Jul 21, 2025 | Featured News/ Events
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/
Jul 21, 2025 | Featured News/ Events
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.
Jul 21, 2025 | Featured News/ Events
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!
Jun 25, 2025 | Featured News/ Events, News
We are pleased to announce this new grant opportunity. Could your organization be a good fit? Do you know of an organization that could align with our funding criteria and might be interested in applying?
A little about us at WE:
Women’s Empowerment International (WE) is a nonprofit organization (based in San Diego, CA, United States) with a mission to empower women with tools to work their way out of poverty, care for their families, and strengthen their communities. We do this through grantmaking for economic empowerment programs for women experiencing poverty—locally (in San Diego County and our border region) and internationally. We envision a world without poverty in which women are empowered, uplifted, and equal partners in society. Since 2004, we have raised money for and distributed over $2.8M in grant funding for 15 partner organizations in nine countries. Current grant partners operate programs including microloans, women’s entrepreneurship and small business development support, training, education, and other income-generating and barrier-breaking initiatives.
We have implemented some exciting additions to our grantmaking, and we currently have an open Letter of Inquiry (LOI) for three types of grant funding: https://form.jotform.com/251608843588065. Submitting an LOI is the first part of the application process. If our Grants Committee sees a good fit, an organization will be invited to complete our full grant application.
Please read through our general Funding & Selection Criteria to assess overall eligibility and alignment: https://womenempowerment.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/WE-Funding-Selection-Criteria.pdf. An applying organization should be a registered 501(c)(3) nonprofit (or fiscally sponsored by one) if registered in the U.S., or under a related certification if registered in another country. Funded programs and services should align with WE mission, vision, and guiding principles, as well as criteria on the document linked above. WE funds must be used to support the economic empowerment of women and girls only (inclusive of all those identifying as such), specifically those who are living at or below the local poverty line. Grants are not awarded for fundraising events or campaigns, endowments, or for any religious or political activities.
Prospective new grant partners are eligible to apply for three of WE’s four grant types:
I. Seed/Innovation Grants
II. Scale-up Grants
III. One-time/Micro Grants
Please read through details on each of these grant types, including funding request ranges, examples for funding, and key evaluation criteria for each: https://womenempowerment.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/WE-Grant-Types_-New-Partners.pdf
Deadlines/Timeline:
- The LOI is open until July 24; however, submissions will be evaluated on a rolling basis. The sooner you are able to submit your LOI, the sooner we can provide feedback and a potential invitation to the complete grant application. We encourage you to complete the LOI as soon as possible.
- Grant applications will build on the LOI and will be due by August 8.
- August 25 – September 5 – we expect to hold video meetings with 3-5 selected applicants for follow-up conversations to better understand your proposed grant program, organization, and operations.
- Grant awards will be announced by September 28.
- Funding will be distributed at the end of 2025 or early 2026 depending on grant size.
Please feel free to reach out with any questions or referrals for our open LOI to Sarah Adams, WE Executive Director, at SarahAdams@womenempowerment.org.
Nov 12, 2024 | California, Featured News/ Events, Our Impact Page, Partner IRC, Women Stories
Meet Hanna B.
When Hanna Borysiuk arrived in San Diego from Ukraine, she felt the weight of uncertainty pressing down on her. The war with Russia forced her to leave her homeland, and she arrived in the United States unprepared for the challenges of starting over in a foreign country. Life was confusing as she tried to figure out how to support her family in this new environment.
Hanna’s eldest daughter, understanding the depth of her mother’s skill and passion for sewing, managed to bring Hanna’s beloved Singer sewing machine from Ukraine.
Sewing had always been a constant in Hanna’s life; she couldn’t live without it. She had always altered and repaired clothes for her husband, two daughters, and two granddaughters. This act of love sparked a glimmer of hope.
Hanna learned about the International Rescue Committee (IRC) in San Diego and enrolled in several programs, including the TVESL driving lessons cohort and the employment capabilities program. Through these programs, she was referred to those funded by WE grants within the IRC’s Small Business Development Center (SBDC), which became essential for her to start, develop, and grow her business. With the support of the IRC SBDC, Hanna completed the Business Women in Action (BWIA) training course. This cohort was designed for newly-arrived Ukrainian women aspiring to start businesses.
