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Brazil Human Rights Fund Launches with Ford Foundation Support
Latest in foundation’s effort to build local philanthropy around globe
NEW YORK, December 18, 2006 — A new fund to support cutting-edge human rights work in local communities throughout Brazil has been launched by Brazilians with support from the Ford Foundation.
The Brazil Human Rights Fund will make grants to strengthen promising grassroots initiatives, support training and exchange programs for Brazilian human rights activists, and create opportunities to share new ideas and learning with human rights organizations in other countries.
The fund was conceived by leaders of Brazil's human rights movement, who have received nearly $400,000 in long-term support from the Ford Foundation to lay the groundwork for its launch and operation.
A central goal of the fund is to help build a solid infrastructure for the human rights movement in Brazil, which for years has relied on support from international organizations based outside the country. It will lead a national fundraising campaign to solicit new support for human rights from the corporate sector, government agencies, and prominent individuals.
“Our support for the Brazil Human Rights Fund is another example of our belief that solutions to global challenges need to engage the people living closest to them,” said Denise Dora, the foundation's program officer for human rights in Brazil. “After many years in the making, this new fund is now poised to bring much-needed resources to important human rights efforts throughout the country.”
Beginning with its first round of grants in 2007, the fund will act as a long-term, autonomous source of support for innovative individuals and organizations working to protect and promote human rights in the country.
The Ford Foundation provides millions of dollars in grants around the world to help build institutions that can address the long-term challenges facing local communities.
Through its International Initiative to Strengthen Philanthropy, the foundation has committed $100 million to build independent foundations in thirteen countries. These institutions, governed by local leaders, are mobilizing new resources and developing new strategies to fight poverty, advance sustainable development and promote human rights.
The Ford Foundation is an independent, nonprofit grant-making organization. For more than half a century it has worked with courageous people on the frontlines of social change worldwide, guided by its mission to strengthen democratic values, reduce poverty and injustice, promote international cooperation, and advance human achievement. With headquarters in New York, the foundation has offices in Latin America, Africa, the Middle East, and Asia.