The Resource Foundation’s goal is to increase awareness and mobilize resources to make a difference through innovative initiatives in education, health, and job training benefiting the region's women and girls. The Foundation is looking to significantly increase philanthropic support from corporate, foundation, and individual donors for these types of programs in 2010.

"We have found that the majority of focus is on Africa and Asia, and this is directly related to the lack of awareness about the prevailing need for initiatives that empower women and girls in Latin America and the Caribbean,” said Marcela Lopez-Macedonio, Executive Director of The Resource Foundation. "The empowerment of women is an essential step towards eliminating poverty in the region."

Studies by the World Bank and the UN offer strong evidence that education for girls is the single best investment society can make. These studies show that educating girls and women delivers numerous economic benefits for individuals and communities and leads to healthier and better educated families, reduces child mortality rates, and fosters greater political participation. This year, as demonstration of this issue’s importance, the central theme of the Clinton Global Initiative’s Annual Meeting was investing in women and girls.

The Resource Foundation's 2009 Impact in Numbers:

• Projects benefited 45,950 at-risk women and girls.
• Total of 18 countries: Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, El Salvador, Guatemala, Haiti, Honduras, Jamaica, Mexico, Nicaragua, Peru, Uruguay, and Venezuela.