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For US donors, NGOsource equivalency determination

Give through your donor-advised fund.

If you hold a donor-advised fund at Fidelity Charitable, Schwab Charitable, Vanguard Charitable, ImpactAssets, National Philanthropic Trust, a community foundation or any other qualified US sponsor, you can recommend a grant to RFLD directly. You need no fiscal sponsor, your sponsor carries no expenditure responsibility, and your original contribution stays fully tax-deductible.

How to recommend a grant Copy the form details

What your sponsor needs

Legal name
Réseau des Femmes Leaders pour le Développement
Also listed as
RFLD, Women Leaders Network for Development
US tax status
NGOsource Equivalency Determination, 501(c)(3) public charity equivalent
Headquarters
Africa Office, Accra, Ghana
Registered in
Ghana, Senegal, Benin, Nigeria and The Gambia

RFLD can receive DAF grants directly

RFLD holds an NGOsource Equivalency Determination, a vetted certification that it meets the standards of a US public charity under IRS rules. For a DAF donor, that changes three practical things.

A direct grant

Your sponsor can send the grant straight to RFLD. There is no fiscal sponsor in between and no intermediary fee.

No expenditure responsibility

Your sponsor does not need to run special international-grant compliance, because the equivalency determination satisfies the IRS test.

Your deduction is unchanged

Your contribution to the DAF was deductible in the year you made it, as with any US charity.

New to equivalency determinations? Read the short explainer below.

How to recommend a grant to RFLD

Each sponsor has its own screens, but the details you enter are the same. Choose your sponsor. For any sponsor not listed, use the last tab.

Log in to your Giving Account at fidelitycharitable.org.

Open Fidelity Charitable

  1. Choose “Recommend a Grant”

    You will find it on your Giving Account dashboard.

  2. Search for RFLD

    Try these terms in order: Réseau des Femmes Leaders pour le Développement, then Women Leaders Network for Development, then RFLD. If none of them finds us, go to step 4.

  3. Confirm the listing

    Check that the listing carries the NGOsource equivalency note, then select it.

  4. If RFLD is not yet in Fidelity’s database

    New international charities can take two to five business days to add. Call Fidelity Charitable on 1-800-262-6039 and ask them to add RFLD through NGOsource, or email partnerships@rflgd.org and we will send our certificate and address details to speed things up.

  5. Enter the amount and purpose

    If asked for a purpose, you can paste the suggested wording from the form details below.

  6. Choose how you want to be acknowledged

    Share your name and contact details if you would like us to thank you, or give anonymously. The tax treatment is the same either way.

  7. Submit

    Processing usually takes three to ten business days. A first international grant can take longer, and repeat grants are quicker.

Details for your DAF form

Copy any field straight into your sponsor’s form, and skip the ones it does not ask for.

Organisation legal name
Réseau des Femmes Leaders pour le Développement
English name
Women Leaders Network for Development (RFLD)
Headquarters address
Africa Office, Nmai Dzorn, Adjiringano Rd, Eden Court, Accra, Ghana
Website
https://rflgd.org
US tax status
NGOsource Equivalency Determination (501(c)(3) public charity equivalent)
Compliance contact
partnerships@rflgd.org
Suggested grant purpose
Unrestricted support for RFLD’s programmes across Africa, including the WAFF Fund, the Africa Grant Portfolio and its work on SRHR, civic space, climate justice and ending gender-based violence.

RFLD is registered in Ghana, Senegal, Benin, Nigeria and The Gambia. For the latest version of these details, visit rflgd.org/give-through-your-daf.

What an NGOsource Equivalency Determination means

NGOsource is a programme of TechSoup and the Council on Foundations. Since 2013 it has checked non-US charities against IRS standards for 501(c)(3) public charity equivalence. A determination confirms that an organisation meets those standards, so US private foundations and DAFs can fund it as they would a domestic public charity.

The IRS does not grant 501(c)(3) status to organisations outside the United States. An equivalency determination is the recognised route, and RFLD received it after a full review of its governance, financial controls, operations and public-benefit activities.

