Americas Society Awarded Seattle International Foundation Grant to Support Social Inclusion Initiative

New York, April 8, 2013 — A new grant from the Seattle International Foundation (SIF) will support Americas Society in its efforts to broaden the scholarship and debate on social inclusion in the Western Hemisphere. The $30,000 grant will fund the second edition of Americas Society’s Social Inclusion Index to measure social inclusion in the Americas.

“There is a growing consensus that a thriving democracy demands the social, political and economic inclusion of all groups. The Social Inclusion Index establishes the first-ever set of combined measurements of the topic to allow us to compare performance,” said Christopher Sabatini, senior director of policy for Americas Society and editor-in-chief of Americas Quarterly. “The generous support of the Seattle International Foundation will be instrumental in allowing us to expand and disseminate the Social Inclusion Index in 2013.”

First compiled in 2012, the Social Inclusion Index draws on existing statistical data sources to examine and measure the multiple dimensions of social inclusion in the hemisphere. Fifteen variables comprising the major inputs and outputs of social inclusion were tracked across 12 countries in the region. Each variable was scored and the countries ranked. The Index was first published in Americas Quarterly, Americas Society’s flagship policy journal and is also available online.

This grant marks the first partnership between Americas Society and the Seattle-based SIF. It will allow the organization to expand the scope of the Index to include four new Central American countries—Costa Rica, El Salvador, Honduras, and Panama to the original 12. The Index will also be translated to Spanish.

“Seattle International Foundation is very pleased to partner with Americas Society to advance this important research providing policy makers with key data on development issues in Central America,” said Mauricio Vivero, executive director at SIF.

The Seattle International Foundation (SIF) works with corporations, foundations, governments and individuals to alleviate poverty in Central America. Since 2008, SIF has invested more than $7 million in organizations working for positive social change throughout the region.

“The Social Inclusion Index is a promising exercise to measure quantitative and qualitative aspects of social inclusion throughout Latin America. The Index has made a contribution by giving greater visibility to the importance of developing indicators and instruments to measure inclusion, and has sparked a debate on how to recognize and rank policy advances for diverse population groups living in nations throughout the region,” said Judith Morrison, Senior Advisor Social Development, Gender and Diversity Division, Inter-American Development Bank.

Americas Society is the premier organization dedicated to education, debate, and dialogue in the Americas. Established by David Rockefeller in 1965, our mission is to foster an understanding of the contemporary political, social and economic issues confronting Latin America, the Caribbean, and Canada, and to increase public awareness and appreciation of the diverse cultural heritage of the Americas and the importance of the inter-American relationship. Americas Society launched its Social Inclusion program in 2010 with support from the Ford Foundation to address the systemic problem of social, economic, and political exclusion throughout the Western Hemisphere. The program aims to strengthen the representation of marginalized groups by coordinating new research and promoting fresh debate on how the public and private sectors can create more inclusive societies in the region.

Americas Quarterly (AQ) is the premier journal dedicated to policy analysis and debate on economics, finance, politics, and social development in the Western Hemisphere. AQ offers high-quality, independent coverage of the Americas to a growing audience that includes policymakers, activists, journalists, business leaders, social entrepreneurs, and students, both in the United States and internationally. Since its launch in 2007, AQ has gained a reputation as a balanced, authoritative, and accessible journal that initiates dialogue on and responds to issues facing the region.

The Seattle International Foundation (SIF) supports worldwide poverty alleviation efforts through grant-making and other activities, with a strategic focus on Central America. SIF was founded as a supporting organization to The Seattle Foundation for the purpose of increasing and enhancing international philanthropy and development efforts from the Pacific Northwest and to serve as a resource to our community. Established in 2008, SIF has awarded more than $8 million to more than 65 organizations based in the Pacific Northwest working to alleviate poverty in 38 countries.