The 2004 Rose Revolution succeeded in part thanks to women's
vibrant participation. Now the Women's Fund in Georgia is
shaking up the country's legal structure and reclaiming women's
historic connection to philanthropy. For centuries, women in the
Caucasus nations advanced education and culture, and created
charities. However, during Soviet rule this tradition was
treated as a bourgeois relic and forced underground. The Fund
grew out of the Educational Cooperation and Development Center,
a women's organization formed in 1998 that built strong ties
with women's groups and local businesses. The group developed
experience with grantmaking when it received a $20,000
partnership grant from the Global Fund in 2002 that it regranted
to 12 small women's groups in remote areas of Georgia. To engage
the private sector in funding women's organizations, the group
is advocating for legislative changes that will allow
individuals and companies to make tax-deductible gifts to
nongovernmental organizations. Such incentives a