“. . . [E]conomic opportunity through artisan work can . . . promote reconciliation, healing, and empowerment. In countries from Peru to Rwanda to Afghanistan and Haiti and so many more, we have seen how artisan activities have allowed women to participate in the economy when few other opportunities existed for them.� Alliance for Artisan Enterprise
Dear Friends, We are delighted to share with you our annual report for 2013*. These past twelve months were marked by significant strategic developments. Most significantly, we have taken several major steps toward laying the groundwork for scaling our operations and opening up a broader market for our partners. The goal of these initiatives, as with all of our work, is to further increase incomes and improve livelihoods for women artisans, their families and their communities. To build our foundation for future growth, we: • Formed a partnership with Walmart.com as part of the retailer’s five-year initiative, “Empowering Women Together,” to provide custom-designed accessories from fair trade enterprises. Products by two of our partners, MWEDO in Tanzania and Friends Handicrafts in Nepal, are now available on Walmart.com. • Launched a long-term partnership with The Little Market, a new e-commerce site for handmade artisan products. All products on the site are sourced exclusively through our partners, and we manage all fulfillment and customer service. • Created new training tools to strengthen our partners’ business, operations and design capacity. • Awarded more than $10,000 in small grants to five partner organizations.
• Joined as a founding member and serve on the steering committee of the Alliance for Artisan Enterprise, an organization formed by the Aspen Institute and the Office of Global Women’s Issues at the U.S. Department of State to promote the global artisan sector. • Redesigned our e-commerce website to reflect a more streamlined, sophisticated brand, optimizing the site’s user experience and customer conversion rates. We are heartened by the progress that we and our partners have achieved in pursuit of meaningful, dignified work for women in the craft sector. Now that we have laid the foundation for future growth, we look ahead with excitement to the tremendous possibilities that await us. It is with deep appreciation that we pay tribute to the incredibly dedicated and professional team of colleagues we have the good fortune to work with and learn from each day. We also wish to express our gratitude to the board members, advisors, volunteers and supporters who help guide our work, advance our mission and make our impact possible. With sincere thanks, Joan Shifrin and Catherine Lieber Shimony *July 1, 2012–June 30, 2013
OUR PARTNERS When women and their families in developing economies have financial autonomy and security, they can rise above a life of poverty and social and political marginalization. Global Goods Partners provides market access and comprehensive support to women-led community-based organizations that produce fair trade, handmade products. Today, we are proud to work in cooperation with 34 partners in 18 countries throughout the Global South. Over the past year, we expanded our geographic reach and product assortment with the addition of two partners: Omba Arts Trust, in Namibia, and Khenifra Women’s Handicraft Association, in Morocco. We carefully select partner organizations that are using the production and sale of fair trade products as a gateway to overcome social, political, and economic inequities in their communities. In addition to providing a fair living wage to women artisans, they offer effective training and education programs that emphasize human rights and dignity—critical components to achieving meaningful and lasting change in marginalized communities.
New Skills Lead to Family Well-Being The story below was recorded by a woman artisan working with Friends International, a social enterprise in Cambodia that supports street children and their families by providing health care, vocational training, primary education and counseling services.
Our goal is to help incubate and grow our partners’ social enterprise: to refine their products, strengthen their capacity and operations, and ultimately introduce them to new buyers—leading them toward full sustainability. One of the ways that we support and nurture our partners is by offering training resources in business management, product development and design, and financial literacy. We recently designed a comprehensive supply chain assessment tool as part of a $200,000 Department of State contract awarded to our partner, Kandahar Treasure. Based in Afghanistan, this social enterprise is dedicated to reviving and maintaining the integrity of traditional women’s art of Kandahar and empowering women in the process. Over the next year, we will share this tool with other partners who will benefit from this expertise.
After my husband died I moved to Phnom Penh with my six children in search of work. Life was difficult and I didn’t have enough money to send my kids to school. I remarried, but my eldest son fought with his stepfather and ran away. I was very worried when he was living on the streets and using drugs, so I was happy when Mith Samlanh [“Friends” in English] staff helped him with his addiction and offered him a place with their training program. Outreach workers from the center came to visit me to talk about why my children were not in school. When I explained that we were poor and they saw our tiny house, they asked if I would like to be part of the Home Based Production program. They taught me sewing skills and trained me to make bags; now I sell them to the Friends’ shop and I have a regular income each week. My younger children went to the Friends’ Education Center to catch up on the lessons they had missed. My daughter is always telling me about what she does in art class at Club Friends and says she wants to be an artist when she grows up. It is good to see my children happy and learning things so that they can have a better future.
