In Granada, Nicaragua, Opportunity International co-invested with the local farming community to build a yucca processing plant. Through the hard work of employees like the women above, the facility adds value to the local staple by providing new markets and higher income for farmers’ raw material.

Initiated and championed by entrepreneurial contributors David and Donna Allman, and under the leadership of program director Geralyn Sheehan and executive director David Kone, Opportunity Nicaragua’s CED program is partnering with the poorest people in the country.

Opportunity Nicaragua targets rural communities where poverty is greatest, establishing interventions that employ entrepreneurial education, community-led projects, local artisan support and agricultural solutions to empower the people of Nicaragua.

In the piece, Vicki writes:

Fielding calls from donors with ideas is nothing new, but truly listening — even when their ideas challenge the status quo — is a paradigm shift in how nonprofit executives engage with their donors. When presented with a surprising idea, smart organizations will bravely listen, because what comes next might just be game-changing innovation.

At Opportunity, we see experienced, resourced entrepreneurial donors as a major asset for our organization. More broadly, it seems to me that learning to see donors themselves, and not only their checkbooks, as critical assets is part of what turns a nonprofit into a social enterprise.

We hope this article will shine a brighter light on Opportunity’s mission to empower people to work their way out of chronic poverty.

Read “Funders Can Give More than Money,” by Vicki Escarra, in the Harvard Business Review »

Nancy and Fred McDougal with an Opportunity client in India

“We’ve learned so much about the wider world than we could have learned otherwise,” Fred said. Having taken four previous Insight Trips, the couple brought their grandchildren to see Opportunity’s work in Colombia. Kevin, then age 11, was particularly absorbed by the experience.

“He’d sit with the Trust Group and really listen intently,” said Nancy. “At the end of the trip I asked him what impressed him most and he said, ‘They have so little and we have so much, but they’re so grateful.’ Hearing that meant everything to us.”

This article was published on page 7 of the fall 2012/winter 2013 issue of Opportunity’s Impact newsletter.

Cookies for Change fundraiser

To spread the word, colorful e-mails were sent out to all employees to enlist contestants to bring in two dozen of their favorite home-baked or store-bought cookies for the competition, and to donate to the online fundraiser on Opportunity’s website.

On the day of the event, the excitement in the office was palpable. The kitchen was filled with people eager to taste the goodies and use their funds to support the cause. Each of the 13 batches was placed in front of an envelope bearing a contestant number and a description of the cookie. Everyone in the office was encouraged to sample each cookie and place donations in the form of cash, check or IOU into the envelope of their favorites. At the end of the day, the cookie that raised the most money was crowned the winner! Former intern and new Young Ambassadors manager Allison Kooser took a bite out of the competition and received first place with her creative and scrumptious pretzel, chocolate and sea salt cookies.

Just a few of the cookie contestants

Extra cookies were also available for purchase throughout the day for anyone wishing to take a few for the road. Meghan Cutherell’s delicious pumpkin cream cheese and chocolate caramel whoopee pies flew off the trays and into the mouths of happy customers.

All in all, this fundraiser was a great success. We raised a total of $442, including off- and online donations, and our fundraiser is still going online.

Meghan and her whoopie pies

The fundraiser’s low operating costs and creativity make it fun and easy to replicate in your own office or organization! If there’s one thing “Cookies for Change” has taught me, it is to never underestimate the power of the sweet tooth.

To see all our online fundraisers, or to start your own, visit opportunity.org/fundraiser.

Lauren Hawley at her desk, in her new role, in our Oak Brook office.

