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History & Purpose
The National Council of Negro Women, Inc. has operated for over 60 years as an "umbrella" organization composed of 39 national, widely diverse, affiliated African American women's organizations and over 240 sections. The combined outreach of this coalition is over 4 million women worldwide.
The relationship between NCNW and its 39 affiliates can be characterized as a shared vision, with each affiliate's unique mission aligned with NCNW's mission. This alignment of vision is central to Mary McLeod Bethune and Dr. Dorothy I. Height's goal of unity among organizations.
The partnership between NCNW and the affiliates is based on a commitment to collaboration between equally strong organizations, which is often the most challenging of organizational efforts. This important and historical coalition regards as its foundation many of the following principles:
- A shared vision which illuminates each affiliate's own vision.
- Missions that are congruent and aligned with that of NCNW.
- Joint projects which encourage the survival and betterment of each organization
- The sharing of history and activities to overcome any differences.
- Communication and leveraging of each organization's core competencies.
- Focused, issue-oriented and results-oriented projects with non-competing priorities.
- The efforts of the whole should be larger, more affordable and more effective than those of the individual organizations themselves.
A shining example of this collaborative effort started in 1997 with the "Women's Work: A Global Call to Action" campaign. A series of roundtable discussions in 20 major cities, developed and carried out by NCNW and the affiliates, disseminated information and provided a forum to discuss issues concerning African American women and their families. Each day African American women are faced with a balancing act in managing work and family, the desire to obtain decent wages, access to education and training, the safety of their children and where they live.
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