Partners come from the community and lead the search for social change
The Advocacy Project offers partnership to advocates who work for social justice at the community level. We give priority to those who have themselves experienced discrimination. Between 1998 and 2018 we worked with 118 community-based organizations.
Representing marginalized communities
Many AP partners are led by talented advocates like Sarita Thapa, above, who have faced discrimination and are motivated to seek change – often against the odds. Sarita lost her father during the conflict and is active in the Bardiya branch of the National Network of Families of the Disappeared (NEFAD) – an AP partner since 2014. Sarita also leads a cooperative of family members of the disappeared that makes bags and is supported by AP.
What we ask of Partners
AP partners should work on one of six core themes (women, children, conflict, disability, indigenous/minorities, and the environment) and agree to observe good practice while managing start-ups with AP. Nguyen Van Thuan (right) works at the Association for the Empowerment of Persons with Disabilities (AEPD) in Vietnam, an AP partner since 2008. Mr Thuan was severely wounded in the Vietnam war and has devoted himself to helping other survivors of war like Le Thanh Duc, left, whose three daughters have been paralyzed by Agent Orange.
What We Offer
AP offers two types of partnership – fiscal sponsorship (for a 5% fee) and full partnership. Our staff and Fellows also provide technical support to help partners manage start-ups and strengthen their organizations – although partners decide what they need and manage the process. Patrick Ojok, a senior manager at the Gulu Disabled Persons Union (GDPU) in Uganda, has worked with AP Peace Fellows since 2008. He runs our start-up to install accessible toilets at primary schools.
Raising Funds
We understand that partners need money and we use crowd-funding to finance start-ups. We can also work with the partner to seek larger funding once a start-up evolves into a program. Between 2001 and 2017 AP raised $3.57 million for partners. After volunteering at the eHomemakers of Malaysia in 2007, Peace Fellow Mariko Scavone, left, returned to Washington where she sold baskets made by Malaysian women with lupus. Peace Fellows raised $26,990 for their hosts in 2017.
Feedback
“You (AP) have touched our organization in a special way” – Monica Kinuya, deputy director of the Children Peace Initiative Kenya