Actions that encourage women to generate income have a greater impact on the country's economy, generating well-being for their families and communities
By Adriana Fonseca

Women are the main and fastest route to a country's development. With this premise, the ELAS Social Investment Fund promotes Leadership and women's human rights by raising and investing funds in its initiatives. And in order to recognize companies, institutions, foundations and individuals who support young girls and women, ELAS has opened entries for the 2010 edition of the Giving for change award.

Twelve judges will select the three best candidates in each category - legal entity, institute or foundation, individual and best report. Their profiles will then be put to a popular vote on the internet.

Entries can be made until May 10 at www.fundosocialelas.org/doarparatransformar, even by those who are not connected to ELAS. The winners will be announced on June 22 in Rio de Janeiro and will receive a trophy highlighting the importance of this type of investment.

Supporting women

ELAS focuses its actions on women because it knows that the investment made in them is applied, generating more income and well-being around them. "The vast majority of the time, women manage to increase and multiply this investment, influencing the development of their children, family and immediate community," says Madalena Guilhon, general coordinator of ELAS.

The Fund has been in existence for almost 10 years and supports 42 income generation projects in Brazil. In total, 200 projects have been supported. In these actions, ELAS gives the financial resources to the women, trains them so that they have the knowledge to use them in the best way and are able to move forward on their own. "We continue to provide technical support during the period that they themselves put down in the proposal that was approved by our deliberative council. After this period, it's up to them to continue with the venture," says Madalena. The financial aid can range from R$5,000 to R$15,000, depending on the capacity of the fund. "The more companies, institutions and individuals donate to ELAS, the more women entrepreneurs we can support."

In the opinion of Rebecca Tavares, representative of UNIFEM Brazil and Southern Cone (United Nations Development Fund for Women), supporter of the award Giving for change, Brazilian companies should be more concerned with encouraging female entrepreneurship. "Women are excluded from the workforce and we are wasting talent that could contribute a lot to the country's development," she says. "We need to get them involved in the market." According to Rebecca, strategic philanthropy, which gives money but teaches people how to run their own business, is a good strategy in this regard.

One of the companies that supports female entrepreneurship in partnership with ELAS is the oil and gas multinational Chevron. Since 2000, the company has supported social projects focused on adult literacy, encouraging reading and education. Since 2010, it has focused on social projects that encourage the generation of employment opportunities.