Writing

Sample
Skyler May

This writing sample is an excerpt from a grant proposal project completed
for my Macro Social Work course in May 2015.

Summary

The intent of this proposed program is to increase household and public economic participation

of young women in rural Nicaragua, by providing educational entrepreneurial trainings and microfinance

opportunities. Through educational workshops, these women can learn about topics such as

microfinance, savings, and entrepreneurship. In addition, the participants can access safe, affordable

microloans, which will allow them to finance their own business. By supporting women financially,

through educational opportunities and microloans, it sends a strong message to households and

communities about the status of women in their society. The proposed funds will provide financial

resources for training, a field coordinator position, supplies, and lending capital.

Statement of the Problem

Nicaraguan women living in rural areas face extreme gender inequality. These women are largely

underpaid, undereducated, and undervalued in their jobs or in their work in maintaining their homes.

They have limited access to work opportunities and fair credit sources, which therefore perpetuates

poverty, leads to low participation in household decision-making, and little economic autonomy.

Description of the Problem

According to the United Nations Gender Inequality Index (2014), Nicaragua places 132nd in

gender inequality, out of 187 countries. Gender inequality is a deep-rooted and complex issue in

Nicaragua, stemming from womens status in Nicaraguan culture, society, politics, and the economy,

which ultimately translate into larger problems such as lack of reproductive rights, physical and sexual

violence against women, and income disparity.

 The 2011 National Agricultural Census reported that there are nearly 1.1 million women living in

rural Nicaragua, however only 23.2 percent own their own land (Nicaragua). With an agricultural-based

economy, which focuses on subsistence farming for survival, many rural Nicaraguan women are tasked

with maintaining the household. These duties are physically demanding, but also necessary to support

their children and families who are working in the fields. Their household responsibilities, such as

carrying water and hauling firewood, are not perceived as a respected job by the Nicaraguan culture.

Women not only lack cultural respect for their roles in the home, but they also do not typically receive

payment for their role of supporting their families.

In addition, women living in rural areas have limited access to jobs outside of the home,

according to researchers D'Exelle and Holvoet (2011). Even if they are interested in starting their own

business, it is challenging for them to locate reliable credit sources or funding. Traditional banking

systems are largely unavailable in rural Nicaragua. For the formal lending systems that are available,

most do not offer small loans, because they require higher upfront costs proportionally to larger loans,

and do not provide as much profit overall. Many women in rural Nicaragua turn to informal ways of

saving, in order to provide for their own investments. For example, they may invest in assets such as

gold or domestic animals, or stash away their savings by hiding or burying cash. These informal saving

methods are useful for rural Nicaraguans, however they do present limitations. In emergency situations,

these individuals cannot just cut off one leg of their goat to sell, in order to sell for cash. Also, these

assets can fluctuate in price or can be destroyed by illness or natural forces.

Without the ability to provide financially to the household income, women in rural Nicaragua

lack a voice in the decision-making within the household. In addition, women have little economic

autonomy, which forces them to rely upon their spouse and extended families for financial support.

Unfortunately, without a voice in decision-making and limited economic autonomy, these women can be

taken advantage of. In this situation, women are reliant and dependent upon their spouses for financial
survival, which means they may not be able to exercise their sexual and reproductive rights, or may

become victims of domestic abuse. Women who face domestic abuse or violence have poor access to

justice in these cases.

Program Plan

The proposing organization is GIRLPowR, Inc., which is a US-based not-for-profit organization

founded in 2013. GIRLPowR strives to empower girls globally to achieve educational accessibility and

pursue their dreams. The organization was founded and is directed under the leadership of Julie Reager,

a former Nicaraguan Peace Corps volunteer. Currently, GIRLPowR is focusing resources and efforts on

girl in Kumaica, a small, impoverished rural community nestled deep in the coffee mountains of central

Nicaragua. In Kumaica, GIRLPowR has been actively working on providing the girls with educational clubs

with topics such as personal hygiene and female empowerment, as well as providing financial resources

for school supplies and materials.

With the already established relationship of GIRLPowR in Kumaica, this pilot program will be

implemented in the local community. The target population of this program is the older girls of Kumaica

who have previously participated in GIRLPowR. By targeting this group of young women, it will serve as a

continuation of the existing GIRLPowR programs, and serve the growing needs of young women in the

community. In the age range of sixteen to twenty-four, these young women may have completed their

schooling, and are typically beginning their own families, so it is a natural time in their lives to get the

young women invested in their financial future.

By providing young women with educational opportunities to learn more about saving, investing,

and starting their own businesses, they are able to begin their new lives as wives and mothers with

background knowledge on financial matters and a voice in intra-household bargaining power (Rehman

2015). These women will learn the skills to create their own household budget and a business budget.
Ultimately, these skills will assist the women in not only the short-term, but also the long-term, as they

are able to grow in their personal and business assets.

In addition, after attending workshops, these women can apply to receive a microloan from

GIRLPowR. As stated, loans are not affordable, or available from traditional lending systems, so this

program will reach a population that could otherwise not have accessed loans. In the proposed program,

each woman can apply for one microloan of $300 to $800 to invest in her own entrepreneurial business.

The microloans are intentionally a small amount, due to the low cost of living in the country, and the

ability for the borrower to repay. The borrower must repay the loan in 18-months at a 5% per year

interest rate. By providing small, short-term loans, it limits the risks and allows the women to continue

to push themselves towards success. In addition, the interest-rate is low, however it provides additional

income for the program, which can be used towards administrative costs, such as application screening

and follow-up visits. The table below presents examples of the loan total, repayment time, and interest

occurred, using the interest formula Interest = (Principal)(Interest Rate)(Time). Overall, with the data

below, the mean average occurred interest would be $25.83.

Furthermore, with the initial investment of $30,000 towards the lending capital, it provides a

sustainable future for this program. With the opportunity to provide women with training before they

receive their loan, they are more likely to follow through with the repayment plan. Hypothetically, if

thirty women apply for an $800 microloan, with an 18-month repayment plan, then by the end of the

first year of the program, nearly 67% of the loans will be replayed. With the repayment of loans, those

fiscal resources can be utilized year after year for future microloans for women in rural Nicaragua.

The original project continues onto describe the rest of the program plan, the intended program
outcomes, program timeline, program budget, program evaluation, and bibliography.