What it makes possible

  • US private foundations can grant to RFLD directly, without expenditure responsibility or a fiscal sponsor.
  • DAF sponsors can process recommendations to RFLD as a standard grant to a public charity.
  • Individual US donors, including the African diaspora, can give through a DAF and keep their usual charitable deduction.
  • Workplace giving and employer matching through Benevity, Bright Funds and similar platforms become available.

Vetted by funders who know the field

Your grant joins institutional funding from Sida, GIZ / BMZ, the David & Lucile Packard Foundation, AmplifyChange, Hivos, Expertise France and others, each of which ran its own due diligence.

What a DAF grant to RFLD delivers

In 2025, 79.8% of RFLD’s spending reached field activities, and the WAFF Fund resourced ten francophone women-led organisations. These are examples of what a single grant can do.

$2,500

Rapid response

Emergency legal support or safe relocation for one women human rights defender under threat.

$25,000

A full Upendo grant

Six months of protection, emergency advocacy or organising for one grassroots women-led collective.

$50,000

A full Agojie grant

A year of institutional strengthening for one organisation: audit readiness, digital security, PSEA systems and governance.

$100K+

Movement building

Grows our field capacity, extends WAFF Fund re-granting, or seeds multi-year advocacy on SRHR, civic space or climate justice.

Unrestricted grants let RFLD respond where the need is greatest. You can also restrict a grant to the WAFF Fund, BRAVE, PAWELE or the Africa Grant Portfolio by naming it in the purpose field.

Donor questions

Do I get a tax deduction for this grant?
Your deduction is tied to when you contributed to your DAF, and that contribution was deductible in the year you made it. Grants you recommend afterwards, including to RFLD, do not create an extra deduction, and they have no tax consequences for you.
My sponsor says RFLD is not in its system. What should I do?
Adding a new international charity usually takes two to five business days. Call your sponsor’s donor services line and ask them to add RFLD through NGOsource, or email partnerships@rflgd.org and we will send our certificate, address details and a governance summary to your sponsor’s compliance team.
Can I set up a recurring grant?
Yes, at every major sponsor. Monthly, quarterly or annual recommendations are set up in the same grant flow. Recurring and multi-year grants are especially useful because they let us plan programmes further ahead.
Can I stay anonymous?
Yes. Your sponsor will ask whether to share your name, your contact details or neither. The grant is treated the same for tax purposes and used with the same care. Most sponsors also let you be thanked privately without public recognition.
Can I direct my grant to a specific programme?
Yes. Name the programme in the purpose field. The main options are BRAVE (sexual and reproductive health and rights), PAWELE (women’s political leadership), the WAFF Fund (re-granting in francophone West Africa), the Africa Grant Portfolio (five pan-African grant products: Upendo, Agojie, Sisonke, Alafia and Dada), Climate Justice and gender-responsive budgeting, and Ending FGM and child marriage. Unrestricted gifts give us the most room to respond.
What if my sponsor does not support international grants?
This is rare. Fidelity, Schwab, Vanguard, ImpactAssets and the large community foundations all support international grants through NGOsource. If yours does not, you can give through CAF America or KBFUS, or give to RFLD directly outside the DAF. Email us and we will help you find the route.
I am part of the African diaspora. Is this the right route for me?
Often it is. A DAF lets you contribute a lump sum once, deductible that year, and recommend grants to RFLD and other African causes over time. If you do not have a DAF, a direct gift through our website is simpler. If you plan to give $5,000 or more a year, or to support several African organisations over several years, a DAF is worth exploring.
How will I know the grant arrived?
Your sponsor will tell you when the grant is processed. If you shared your contact details, RFLD will send an acknowledgment within 14 business days of receiving the funds. Anonymous donors can follow our impact through the annual report and newsletter at rflgd.org.

We can help your sponsor verify us within a day

If your sponsor needs our equivalency certificate, governance documents or audit history, we will send them to its compliance team within one business day. Please put “DAF ED verification” in the subject line.

Email partnerships@rflgd.orgContact page
  • NGOsource equivalency determination
  • ACHPR Observer Status
  • Grantee of the Packard Foundation
  • Registered in five countries
Stay close to the movement.
Field notes, data releases and calls for proposals, in English or French. No more than one email a month.

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