1. What did you do before you came here?
   I worked for a fundraising consulting agency named Douglas Shaw & Associates, formulating fundraising strategies and managing projects for nonprofits.
2. Where did you go to college?
   I went to Wheaton College here in Illinois, where I studied business and economics.
3. Why did you decide to come to Opportunity?
   I’ve been interested in the work of Opportunity for a long time, and I feel that microfinance is one of the best tools for poverty alleviation. I spent some time overseas—in Kenya and Equatorial Guinea—and that’s what first got me interested in development work.
4. How did you hear about the organization?
   My economics professors in college introduced me to Opportunity’s work and encouraged me to get involved.
5. What about working with Governors are you looking forward to the most?
   They not only want to give financially but they’re passionate and want to be involved. I’m excited to work with supporters who are passionate about the mission, who have great ideas and want to share.
6. What is the one thing you hope to do in the role?
   I want to make the message of Board of Governors simple and easy for Governors to share with friends, and for me to be a good resource. I’m eager to do whatever will help us do that. I also want to work with passionate colleagues, and I hope to support them the best I can.
7. Three weeks in, what’s your favorite thing about the job so far?
   I love being in an environment where people love their job, and are passionate and motivated to do their best to achieve the mission.
8. What’s the best thing that’s happened to you so far here?
   We had a team meeting with the CEO last week—each staff member came prepared to share how their daily work makes an impact on the lives of clients. That keeps it at the forefront for me; it reminds me that what we do every day affects people in the field.
9. What is one thing about you that might surprise people?
   I’m a big Olympics fanatic and I’m really excited for the Olympics to start on July 27 (yes, I know the date). I’m a huge women’s gymnastics fan, especially Kerri Strug back in the ’90s. If you don’t remember her, watch this video on YouTube. It will make you cry!
10. Anything else you’d like people to know?
    Just that I’m really excited to be here!

Three girls, one shirt, one pair of shoes, 100 days, 2,500 dollars, 17 women, 85 lives. What does this mean? Nothing to most of us, but when those three girls are Abby, Bethany, and Chrissy it means a lot more. These three junior high girls decided to wear one shirt and one pair of shoes for 100 days to raise over $2,500! And for what? To do something that could help 17 women and their families in the developing world improve their lives.

Three junior high Opportunity supporters go "Plaid for People" and tell their story on Opportunity Canada's blog. (From left: Bethany, Chrissy and Abby)

“After reading ‘Do Hard Things‘ by Alex and Brett Harris we were inspired to make a difference. We really wanted to do something, anything really,” Bethany said, “so after some research we decided to raise money for Opportunity International. We wanted to do something useful with our teen years. We wanted to change lives.” And so they did by starting the “Plaid For People” campaign.

The project started on November 1, 2011 and will come to an end on February 8, 2012. On their story page on OpportunityCan–Opportunity Canada’s online platform where people can share their story, raise funds and invite others to end poverty and transform lives–the girls said:

We are wearing one shirt and one pair of shoes for 100 days. The shirt represent the very small amount of clothing that people in poverty have compared to us, and the shoes represent that 50% of the world (300 million of them being children) do not have shoes, and even if they do, they only have one pair.

By doing this we’re trying to place ourselves in their shoes, literally. We will be going around door-to-door in our neighborhoods raising money, holding events at our church and anything else that we can to meet our goal.

And they did. They fundraised at their church, craft fairs, Ten Thousand Villages, and a little bit in their neighborhoods. Arlene, Abby’s mom, said, “The three girls have astonished us with their dream to change world poverty through sacrifice and wearing one shirt and one pair of shoes for one hundred days to both experience simplicity and to raise awareness for Opportunity International.” She went on to say, “As a parent of one of the girls, I was skeptical. So I chose to sit back and ‘just see’ if they could actually raise money this way. But all their hard work, determination, and commitment to excellence has inspired many in our community! I’ve had to, fortunately, rearrange my thinking about teenagers and not put a lid on their dreams and abilities.”

So why on earth would three junior high girls want to do something like this? When we asked why they responded with, “For the glory of God.”

To learn more about the Plaid for People project, leave comments or make a donation, visit plaidforpeople.opportunitycan.ca.

NOTE (Opportunity Canada): The 17 women helped was calculated by taking the $2,500 raised and dividing it by the average loan size to first time clients of $142. For every one loan, it is our estimate that 4-6 others (children, relatives, employees, etc.) are impacted. Therefore the 85 lives impacted was calculated by taking the number of potential loans, 17, multiplied by 5, average number of others impacted. Funds that are generously raised and donated to Opportunity International are used to provide financial services, including loans, savings, insurance and training, to people trapped in poverty who can benefit from them.

