The Gabriele Proft Fund of the Socialist International Women

The Gabriele Proft Fund was established in 1969 and receives donations from member organisations of the Socialist International Women as well as from individuals.

The fund was set up to provide support for women’s projects in developing countries. The fund was given the name of its founder, Gabriele Proft, as a way of honouring her commitment to women in developing countries.

Over the years the Gabriele Proft Fund has sponsored projects in Senegal, Guatemala, Nicaragua, Bolivia, Cameroon, Equatorial Guinea and Sierra Leone.

Gabriele Proft was born in Austria in 1879. In 1909 she was elected Secretary of the National Women’s Organisation of the then Austrian Socialist Party. Gabriele Proft was amongst the first women to be elected to the Austrian Parliament in 1919, to which she belonged until 1934 and then again from 1945 to 1953. Gabriele Proft was also President of the Austrian Socialist Women’s Organisation until 1959 when she was made Honorary President for life. She was actively engaged in re-constituting the Socialist International Women after the Second World War.

Gabriele Proft died in 1971.

Should a member organisation of the Socialist International Women wish to make a donation to the Gabriele Proft Fund, please contact the Secretariat.