Donate - Global Mamas

Preserve Living Wages for Women Artisans in Ghana

For more than 20 years, Global Mamas has been dedicated to promoting a more sustainable and human-centered approach to production and consumption. Today, that work is threatened by the instability of the Ghana to US exchange rate. In addition, we are absorbing the financial impact of increased tariffs and duties on goods. These obstacles have put us on a trajectory to potentially run out of cash for operations by early next year. Your help is more critical than ever to ensure our survival.

Global Mamas lost $55,910 this year after Ghana unexpectedly shifted the Cedi-Dollar exchange rate from 15:1 to 11:1, making our export revenue 30% less valuable overnight. Prices in Ghana continue to rise. Despite solid 2025 planning, we couldn’t anticipate this hit. After 23 years relying on exchange-rate stability to support living wages, this setback now threatens our operations. Without major changes, we will run out of cash early next year and our future survival is at risk.

Global Mamas leadership has made the difficult decision to implement global pay cuts versus layoffs. While our wages still meet fair trade standards after the pay reduction, the wages will no longer adhere to our self-imposed goal of higher-than-living-wage standards. We are committed to protecting every job in the midst of these economic challenges. Your donation is crucial to directly restoring lost wages and providing immediate financial relief.

A little goes a long way

Each donation helps us to fulfill our mission of fostering prosperity for African women and their families. Funds raised will allow us to ensure life-changing work for the Mamas, allowing them to send their children to school, provide nutritious meals for their families, and seek healthcare when needed. Your support safeguards 20+ years of progress, empowering Ghanaian women to achieve economic independence. Together, we can protect the Mamas’ livelihoods now.

To provide some perspective on how funds work towards providing these significant resources:

$10 – Helps to offset a day’s wage for a staff member
$25 – Helps maintain living wages for a Mama artisan
$100 – Supports income stability for a Mama and her team
$250 – Covers a portion of lost wages for the quality control team and production coordinators
$1000– Sustains fair trade jobs for numerous Mama entrepreneurs

With your help, we will continue to create a space where women will strengthen themselves, their families, and their communities. We will continue to connect women in rural areas to international marketplaces to facilitate more equitable distribution of resources that promote inclusive and sustainable economic growth. This in turn will ignite social change, breaking the cycle of poverty and gender inequality. As the women become powerful role models, their children and their communities will flourish.

Global Mamas is registered in Ghana as a local NGO and in the USA as a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization.