Planned Parenthood affiliate, serving a term as chair of their Action Fund board. Her current positions include President of the Board of the San Diego Women’s Foundation; Co-Vice Chair of the San Diego County Independent Redistricting Commission; and Chair of Voter Services of the League of Women Voters of North County San Diego. The many hats she has worn with the LWV include Past President and Vice President of Advocacy. An active member of and volunteer for the ACLU, she has been involved in their lobbying days in Sacramento. 

She has never missed voting in an election and has been deeply committed to mobilizing voters and educating the community about policy and election-related issues. In Spring 2025, Senator Catherine Blakespear recognized her as a “Women Who Inspire” honoree of the 38th District. 

A long-time WE member, volunteer, and advocate, Rosette is the current WE Partner Liaison for OEF de El Salvador and traveled to El Salvador earlier this year on the WE site visit.

Nancy retired on the last day of 2021 after selling her business, Nancy’s Vacation Rentals, Inc. which she managed for 20 years, growing it from 2 to 55 rentals in the San Diego beach area. Prior to that, she was an International Flight Attendant/Purser for more than 34 years with Pan Am and United. She was also editor of the Paris flight attendant newsletter while based in Paris for almost 5 years, which ended abruptly after 9/11.

She is also president of two HOAs, each for more than 25 years. She served on the board of the Volcan Mountain Foundation and initiated and ran a Wild & Scenic Film Festival in Julian for several years.

As one of the founding members of the WE Julian Circle in 2012, she is now in the leadership role with about 45 members and chairs the yearly Julian Fundraising Luncheon.

Nancy loves to travel, trek and dive and has well-covered all seven continents. She has recently traveled on site visits to WE Partners, Adelante Foundation in Honduras, OEF de El Salvador, Via International in Mexico, and Multicolores in Guatemala. In fact, she has visited all of WE’s partners except for Nyaka in Uganda, although she has visited the country on one of her many adventures. She is currently on the Board’s new Grants and Donor Stewardship committees. The world has been Nancy’s classroom for over 50 years, showing her the importance organizations like WE.

Tanvi Jaluka is an international development and gender researcher. For ten years, Tanvi has designed and evaluated programs that empower women economically, focusing on entrepreneurship and financial inclusion in emerging markets. She has deep expertise in impact evaluations, quasi-experimental methods, and monitoring and evaluation tools for development programming. She has worked across diverse regions, including Asia, Africa, and Latin America, and is fluent in Hindi.

Currently, she is the Research Lead for CARE USA’s Financial Inclusion and Women’s Entrepreneurship team. Previously, she led projects at Innovations for Poverty Action and the Center for Global Development. Tanvi received a Master’s in Public Policy from UC San Diego, and a Bachelor’s in International Studies from Vassar College.

Tanvi also brings her expertise to WE’s new Grants Committee. 

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/tjaluka/

Nearly 20 years ago, I joined WE because I was intrigued by its approach to helping reduce poverty: Trust women, who were facing significant poverty, with a loan to support their aspiration to start and grow a business and raise themselves and their family out of poverty through their own initiative, imagination, creativity and work. At that time, WE was a young organization, and I was lucky to have been asked to be the liaison with our Honduran partner, Adelante.  Through this experience, I saw firsthand how WE’s collaborative model of support for women and communities actually works to elevate the status of women and families. I also learned more about the challenges and opportunities, and the successes and setbacks faced by our partners and the women themselves.

Fast-forward to today and WE has evolved and expanded in its reach and successful partnerships regionally and around the world. Just last year, WE celebrated its 20th anniversary of grant giving! I am so grateful to former WE President, Susan Hennenfent, for her leadership and stewardship during this banner year.

But….the work is not done yet! WE provides something unique: we identify and vet high-impact, nonprofit partners that implement economic empowerment programs for women experiencing poverty, locally and around the world. As the new Board Co-President, I’m excited to work with all to leverage this asset to increase our reach and effectiveness. 

I am super fortunate and grateful to have Erin Schultz as my Co-President! I look forward to working with and learning from Erin, our dedicated Board members, our Executive Director Sarah Adams, and from our volunteers, donors and supporters. Most importantly, I would like to hear from you about how we can strengthen WE as a long-term, growing, sustainable organization. The work WE accomplishes is too important. Together with you, we will find ways to expand WE’s impact to elevate more women and communities. I welcome your thoughts and suggestions as I embark on this journey. Thank you for your trust.

From attending the first gathering of the 35 women who created WE to now serving as Co-President, it is an absolute honor to witness the tremendous growth of this organization and how WE continues to make a profound impact more than 20 years later.

Professionally, I work on campaigns and elections. I am grateful for this opportunity which gives me the ability to balance the national challenges I see in government and politics with the enthusiasm, dedication, and real problem solving WE and our partners are contributing to around the world.

I am grateful that I take on this role with longtime WE Board Member, volunteer and leader, José Angel Nuncio, as Co-President. The insights and expertise he brings to this work are invaluable, and I look forward to learning from him, as well as working with our ED Sarah, the Board, and our partners to achieve WE’s continued success.

I’m especially excited to connect with WE supporters who have been sustaining this vital work for over two decades. Please don’t hesitate to reach out to me anytime with your ideas or suggestions on how WE can do more to empower women around the world and here at home.

Thank you to Susan Hennenfent: for your steady leadership as President this past year – you have given us big shoes to fill!