Hanna was considering turning her sewing skills into a viable business to support her livelihood in her new country. She describes her business advisor as a compassionate and encouraging counselor who helped her pivot her loving hobby of sewing into an entrepreneurial one. Her advisor has been with her business every step of the way to formalize her business with the City of San Diego, fulfilling her goal to alter and sew clothing for others besides her immediate family members.
Hanna advertised her services to her community and started getting orders for clothing alterations. However, she quickly realized that her single sewing machine wasn’t enough to meet the growing demand. Although Hanna could sell her services, she was not making enough to afford a new sewing machine to meet her customers’ needs. So, she returned to IRC to discuss her problem and strategize with her business advisor, who informed her that she could qualify for a women entrepreneur microgrant to purchase another machine. Hanna was overjoyed with this news. She asked her business advisor about the requirements and wasted no time, diligently working to submit all the required documents. Hanna received a $1,000 microgrant from IRC SBDC, which allowed her to purchase another sewing machine and the necessary supplies.
Hanna says, “When I received my new sewing machine, I was very happy! I could do almost everything that was brought to me for repair and make people happy because I was giving a new life to their favorite things. I am grateful to [IRC and my business advisor] for supporting me in achieving my dreams and giving me the opportunity to make a living in my new country.”
Oct 30, 2024 | Featured News/ Events, News
Oct. 11: International Day of the Girl
From the UN: “The 2024 International Day of the Girl theme is ‘Girls’ vision for the future’. This year’s theme conveys both the need for urgent action and persistent hope, driven by the power of girls’ voices and vision for the future. Today’s generation of girls is disproportionately affected by global crises of climate, conflict, poverty and pushback on hard won gains for human rights and gender equality. Too many girls are still denied their rights, restricting their choices and limiting their futures.
Yet, recent analysis shows that girls are not only courageous in the face of crisis, but hopeful for the future. Every day, they are taking action to realize a vision of a world in which all girls are protected, respected and empowered. But, girls cannot realize this vision alone. They need allies who listen to and respond to their needs. With the right support, resources and opportunities, the potential of the world’s more than 1.1 billion girls is limitless.”
WE funding can impact and change stats like “nearly 1 in 5 girls are still not completing lower-secondary and nearly 4 in 10 girls are not completing upper-secondary school.” Women participating in WE-funded programs are able to ensure their daughters can attend and stay in school, creating futures that can break generational cycles of poverty for their families.
Oct. 11: Give to Women and Girls Day
Give to Women and Girls Day is a national campaign to raise awareness and increase funding for organizations that support women and girls. The Women’s Philanthropy Institute (WPI) launched Give to Women and Girls Day to address the disparity in funding for women’s and girls’ organizations. According to the WPI, less than 2% of all philanthropic support in the United States goes to these organizations. This underfunding can hinder the advancement of gender equality and the work of these organizations. The UN states, “Achieving gender equality and empowering women is not only the right thing to do but is a critical ingredient in the fight against extreme poverty, hunger and climate change.”
This is where WE comes in, contributing to gaps in funding, where our grants—and your donations—are most needed and can create the most impact, advancing gender equality to eliminate poverty for women and girls here in San Diego and around the world.
Diana Franco, Vice President of Women.NYC, highlighted the critical need for efforts like this, “Investing in women’s initiatives is fundamental to building a world that offers equal opportunities to all. It directly reflects the values of our society and organizations. The lack of investment in empowering women in every aspect of their lives is a duty we all have to assume from the top down, not with flattering words and commitments but with action and financial support.”
Oct. 10: DAF Day
DAF Day is hailed as a new kind of giving day that draws attention to Donor Advised Funds (DAFs) as a way to make charitable contributions to 501(c)(3) nonprofit organizations. It recognizes that many donors don’t know about DAFs as a way to give and increase their giving capacity. It also highlights that too many DAF accounts go unused each year.
DAFs are tax-advantaged charitable giving accounts, often compared to an account like a 401(k) or HSA. Any person, couple, family, or company can open a DAF account with providers around the country, including banks, investment and financial services companies, and local community foundations. With a DAF, you can: contribute cash, securities, or appreciated assets to a charitable fund; receive a tax deduction for the current year; and, make strategic giving decisions. DAFs have increased in popularity in recent years because of their effectiveness at increasing giving capacity and streamlining philanthropy.
Do you have a DAF? Please consider recommending a gift be made to WE now to ensure your donation can be received before the end of the year!
Are you considering opening one? We encourage you to explore and look into options for the current year!