Martin Luther King, Jr. (Photo courtesy of nobelprize.org)

This problem of spiritual and moral ‘lag,’ which constitutes modern man’s chief dilemma, expresses itself in three larger problems which grow out of man’s ethical infantilism. Each of these problems, while appearing to be separate and isolated, is inextricably bound to the other. I refer to racial injustice, poverty, and war.

Dr. King outlined the need to find a solution to all three of these great human problems, and when he addressed the issue of poverty, he outlined the need for aid not only for international but for domestic poverty.

So it is obvious that if man is to redeem his spiritual and moral ‘lag,’ he must go all out to bridge the social and economic gulf between the ‘haves’ and the ‘have nots’ of the world. Poverty is one of the most urgent items on the agenda of modern life. There is nothing new about poverty. What is new, however, is that we have the resources to get rid of it.

You may read the lecture transcript at nobelprize.org or listen to an excerpt by clicking here.

Today, nearly 50 years later, the issues that Dr. King implored his audience to address are still urgent societal problems that need solutions. So today, in honor of Martin Luther King’s birthday, how will you answer his call? Will you address this BIG need for an end to injustice, violence and poverty? How and where will you embody God’s agape love — an unlimited loving kindness, charity, towards all people — which King described as “the love of God operating in the human heart?” At Opportunity International, we strive to embody this agape love in our work, bringing financial solutions to families, enabling them to work themselves out of poverty, to give their children a better future, and offering them the tools to live with dignity and find a voice–a “somebodiness,” as King termed it–in their community.

Let today, Martin Luther King Day, be the catalyst that prompts you to get involved with life-changing work that addresses economic and social injustice. Consider contributing to Opportunity’s fundraising efforts at opportunity.org/give or visit opportunity.org/be-tinvolved to take action. We hope that Dr. King’s legacy will inspire you today and all days.

Ann is carrying only 20 pounds of supplies on her back and staying in rustic hostels along the way. “Trusting that my daily needs will be met by the community along the Camino,” she says, “I will be living a simple life of faith, not unlike the women who are members of Opportunity Trust Groups.”

Explaining her motivation, Ann says, “For over seven years, I have been dedicated to supporting Opportunity International as it empowers women living in poverty in the developing world to create and grow businesses so that they may support, educate, and nurture their families. I am inspired by the miraculous changes that occur in the lives of these courageous women and in their families and communities.” Last year, Ann and her husband Steven Brooks, who live in Baltimore, Md., joined the Board of Governors in order to even further deepen their commitment to Opportunity.

Ann has the generous support of the T. Rowe Price Associates Foundation, which will match any funds (up to $10,000) donated by T. Rowe Price employees to her online fundraiser. Show your support for Ann’s pilgrimage by contributing to her online fundraiser, which is still accepting donations, and by sharing words of encouragement on her fundraiser page.

Want to put your faith into action? Support Opportunity through a walk, run, birthday, or any other event or life challenge. Go to opportunity.org/fundraiser to start your own online fundraiser today. ]]> http://www.opportunity.org/blog/500-mile-pilgrimage-for-opportunity/feed/ 0 http://www.opportunity.org/blog/impacting-a-continent-bank-building-in-africa/ http://www.opportunity.org/blog/impacting-a-continent-bank-building-in-africa/#comments Thu, 16 Dec 2010 19:27:51 +0000 Guest Post http://www.opportunity.org/?p=9661 Read more...]]> Last Wednesday, Opportunity staff and supporters gathered for the quarterly conference call hosted by the Board of Governors. The topic was “Bank-Building in Africa” and Opportunity’s Banking on Africa campaign, a discussion led by two of our experts in the International Business Development department: Dennis Ripley, SVP of  programs, and Simona Haiduc, VP of program management. Young Ambassadors for Opportunity (YAO) member Ed Kashmarek got a chance to join in and he shares an overview of some of the notable pieces of information he learned on the call:

Background:
Opportunity International has a bold vision to bring life-changing financial services to five million impoverished people in sub-Saharan Africa over the next five years, where less than 10% of the population has an account with a financial institution. In 2008, Opportunity launched the Banking on Africa campaign to help develop an array of financial services that address the capital infrastructure needs of communities isolated from the financial system. For more, visit: opportunity.org/bankingonafrica.