MARKETPLACE At the heart of Global Goods Partners is our to mission to create market access for the most marginalized groups of women artisans. We support our community-based partners and the artisans with whom they work by helping to develop their supply chain capacity. Building on their talents and capabilities, we provide our partners vocational, educational, and management skills training and product design expertise to meet the needs of the US marketplace. To ensure our partners’ products get the attention they deserve, during the last year we reenergized the Global Goods Partners brand, streamlining our logo and refining our e-commerce website to highlight our products and partners more effectively. After the launch of the new site in January 2013, overall sales increased by 20 percent in the final two quarters of the fiscal year compared to the same period in 2012. Global Goods Partners has three principal sales channels—wholesale, retail, and private label. This year, we focused on positioning ourselves as a strong and reliable business partner to wholesale customers and major U.S. retailers, and we have seen some exciting developments as a result. Private label: Notably, we were selected as one of just two aggregator organizations for Walmart’s “Empowering Women Together” initiative. Launched on International Women’s Day 2013, this initiative brings products made by women-owned businesses to Walmart.com customers. We also partnered with The Little Market (TLM), an e-commerce, fair trade company serving as TLM’s exclusive sourcing representative.
These partnerships will enable us to secure more orders for our artisan partners, strengthen our brand, and ensure a significant revenue stream in the years to come. These opportunities also expand our partners’ capacity and position GGP as a well-tested and successful partner for other retailers seeking to collaborate with women artisans around the world. Wholesale: With more than 500 products in eight product categories, Global Goods Partners now has more than 1,000 registered wholesale accounts, including boutiques, fair trade stores, and museum shops around the country. Our wholesale orders increased by 21 percent this fiscal year. Retail: The impact of our website re-launch was significant: traffic to the site increased this fiscal year by 44 percent, and the number of repeat customers increased by 48 percent. At the same retail sales grew in the last two quarters of the year by 50 percent compared to the same period in 2012. Solidifying our role in the fair trade sector, we launched #Fair Tuesday, a global initiative created to promote and highlight the impact of ethical shopping in the holiday season. Following on the heels of Black Friday and Cyber Monday, the goal of #Fair Tuesday is to inspire conscious consumerism and show how an everyday purchase can change lives in a whole community. More than 125 brands have joined the movement.
Where We Work
MOROCCO
THE AMERICAS Argentina
> Pampa Brava
Bolivia
> Alma de los Andes > Artesania Sorata > Asociación de Artesanos Andinos > Comunidad Winay
Colombia
> Creata > Uniqueland
Guatemala
> Aj Quen > Kiej de los Bosques
Mexico
> Hombre Sobre la Tierra
Peru
> Mantay > Manuela Ramos > Sumaq Qara
AFRICA Liberia
> Jola House
Morocco
> Khenifra
Namibia
> Omba Arts Trust
South Africa > Streetwires
Swaziland
> Gone Rural > Imvelo Eswatini
ASIA Tanzania
> Masaai Women Development Organization (MWEDO)
Afghanistan
> Kandahar Treasure
Cambodia
> Artisans Association of Cambodia > Friends International
India
> Community
Friendly Movement > Destiny Reflection > Gramshree
Nepal
> Friends Handicrafts
Thailand-Burma Border
> Borderline > Women’s Education for Advancement and Empowerment > Lahu Women’s Organization
Fiscal Year 2013 Grants PARTNER
COUNTRY
AMOUNT
PURPOSE
MWEDO
Tanzania
$1,000
HEALTH: Funded fully equipped birthing kits for use by traditional birthing attendants to reduce high infant mortality rates and physical suffering of rural women during childbirth.
Asociaci贸n de Artesanos Andinos
Bolivia
$2,000
HEALTH: Established an emergency health care fund in four community centers for artisans and their families.
Asociaci贸n de Artesanos El Tejedor Guatemala (Aj Quen)
$2,000
CAPACITY BUILIDING: Purchased three industrial sewing machines for artisans in remote rural areas.
La Casa De Acogida Mantay
Peru
$2,000
CAPITAL IMPROVEMENT: Funded the construction of a playground for the Mantay community.
La Casa De Acogida Mantay
Peru
$313
HEALTH AND NUTRITION: Funded food purchases through sales of Hearts for Change keychains.
Kiej de los Bosques
Guatemala
$3,264
HEALTH AND NUTRITION: Funded organic gardens, water filters, solar energy kits and smokeless stoves for community members through sales of Bracelets for Change.
Impact In our Partner Communities In partnership with the community-based groups with which we work throughout Asia, Africa and the America’s, we have made measuring our impact a priority. We initiated a formal monitoring and evaluation process two years ago and are establishing the quantitative foundation required for meaningful impact assessments. Using a comprehensive survey developed with the assistance of New York University’s Robert F. Wagner Graduate School of Public Service, we ask our partners annually to report on key business and social indicators as well as to convey qualitative information about developments within their communities. Understandably, some of our partners find it challenging to gather data because of their small size and limited resources. This year, 18 out of 27 groups responded to the survey, a 14 percent increase from 2012. We will continue to work with our partners to ease the reporting process.
