Amalia Souza, Donella Meadows Fellow and Co-Founder and Director of the CASA Socio-Environmental Fund in Brazil, was nominated as one of 7 worldwide finalists for the Olga Alexeeva Memorial Prize in 2016.
The prize recognizes individuals who work for the development of philanthropy for progressive social change in emerging market countries. CASA’s purpose is to “enable funding to reach the communities most affected by the social and environmental challenges in South America.”
Amalia shared the origins of her vision: “The idea to create a South America-based fund to support grassroots groups working on the cross-section of social and environmental justice was inspired by my Fellows program in 2003. In 2005 we went public and in 2016 [we realized] our biggest vision of all: a partnership with a Brazilian national bank that doubled our grant making to $2 million a year and opened doors to access real heavy duty local funders!”
Celebrating with Amalia, other Fellows commented: “You are a true shining star. I am so happy for you, and especially for the world which has benefitted so greatly from your vision and tireless efforts over decades.” And: “This is testament to your dedication to life affirming justice.”