Wednesday, May 15, 2013

Catapult Crowdfunding for Global Women’s Empowerment


Similar to the crowdfunding model of Kickstarter.com, Catapult.org launched in September 2012 with the objective of addressing the vast problems that females, around the globe, face. Issues like maternal mortality in Sierra Leone, Haitian women dying from treatable diseases, and an almost 80 percent illiteracy rate for Afghani girls.

Although an organization in its infancy, Catapult has already garnered the backing and partnership of some highly trusted organizations such as UNICEF, GEMS and Water.org, to name a few, as well as the likes of Beyoncé, Melinda Gates and Salma Hayek. Just as with Kickstarter, projects are posted and the funding begins. The concept is simple and an effective avenue to get funds where they are needed. Check out the List section for examples of Catapult projects.


Projects run the gamut of issues from child brides to FGM and human trafficking to reproductive rights. It’s a big world with a lot of gender parity problems to solve. Fortunately getting involved toward working on solutions is rather straightforward. To begin, users can browse by issues of interest under “Find a Project” or search a specific area on the map. Once you find a project of interest, you can see exactly what your donation will go toward and where the project currently stands. For more information about Catapult visit catapult.org.


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