Microfinancing and Fundraising
Grantwriting is only one factor in the wider venture of fundraising. Professionals work tirelessly to find support for schools, hospitals and other institutions that depend on donations to operate. Grantwriters deliver 10% to 20% of the total revenue in fundraising organizations, most of which are based in the institutions that benefit. Some, like John F. Schultz and Company were built by entrepreneurs who, through a sense of charity, work to further the causes they believe in. Of course, the income these entrepreneurs derive can be measurable by the standards of other professions – some make in the six figures for hard work writing and help organizations grow. But it is the successful grantwriter who is in demand, not the least expensive.
Micro loans have recently come into public awareness through the award of the Nobel Peace Prize to Muhammad Yunus, an Indian banker and economist who saw a need for small loans to the poorest entrepreneurs to start businesses or to further the growth of a new business. This has been going on for over a decade, most successfully in India, but the movement to fund these little projects has spread around the world. Now, for as little as $25, a school child can be fed, clothed and her books purchased for a year, or a woman can increase her output of woven cloth, or a farmer buy another ox, and so on. These are small gestures for people in the West that mean a tremendous amount to the rest of the struggling world.
Two online micro loan ventures were recently written up in the Seattle Times (December 18, 2006) in an article by Kristi Heim. She investigated GlobalGiving.com and Kiva.org for her essay, sprinkled with anecdotes by local people who have practiced, in small ways, their own philanthropy. These donors are often people who are retired, living on fixed income, and looking for good ways to give meaningful Christmas gifts. Heim interviews Dennis Whittle, CEO of GlobalGiving.com, a non-profit founded in 2000. He sees the internet as “revolutionizing philanthropy” through a system that can take donations, distribute them to needy recipients, and report back to the giver.
“The Internet links the donor and the recipient in new ways. GlobalGiving.com for example, allows [the donor] to email the project coordinator in Zimbabwe, see photos and messages from the students and receive updates from the field throughout the year.”
Kiva.org connects individual lenders and borrowers worldwide. President Premal Shah says, “Philanthropy used to be balls and receptions catering to high net-worth individuals. I think there’s something democratizing if you can bring technology into it and let the average person be like a Bill Gates or a Rockefeller.” Kiva.org profiles individual entrepreneurs from all over the third world and lets the donor chose which to sponsor. In other words, you can read about the people you may want to support and pick the individual causes that match your giving priorities.
For example, a retired woman living near Tacoma, Washington found Beatrice Wanjiru Njuguna of Kenya on Kiva.org. Njuguna is a 47 year old mother of six who grows and sells vegetables. She applied for a loan of $300 and the lady in Tacoma contributed. Now she receives email updates about Njuguna, who has already repaid a third of the loan on schedule.
Kiva.org, in business a little over a year, has attracted 18,000 lenders, each contributing an average of $82. Kiva.org collects the money and transfers 100 percent of it to local microfinance institutions, which distribute the money and manage the loans.
The loans are financed at a rate of 19% to 30% depending on the microfinance institution.
Both Kiva.org and GlobalGiving.org work on operating budgets of under $500,000, lean by any standard. They estimate that 85% to 90% of the donated money reaches the projects, with the remainder supporting operations and money-transfer fees.
One of the best things about microfinance on the Internet is that transactions can be done quickly. Sometimes it is only a few days between the time donations are made and when they are received by the local project.
The greatest reward, of course, goes to the donor. The lady in Tacoma has seen her small gift grow as Njuguna doubled her income as a result of the loan. Both women can make claim on being a source of health and happiness.
Micro loans have recently come into public awareness through the award of the Nobel Peace Prize to Muhammad Yunus, an Indian banker and economist who saw a need for small loans to the poorest entrepreneurs to start businesses or to further the growth of a new business. This has been going on for over a decade, most successfully in India, but the movement to fund these little projects has spread around the world. Now, for as little as $25, a school child can be fed, clothed and her books purchased for a year, or a woman can increase her output of woven cloth, or a farmer buy another ox, and so on. These are small gestures for people in the West that mean a tremendous amount to the rest of the struggling world.
Two online micro loan ventures were recently written up in the Seattle Times (December 18, 2006) in an article by Kristi Heim. She investigated GlobalGiving.com and Kiva.org for her essay, sprinkled with anecdotes by local people who have practiced, in small ways, their own philanthropy. These donors are often people who are retired, living on fixed income, and looking for good ways to give meaningful Christmas gifts. Heim interviews Dennis Whittle, CEO of GlobalGiving.com, a non-profit founded in 2000. He sees the internet as “revolutionizing philanthropy” through a system that can take donations, distribute them to needy recipients, and report back to the giver.
“The Internet links the donor and the recipient in new ways. GlobalGiving.com for example, allows [the donor] to email the project coordinator in Zimbabwe, see photos and messages from the students and receive updates from the field throughout the year.”
Kiva.org connects individual lenders and borrowers worldwide. President Premal Shah says, “Philanthropy used to be balls and receptions catering to high net-worth individuals. I think there’s something democratizing if you can bring technology into it and let the average person be like a Bill Gates or a Rockefeller.” Kiva.org profiles individual entrepreneurs from all over the third world and lets the donor chose which to sponsor. In other words, you can read about the people you may want to support and pick the individual causes that match your giving priorities.
For example, a retired woman living near Tacoma, Washington found Beatrice Wanjiru Njuguna of Kenya on Kiva.org. Njuguna is a 47 year old mother of six who grows and sells vegetables. She applied for a loan of $300 and the lady in Tacoma contributed. Now she receives email updates about Njuguna, who has already repaid a third of the loan on schedule.
Kiva.org, in business a little over a year, has attracted 18,000 lenders, each contributing an average of $82. Kiva.org collects the money and transfers 100 percent of it to local microfinance institutions, which distribute the money and manage the loans.
The loans are financed at a rate of 19% to 30% depending on the microfinance institution.
Both Kiva.org and GlobalGiving.org work on operating budgets of under $500,000, lean by any standard. They estimate that 85% to 90% of the donated money reaches the projects, with the remainder supporting operations and money-transfer fees.
One of the best things about microfinance on the Internet is that transactions can be done quickly. Sometimes it is only a few days between the time donations are made and when they are received by the local project.
The greatest reward, of course, goes to the donor. The lady in Tacoma has seen her small gift grow as Njuguna doubled her income as a result of the loan. Both women can make claim on being a source of health and happiness.
posted by Schultz and Company | 7:39 PM
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