Building Brighter Futures with Our Partners

As many as 20 hardworking women microentrepreneurs will soon get the small loans they need to start or expand their tiny businesses to work their way out of poverty, thanks to a $5,000 gift from the Federated Church of East Arlington, Vermont.

The FINCA clients—and around 100 children and adults in their families—will benefit from the generosity of the church’s members, who voted to tithe 10% of the church’s 2014 budget to FINCA and two Vermont charities. The church dates back to 1843 and is affiliated with both the United Church of Christ and the United Methodist Church.

Tom Weakley, chair of the church’s Tithing Circle, said, “We were tasked with selecting one or more charitable organizations that we feel make the biggest impact for children in the Third World. FINCA’s micro-loan system for a mother hoping to open or add to her tiny business became apparent at once. Our motto became

“To help the children, first empower their mothers.”

“The system of small Village Banks overseen by women in 23 countries gives our members confidence that our dollars will be well invested. And the nearly 100% loan repayment history is very convincing,” Mr. Weakley added.

Get together with your friends, family and neighbors to help change the lives of people in poverty. No matter how big or small your ideas, when people work together, it’s easy to Give a Little and Change a Lot! Please share your successes with us on Facebook and Twitter or write us at [email protected].

[finca_link src=”https://finca.org/take-action/donor-stories/” title=”Other Donor’s Stories”]