IMF Family Association (IMFFA)
Last Updated: September 11, 2009
Introduction
The IMF Family Association (IMFFA) is a volunteer organization comprising the spouses and partners of IMF staff. Its members are from the over 186 countries represented at the Fund.
The mission of the IMFFA is to provide a welcoming, supportive community for IMF families through cultural, social, educational, and career-related activities. The Association carries out its mission through a nine-member Board and volunteer committees, which provide a structure for activities offered to all members. The IMFFA Office, managed by the Executive Chair with the support of the Board and staffed with a full-time assistant, supports the work of the Association.
IMFFA Programs, Services & Activities
IMFFA programs and services are designed to foster and support friendships, provide support during lifetime transitions, share cultural knowledge, create a mutually supportive atmosphere, and inform spouses, partners, and families of resources and opportunities available to them both within the IMF and throughout the Metropolitan Washington area. Open houses are held each month to bring together newcomers with IMFFA committee members, and a newcomers’ luncheon is held twice annually to formally welcome incoming spouses and family members. Efforts are also made to keep in touch with spouse/partners who are on Resident Representative Assignment, or who have recently returned from overseas assignments.
The IMFFA also plays an advocacy role to promote the active participation of spouses/partners in decisions affecting employment, benefits, financial and legal matters. Working with Human Resources at the IMF, IMFFA conducts regularly gathers opinions and views of its members and prepares issue analyses and recommendations on policies affecting spouses/partners.
Within the Fund, the IMFFA has participated in discussions on domestic issues with the Staff Association and the World Bank Family Network (WBFN). Outreach events include organizing the first joint family picnic of Fund/Bank families at the Bretton Woods Recreation Center, and organizing concerts at the Fund for an audience of IMF and Inter-American Development Bank staff, spouses and embassy representatives.
Charitable activities of the IMFFA include raising funds through bake sales and UNICEF card sales, and organizing along with Fund staff a week of summer camp for inner city youth at the Bretton Woods Recreation Center.
For more information
The IMFFA Office is located in HQ1, at 700 19th Street NW, Washington DC, 20431, in Room 3–106 (3rd floor). The office is open from 9:00 am to 5:30 pm on week days, and family members and spouses of IMF staff are welcome to drop in during office hours. The office is equipped with a number of amenities for the use of IMFFA members, including computers with IMF Intranet and Internet access and a meeting boardroom.
Please visit the IMFFA website (password protected) for more information about the IMFFA, or to view current volunteer opportunities on IMFFA committees. In order to get access to the site contact the Executive Chair through the IMFFA office by telephone at (202) 623–7696, by fax at (202) 623–6887 or by email at imffa@imf.org.