Hunt Alternatives Fund

Hunt Alternatives Fund is a private family foundation located in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded by sisters Swanee Hunt and Helen LaKelly Hunt in 1981, the Fund has contributed more than $70 million to social change worldwide.

In 1992, the Fund split into two entities: The Sister Fund, based in New York City, headed by Helen Hunt; and Hunt Alternatives Fund, based in Denver, headed by Swanee Hunt. In 1997, after serving as ambassador to Austria for four years, Swanee Hunt returned to the United States, moving to Cambridge to found the Women and Public Policy Program at Harvard's JFK School of Government. The Fund has operated out of Cambridge since 1997.

With its local, national, and international programs, Hunt Alternatives Fund advances inclusive approaches to social change.

The local program, ARTWorks for Kids, combines grant making, convening, outreach, and advocacy to support and strengthen organizations that serve and empower youth. The ARTWorks program includes a coalition of 30 organizations working in eastern Massachusetts to help young people stay on track by providing them with opportunities to be involved in the arts.

The national program, Prime Movers: Cultivating Social Capital, supports leaders of social movements who engage the masses to create a more just America. Prime Movers provides these leaders with financial support, capacity building, a peer network, policy and advocacy advice, and networking opportunities. Prime Movers work on a variety of social issues, such as children's rights, women's rights, GLBT and GLBT family rights, veterans' rights, and the environment. Prime Movers include Geoffrey Canada, Majora Carter, Jennifer Chrisler, Sara Horowitz, Van Jones, Paul Rieckhoff, Zainab Salbi, and Jim Wallis, among others.

The Fund's international program is The Initiative for Inclusive Security, which advocates for the full participation of all stakeholders, especially women, in peace processes. The Initiative also includes The Women Waging Peace Network, a network of 500 women peace builders representing more than 40 conflict areas around the world. Inclusive Security's conflict focal areas are Afghanistan, Colombia, Liberia, Rwanda, Sudan, and Uganda.

External links

* [http://www.huntalternatives.org Hunt Alternatives Fund website]
* [http://www.inclusivesecurity.org The Initiative for Inclusive Security]