The International Museum of Women (IMOW), headquartered in San Francisco, California, is an online museum that covers women’s issues worldwide. Since March 2014 it has been part of the Global Fund for Women. The two organizations together represent a bold new force for women’s global human rights. IMOW’s fusion of culture, media and online advocacy programming complements Global Fund’s on-the-ground relationships and grant-making activities with grantees and human rights organizations around the world. United, give voice to women who too often go unheard, providing tools for expression, resources, and sparking engagement on behalf of global women’s issues.

I.M.O.W. was founded as the Women’s Heritage Museum in 1985. As the Women’s Heritage Museum, it produced exhibitions, public programs, book fairs, educational resources for Women’s History Month and honored local women. In 1997, a group of Bay Area teachers spurred the drive to create a larger museum by raising donations.

Since its expansion under the new name in 1997, I.M.O.W. has organized exhibitions, hosted public fora, developed educational curriculum for schools, and created a number of speaker series. As of June 2009, the museum exists as a virtual museum. A 2005 effort to build a 100,000-square-foot (9,300 m2) facility for $120 million failed.

The museum comprises several online exhibits. One of the exhibits, Imagining Ourselves, an exhibit of artwork and writing covering how women aged 20 to 40 from around the world define their respective generations, edited into an anthology published in March 2006 by New World Library. Economica: Women and the Global Economy, created in 2010, covered how women from around the world interact with money and their roles in the economy.

The Global Fund for Women is a non-profit foundation funding women’s human rights initiatives. It was founded in 1987 by New Zealander Anne Firth Murray, and co-founded by Frances Kissling and Laura Lederer to fund women’s initiatives around the world. It is headquartered in San Francisco, California. Since 1988, the foundation has awarded over $100 million in grants to over 4,000 organizations supporting progressive women’s rights in over 170 countries.

The Global Fund for Women awarded the organization’s first grants in 1988 to eight grantees totaling $31,000.

In September 1996, Murray retired and was succeeded by Kavita N. Ramdas. Ramdas ended her 14-year tenure at the Global Fund in September 2010, and was succeeded by Musimbi Kanyoro in August 2011.

In September 2005, the Global Fund for Women created the Legacy Fund, which is the largest endowment in the world dedicated exclusively to women’s rights. It donates over $8.5 million annually to women-led organizations.

The Global Fund for Women is an international grantmaking foundation that supports groups working to advance the human rights of women and girls. They advocate for and defend women’s human rights by making grants to support women’s groups around the world.

Funds that support the Global Fund for Women are raised from a variety of sources and are awarded to women-led organizations that promote economic security, health, safety, education and leadership of women and girls.

The Global Fund for Women accepts grant proposals in any language and in any format.

Issues and initiatives:
Access to Education
Civic & Political Participation
Economic & Environmental Justice
Health & Sexual Rights
Peace & Gender Violence
Social Change Philanthropy
Women Dismantling Militarism

Publications:
The Global Fund for Women publishes an annual report reporting their financial status, information on their grant partners, and recognition of their donors. This report also contains reflections, statistics and projections about the status of women and girls around the world.

The Global Fund for Women also publishes “Impact Reports” which focus on specific issues impacting women and girls.