$450,000 MORE THAN
IN DIRECT PURCHASES 2006-2013
Highlights from this year’s survey include: Number of partners paying fair living wages
100%
Number of partners that provide education support: For children of artisans For artisans
59% 47%
Number of partners that provide job-related training
88%
Number of partners providing health care assistance for artisans and/or their families
63%
Number of partners that provide consistant meals or snacks to artisans
50%
Number of partners that provide financial services
63%
Percentage of female employees
87%
Average number of artisans employed by our partners
248
Nobs’ Story When Nolubabalo Komsana, a single mom of three kids, moved to Cape Town from a rural region of South Africa in search of opportunities, she never could have imagined that one day she would be known as a master beader in the craft of bead and wire art. At the time, she didn’t know what she would do just to survive. Once in Cape Town, Nolubabalo, known as “Nobs,” saw an advertisement from an organization called Streetwires Artists Collective, seeking participants to be trained in the craft of bead and wire art. Established in 2000, Streetwires provides training, support, and materials to women and men who were previously unemployed, to create bead and wire art. Nobs responded to the advertisement and joined the workshop. Nobs showed a natural talent for the craft and soon became known as a “master beader.” She was then promoted to “sample beader” on a team of the most talented beaders who develop new designs and create customized samples for corporate clients. Today, Nobs is Streetwire’s fulltime Sales Administrator. Her fluency in English, Xhosa, and Shona allows her to communicate easily with both the artists and Streetwires’ customers. “Nobs treats each customer with the personal touch,” says Streetwires Production Manager Riaan Hanekom. “Even when faced with an impossible request, Nobs leaves the customer smiling.” “I am happy because I know I am setting a good example for my children,” says Nobs, “and teaching them that hard work and a good attitude means success in life.”
OUR SUPPORTERS Global Goods Partners wishes to thank the many generous individuals and organizations that have supported our work this past year. Without them, our impact in the communities in which we work would not be possible. $15,000 and above Anonymous (1) Jewish Women’s Foundation of New York - Isha Koach Kathleen & Scott Kapnick Lenox Hill Cardiovascular Foundation Lusia Milch $1,000-$14,999 The Bresky Foundation Amy Cherry-Abitbol & Pierre Abitbol Susan & Hebert Donner Marjorie & Robert Hirschhorn Janis Kanter Mex-Am Cultural Foundation The Morrison Foerster Foundation Steven North Michelle Ores & Charles Schorin Mr. & Mrs. Richard Pitbladdo, Sr. The Women’s Foundation of Colorado Zegar Family Fund $50-$999 Lorri Bernstein Peggy & John Feder Michele & Morton Fisch Laura FitzSimmons Mary-Christine French Pam Green Barbara & Eugene Greene
Interns Adjoa Boateng Ashley Graham Murphy McNaulty Sindy Yui
(continued) Semone Grossman Margaret Lacey Susan Leonard Jody & Guilio Martini Donna & Robert Olson Tracy Pollan & Michael J. Fox Rebecca Russo Mitchell Schear Molly Shifrin Louise Silverstein Stanley & Dorothy Winter Fund Gifts-In-Kind Carmen Teresa de la Ville Morrison Foerster, LLP James Monroe and Co. New York University Robert F. Wagner Graduate School of Public Service New York University Stern School of Business Volunteers Yasmine Abellard Ksenia Avdulova Leela Bhashyam Laura Escovar Hayley Flug Manisha Johary
Megan Johnston Gabriella Lewin Daphne Philip Blanca Rodriguez Rozhia Tabnak Lilian Tan Eva Vai
STATEMENT FINANCIALSOF ACTIVITIES for year ended June 30, 2013
2013
2012
253,469 253,469
206,167 206,167
284,080
291,539
(102,687) (89,367)
(116,677) (87,465)
92,034
87,397
10
57
345,513
293,623
Program and services Management and general Fundraising Total expenses
285,541 57,701 9,435 352,677
233,768 32,713 5,486 271,967
Change in net assets Net assets, beginning of year Net assets, end of year
(7,164) 229,311 227,147
21,656 207,655 229,311
Support and Revenue Public Support Contributions Total public support Revenues Gross sale of merchandise Less cost of goods sold Products purchased from GGP Partners Additional costs associated with product sales Net income from sale of merchandise Interest income Total revenue Expenses
GGP STAFF
GGP BOARD OF DIRECTORS
Linda Barnett Director of School and Nonprofit Programs
Debra Marks Government Programs Executive, IBM
Jeremy Hockenstein Co-Founder and CEO, Digital Divide Data
Jennifer Gootman Executive Director
Molly Patrick Divisional Vice-President, Coach Inc.
Kelly Jackson Marketing and Sales Manager
Veronique Pittman Chief Information Officer, The Green School Alliance
Ivan Rebolledo Managing Partner, TerraNova Strategic Partners LLC
Sara Lopez-Isaacs Director of Operations Joan Shifrin Co-Founder and Co-President Catherine Lieber Shimony Co-Founder and Co-President
GGP ADVISORS
Joan Shifrin Co-Founder & Co-President Global Goods Partners Catherine Lieber Shimony Co-Founder & Co-President Global Goods Partners
Jennifer Wong Production and Design Manager
www.globalgoodspartners.org
Photo credits: © Asociación de Artesanos Andinos, © Friends International, © La Casa De Acogida Mantay, © Courtney Winston, © Manuela Ramos, © Streetwires, © Kalpana Biswas