Thursday 12 June 2008

New fund to help women's sector blossom


Tuesday night saw the launch of a new UK-wide fund devoted exclusively to championing and investing in charities working with women and girls. The fund is called Rosa, and we've been following its pre-launch progress quite closely (not least because we've been sharing an office with their staff for a few months).

Rosa's mission is to tackle the problems facing women and girls in the UK today by raising funds, investing in change, promoting women's organisations and raising awareness of the challenges facing women and their organisations. We're all really excited - so much hard work has already gone in behind the scenes to get Rosa to this stage (£750,000 had already been donated before the launch) - and it's going to be such a positive force for the women's sector.

They also have a lovely new logo and some very, very pretty business cards (if you're the kind of the person who gets excited by such things, as I am, you should check them out) and even the reasoning behind the name Rosa is inspiring. It was chosen because it is a recognisable name in many languages, and it's also the first name of three outstanding historical female activists: Rosa Luxemburg, the German socialist leader; Rosa May Billingshurst, the British suffragette; and Rosa Parks, the African-American civil rights activist.

They're kicking off their fundraising efforts with a "Celebrate her" campaign, suggesting people celebrate a special woman in their life (mum, friends, daughters etc) by making a gift and sending a virtual rose. Check it out!

www.rosauk.org