Introduction:

• Banking on Africa focuses on rural families because 75% of people in Africa live in rural areas, and most of those are farmers.
• People need access to microfinance safety nets like loans, savings, and microinsurance because short-term economic setbacks can lead to long-term problems for households in poverty.
• Savings accounts are in extremely high demand enabling people to better prepare for their futures.

They are expanding this model in certain countries, such as with agricultural finance program in Malawi. The goals:

• To reach every family within 60 minutes of their homes, more recently aiming for 20 minutes
• Expansion of big branches, with smaller satellite branches in small villages
• Banking kiosks and ATMs
• Mobile banking vehicles are used to test demand before setting up kiosks
• Six mobile banking vehicles are already in use in Malawi

Two technology breakthroughs:

1. Point-of-sale (POS) devices:

• In retail shops (food stores, gas stations, post office)
• Less costly than brick-and-mortar banks
• Convenience and security of biometric smart cards to: make a loan payment, draw down from a loan, make deposits
• Transfer between accounts
• Reduction of transaction costs: branch banks $2.00, POS $0.20, cell phone banking $0.05 (lower for POS and cell phone banking due to fewer overhead costs like buildings or employees)

2. Mobile phone banking: Mobile phone ownership in Africa is growing fast. With an estimated 15 million mobile phone banking customers with Safaricom carrier alone, there is the potential to reach 90-95% of country in cost-efficient manner

Agricultural finance can be risky, and most commercial banks steer clear as a result. So key components of Opportunity’s agricultural finance program involves strategies to mitigate risks:

• GPS mapping of land to accurately determine land size
• Questionnaires to determine family size, cash flow of household to understand the financial situation, potential or limitations, of the family and determine appropriate loan levels
• Lend to borrowers with a good credit history with Opportunity
• Don’t over-indebt borrowers (protect borrowers)

Two of our major strategic partners in this program are the Gates Foundation and the MasterCard Foundation. These foundations don’t push for certain directions, allow Opportunity flexibility and spend time on the ground seeing Opportunity’s work firsthand, and they have a good alignment with Opportunity philosophy and strategies. They want to see continued focus on access to savings accounts for rural families, and an emphasis on moving small farmers from subsistence to commercial farming–want to do projects well, at scale, in a sustainable manner.

Opportunity’s due diligence before starting a bank in a country:

• Thorough market assessment, entry strategies
• Entry strategies specifically tailored for different countries
• Discussions with central bankers
• Acquiring deposit-taking license to get access to cheap funds
• Access capital markets once bank is sustainable
• Research and development on how to better reach clients

Opportunity fundraising goal for 2012: $384 million–

• $220 million from client deposits ($50 million raised so far)
• $124 million from donors ($109 million raised so far)
• $40 million from loans ($24 million raised so far)

Watch our video on Banking on Africa:

Clients gather at the banking kiosk in Fatima, Malawi. Reaching people in rural areas is an important step to alleviating global poverty in countries like Malawi.

Travel in your mind to the shores of Lake Malawi. In this remote region, extreme poverty is widespread. But because of the donations, hard work and advocacy of Opportunity supporters and staff, the Malawians here have been empowered financially.

To reach the unreachable, http://www.opportunity.org/Opportunity International[/intlink] Malawi has replicated its successful “hub-and-spoke” approach by opening a hub branch office in the district capital Nsanje, followed by the most recent launch of a “spoke”–a banking kiosk in the village of Fatima. Both locations are supported by an Opportunity Malawi mobile banking vehicle. This hub-and-spoke system is successfully increasing Opportunity’s http://www.opportunity.org/our-work/rural-outreach/outreach[/intlink] to more of these very isolated rural areas.

