FAWCO and The FAWCO Foundation have announced a four year program to bring a critical global issue to the attention of FAWCO Clubs, their members and the world. The FAWCO Target Program is a focused strategy of education and fundraising that will help to highlight a problem and look for ways to solve it and in so doing, contribute to attaining at least one UN Millennium Goal.
The key to the success of the FAWCO Target Program is the participation of all FAWCO clubs and their members. This is a great opportunity for all our organizations around the world to focus on an issue we are all passionate about and to work together within our clubs and communities to make an impact.
The FAWCO Target Program has two aspects:
One is to select the Target Issue. In so doing we also want to:
Raise awareness
Educate ourselves
Investigate solutions
The second is to select a specific project that is contributing to solving the Target problem.
All FAWCO clubs will be encouraged to participate in fundraising for the project.
We will fundraise over a 2-year period;
Then we will measure results
The FAWCO Target Program was launched in March 2009 at the Vilnius Conference. FAWCO's Team Chairs (previously Global Committee Chairs) have been encouraged to identify a problem that they think warrants priority as FAWCO's Target. The launch also provides an opportunity for our members to alert FAWCO to issues they are already addressing through their own club projects. If these projects do not logically link to an existing FAWCO Team now is the time to create a new one! The Team Chairs will lead the drive to find our target by highlighting why their issue should be important to us all. As we work together sharing our ideas, concerns and projects, we will gradually home in on the "all-FAWCO" Target.
FAWCO member clubs, teams and individuals should take this opportunity to discuss and expand on their views for the Target by clicking on this link to the 'Discussion Forum'.
The Discussion Forum moderator, Pam Perraud, is FAWCO’s NGO Director in contact with other world-wide organizations working on these same UN Millennium Goals, and will be an invaluable source of information.
Teams have started announcing their proposed target issue in FAWCO News-in-Brief, The FORUM and on our websites. Clubs are encouraged to use these announcements in their own newsletters to raise awareness of the challenge.
In October 2009, Teams will formally submit their proposed Target Issue to the Target Selection Committee. (Please click on the Target Program Committees to find out more about this and other Target Program committees.)
By the end of November 2009, the Selection Committee will have chosen three finalists from among the proposals submitted. On December 1, 2009, all FAWCO member clubs will receive a “survey” announcing the three finalists and asking all clubs to vote for their favorite by January 15, 2010. The Target will be announced at the FAWCO Conference in Boston in March 2010.Once the Target is selected, the Target Awareness Coordinators, chaired by the Team co-chairs whose area(s) of expertise most closely corresponds to the Target, will work to raise awareness and educate FAWCO members about the Target issue. The chosen Target may very well be an issue that can be attacked from different perspectives by more than one FAWCO team. This phase will include extensive use of both websites, networking at regional conferences or enlisting volunteers to make presentations to individual clubs, publishing bulletins and monitoring discussion forums on the FAWCO website.
At the 2010 Boston Conference, The FAWCO Foundation will request specific project proposals that actively address the Target problem. Individual members, clubs and teams can submit proposals to the Target Project Committee through the end of June 2010. This committee will choose three finalists from the projects submitted and announce them on September 1, 2010. It will be the FAWCO member clubs that will make the final selection, voting on their favorite project before October 15, 2010. The FAWCO Target Project will be announced on October 30, 2010. The FAWCO Foundation will present the fundraising campaign to all FAWCO clubs at that time and fundraising will begin!
Between announcement of the FAWCO Target in March 2010 and the announcement of the Target Project the following November, it is hoped that clubs and teams will already be working actively on the Target issue as part of our awareness raising/education efforts. One of these projects may in fact ultimately become the Target Project.
The FAWCO Foundation Vice President of Fundraising will assist the clubs with developing fundraising activities. Awareness raising will also continue with the aim of garnering a larger number of FAWCO clubs and club members committed to finding solutions to the "target" problem. At the FAWCO Conference in March 2011, progress made in fundraising will be announced. Throughout this process, clubs will be encouraged to keep their members committed to the Target and actively fund raising for the Target Project. FAWCO and the FAWCO Foundation will feature these efforts on their websites.
During this time, The FAWCO Foundation will solicit for outside sponsorship, highlighting the success of the fundraising campaign as an example of the commitment of more than 15,000 people to this cause. The final results will be announced at the FAWCO Conference in March 2013.
FAWCO and The FAWCO Foundation believe that the 15,000 members of FAWCO can be a true force for change. FAWCO has illustrated this throughout its history. We look forward to your participation in this exciting new FAWCO Target Program.
For more information, contact FAWCO 3rd Vice President Sallie Chaballier at