Change for the Women's Technical Assistance Project, which works with women's organizations in the Southeast that are seeking to expand economic opportunities for low-income women. Project staff provide these groups with fund-raising and organizational assistance and help them obtain advice on economic development projects.

The Artisans Cooperative, which links low-income artisans in rural areas with affluent urban markets through both retail stores and a mail-order catalog, received loan and grant funds for further development of its work. The cooperative was formed in 1972 to help poor women and men in Appalachia and the Southeast expand markets for products of such traditional skills as quilting, sewing, pottery, and candle dipping. The cooperative now has 3,300 members, four retail stores, and annual sales of almost $1 million.

Following congressional approval of a gasoline tax to support renovation of the nation's highways and bridges, the Southeast Women's Employment Coalition (swec), in Lexington, Kentucky, received a grant to improve job opportunities for women in road construction. swec will select four state transportation departments and several sites where private companies have federal road-building contracts. It will work with local organizations to publicize job opportunities for women and minorities, monitor state and private hiring and promotion practices, and file complaints if patterns of sex discrimination emerge.