Mercedes Parra Foundation

The Mercedes Parra Foundation was founded in 2010 by Diane Griffin to honor the passing of her maternal grandmother, Mercedes Maria Parra Forbes. The foundation provides programs and services aimed at ensuring gender equity by promoting sustainable economic and social development through training, consultancy, and direct support of individual women, groups and organizations. MPF’s work targets five dimensions of female empowerment and opportunity: 1. Economic participation 2. Economic opportunity 3. Political empowerment 4. Educational attainment 5. Health and well-being The foundation has six major initiatives: 1. Agrofem supporting female agriculturalists in developing countries to transition from subsistence to market-oriented farming by providing grants and interest-free loans, capacity building, and technical assistance. 2. The Micro Grant Program awards small grants between $100-$500 to help support the humanitarian efforts of women. 3. Operation Santa Clau provides clothes, books, and toys to families in need on the Island of San Andres, Colombia. 4. Ladies and Lattes promotes sisterhood by providing an opportunity for women to meetup for stimulating conversations in a relaxed setting over their favorite beverages. 5. The Women’s Leadership Circle is aimed at supporting women by providing an immersive and intensive exploration of self-awareness and transformative leadership. 6. Health for Haiti focuses on the specific needs of rural women and children, by improving infrastructure, increasing access to care, and building community engagement.