This paper seeks to answer the question of what effect international funding has on the goals and structure of women's NGOs in Egypt and Jordan. The paper begins with an examination of history of women's associational activity in the two countries of study. History shows that women's participation in civil society prior to US foreign aid involvement was not only present, but vibrant and multi-faceted. The second section of the paper details how the goals and structure of women's organizations have now changed in light of international involvement. The paper examines two sets of constraints under which women's organizations operate today: first, the bureaucracy of USAID and various foreign policy concerns that might affect funding; and second, culture, and government systems used to register and monitor NGO activity within Egypt and Jordan. The findings conclude that despite the lack of democracy in Egypt and Jordan, local political conditions are not inimical to the operation of women's organizations. Although Egypt's and Jordan's political structures differ significantly, both governments are open to the operation of women's organizations, whether these organizations focus on women's health, education, or even political participation. The greatest negative impact on the structure and goals of these organizations comes from US foreign policy concerns, and the bureaucracy associated with the US government funding apparatus. Thus, this paper finds that in today's globalized world, with an increasing emphasis on the merits of foreign aid as a diplomacy and democracy-building method, many US political and bureaucratic concerns still hamper encouragement of foreign associational activity.