How are programs selected?

Please read all about this in the Apply for a Grant website page.

DFW selects non-governmental organizations with programs fostering economic independence and self-sufficiency. Selected programs focus on various issues, including vocational training, educational opportunities, health and nutrition, and human rights awareness.

Through the Program Selection Committee and careful investigation, organizations are vetted and selected. The organizations or projects within an organization we choose, must meet the following criteria:

• Support women and/or girls who face extreme challenges in developing countries
• Promote self-sufficiency, economic independence and/or good health for women and girls being supported
• Tie funding to direct impact on individuals’ lives
• Provide evidence of long-term sustainability and program success
• Provide prompt and specific reporting about DFW-funded program
• Effectively manage a variable DFW grant that could range from $20,000 - $50,000 and be distributed over a two-year period, if requested.
• Direct a minimum of 75 percent of expenses to programs
• Be a public charity 501(c)(3) US nonprofit organization or foreign organization operating with a US nonprofit sponsor
• Operate independent of religious or political affiliation
• Provide informative organization web site in English
• Provide relevant educational resources; includes providing and sending an educational DVD to all DFW-registered chapter leaders

Dining for Women’s mission as an educational giving circle means that our featured programs vary every month, explore different regions of the world, address diverse issues, and emphasize our support of Millennium Development Goals.