The new operations will initially help:

• 17,000 economically marginalized families to open secure http://www.opportunity.org/our-work/savings/savings accounts[/intlink]
• 3,500 families (approximately 17,500 people) to access small business http://www.opportunity.org/our-work/loans/loans[/intlink] and http://www.opportunity.org/our-work/training/training[/intlink]
• 3,800 individuals to receive coverage with credit life, crop, funeral and product transit http://www.opportunity.org/our-work/microinsurance/insurance[/intlink]

Mobile banking vehicles like this one help Opportunity to reach rural and isolated families like those in Fatima.

With your help, we can bring further expansions and improvements like these http://www.opportunity.org/our-work/where-we-work/microfinance-in-africa/microfinance-in-malawi/Malawian[/intlink] banking locations to more people living in poverty all around the world. To get involved in bringing http://www.opportunity.org/what-is-microfinance/microfinance[/intlink] to the more than two million Opportunity clients worldwide, go to http://www.opportunity.org/be-involved/opportunity.org/be-involved[/intlink].

How can you help?

1. Meet the experts and learn about microfinance. Join us for Opportunity’s Fall Microfinance Conference, October 8-9, in Washington, D.C. http://www.opportunity.org/opportunity-international-conference/Click here[/intlink] to learn more and to register.
2. Start a web-based fundraiser. Go to optinnow.org/fundraisers and launch a fundraiser for events like birthdays, travel, races and other sporting events, or just to raise awareness about this important issue. Engage the support of family, friends and colleagues to support your efforts and help end global poverty faster.
3. See the impact of Opportunity’s work firsthand. Travel on an http://www.opportunity.org/be-involved/insight-trips/Insight Trip[/intlink] to countries in Africa, Latin America and Asia. You will return home inspired to effect global change.

Be a part of Opportunity’s working solution to global poverty.

Jim Betke welcomes Opportunity supporters into his and Maryellen's home in Oak Park, Ill.

Last week, a group of Opportunity supporters met together in Maryellen and Jim Betke’s home in Oak Park, Ill. Their common denominator? They are all champions of Opportunity’s microfinance work who live in Oak Park and River Forest, Ill.

Over the past 12 months, 80 Opportunity supporters in the Oak Park-River Forest area have raised almost $200,000 together. Motivated by their compassion for those living in poverty, the same group has raised a total of a half million dollars in the past four to five years.

The evening of stories and conversation was both a celebration of what the group had accomplished together and a promise of things to come. Guests enjoyed hors d’oeuvres and lemonade on the warm summer evening, participated in a silent auction, and gathered in the Betkes’ living room to hear from Michael Okleme, an Opportunity staff member who had worked as a loan officer in Ghana before coming to the US.

“When I was a loan officer and then a supervisor with Opportunity Ghana, I wore many hats,” explained Michael. “Our clients depend on loan officers for many things: they settle domestic disputes, dispense business advice, become a spiritual mentor, and more. Loan officers truly care for Opportunity’s clients.”

Michael enjoyed questions from guests throughout the evening, answering from his own experience on topics like competitive advantage, loan sharks, and the importance of savings and credit scoring.

Opportunity supporters enjoy a lively question-and-answer session with Michael Okleme.

“My heart is continually warmed by people’s interest in Opportunity’s mission,” said Sarah Tesch, manager of Opportunity Partners. “This event was particularly inspiring as guests asked thoughtful questions and a few discussed their life-changing experiences during their travels to visit our clients. We have the privilege of engaging with amazing people at both ends of our work–both our supporters here and our staff and clients in the developing world. It was a treat to share an evening with the Oak Park-River Forest group.”

The evening was a definite success, motivating us to continue to care about the under-resourced entrepreneurs around the world. To be connected with an Opportunity gathering near you, contact Sarah Tesch at stesch@opportunity.org or Michael Okleme at mokleme@opportunity.org.