We Do It because we have to

We were taught from an early age that there is always something you could be doing to make the world a better place. There is always some cause you can be fighting for, person you can be helping or thinking of some new way to make a difference.  Why, because you are able and it is your duty as a citizen of the earth. We encourage protesting, campaigning, donating, volunteering -- you help when and where you can. It will come back to you.

For us, was it Andy growing up in the 60s with a passion to end the war and fight for equal rights or Lisa growing up in the 70s with a feminist, activist mom that liked to share her opinions? Spiritually, we are Jewish and we are taught that part of our duty in life is Tikun Olam (repair the earth). You will find the non-profit micro bank we are investing with, was started in 1975 by the World Council of Churches. We are all unified as there is no specific religion involved in this work. The Council is just doing great work.

The Ask 

Today we are asking you to invest your hard earned money to help people earn their way out of a life of poverty. They accomplish this by borrowing small amounts of money (from a not for profit bank) and paying it back.

Invest a minimum of $1,000 for three years and earn a two percent interest rate.

The money will be loaned, mostly to women, who will use this money ($100 borrowed on average) to devise a way to make an honest living, feed and clothe their family and provide basic healthcare.

Why invest instead of donating?

Giving someone money because he or she is poor is not helping them as much as lending them money to create a business, get on their feet and keep earning money, we invest in people helping themselves.

It’s a wonderful life!

Our money is invested once in the loan pool of the Micro Bank which invests it over an over again helping many people. Our investment touches many people (remember the movie) helping individuals, families and touching whole communities. Yes, each investment into the loan portfolio makes a material difference.

Andy’s Quest.

The promise I made to my family, who are all in on this, is not to stop talking about micro banking until at least 99 additional families have invested along side us. For those that know Andy well, the whisper number is 199. Together we can help a lot of families and repair, a small piece of the world.