Economic Times of India mentions Unitus

Robert, at Unitus, sent me a link to the following article in The Economic Times of India called:

Little drops make ocean: Microfin is big biz now

The article gives an analysis of ongoing investment and contributions that are flowing into the Microfinance industry in India, from both internal and external sources. Here is a portion of the article:

What is more significant, perhaps, is the entry of private debt-equity funds. US-based Unitus, a microfinance accelerator with a venture capital approach, has already committed to SKS, BSS, Grameen Koota in Karnataka and Bandhan in West Bengal. The $10-million Bellwether Microfinance, jointly promoted by Gray Ghost Microfinance Fund, the Hivos-Triodos Fund and the former CEO of Bank of America Arun Duggal, is investing in equity and debt of MFIs. There are also the loan guarantee funds of the Grameen Foundation and Deutsche Bank.

Nice Post from Dave McClure

As I mentioned in an earlier post, I will try to highlight posts about Unitus that I come across. I saw a sweet post from the estimed Dave McClure of Master of 500 Hats. (Dave has since moved his post from Blogger to Typepad and his new blog is here.)

Not only did Dave write a nice post, but he hosted a dinner among his friends in Silicon Valley to spread the word about Unitus. He also was very generous with his donation. Thanks Dave!

Here's his post:

Last night I had the pleasure of co-hosting a dinner presentation for ~50 forward-thinking friends in the Silicon Valley entrepreneur community to learn more about the microfinance revolution, and about the incredible global impact it's having on eradicating poverty in developing economies.

After a brief welcome & intro by yours truly, a presentation on microfinance was given by Unitus CEO Geoff Davis (ex-Grameen Foundation pioneer) and Chairman Mike Murray (ex-Microsoft VP). Briefly, Unitus is a "venture accelerator" that helps identify, fund, and grow promising microfinance institutions ("MFIs") around the world. They're a terrific organization, and they're helping MFIs in India, Africa, and Latin America do some amazing things.

It was a great opportunity to get a bunch of old friends together, and explain how this new industry can really make a significant & substantial difference in people's lives. At the same time, Unitus presents some attractive investment alternatives for those who'd like to see their donation dollars put to work in a more focused, market-measured way.

And finally, it was a fun opportunity for me to get passionately excited about something not so technology-related, and to help spread the word about what Unitus is doing... my pleasure :)

A profile of Mike Murray by Global Giving Matters

An excellent and very comprehensive article was written by Global Giving Matters about Mike Murray, the Chairman of the Board of Unitus. Take the time to read the article...it will give you a sense of the character and passion Mike has to serve humanity.

For the full article, go here.

Here are some excerpts:

About Mike's view of Philantropy:


...what propelled Mr. Murray, who lives in Redmond, in his current direction began much earlier. Mr. Murray grew up in Klamath Falls, Oregon. His father and grandfather owned a creamery and from a young age he helped out in all aspects of the business, learning early on to appreciate the virtues and rewards of hard work. He has always been a staunch believer in a market-driven economy bolstered by a democratic system of government, and bases much of his philanthropic philosophy on the theme of self-help and initiative rather than hand-outs.

Yet he also learned about charity: his father and grandfather made it a habit to visit ill employees and bring gifts to poor rural farmers. A religious underpinning pervades Mr. Murray's philosophy, and he has always "tithed" ten percent of his gross income to his church. The Murrays place great value in the worth of an individual -- wherever that individual may live. And Mr. Murray's personal motto is "Look up, lift up."

About the origins of Unitus:

...a phone call from a man in Utah who had heard of Mr. Murray, with an invitation to attend a daylong brainstorming session with a group of people "to discuss what we could do about world poverty." This meeting became the basis for Unitus, an anti-poverty investment initiative. The name is a combination of "Unite" and "Us." "Without unity we won't be able to find lasting solutions to complex world issues. At the root of many second- and third-level problems is the crushing force of personal poverty. Unitus offers an innovative approach to the challenge of large-scale poverty alleviation," Mr. Murray explains.

About the formation of Unitus' strategy and the Influence of Mohammad Yunus:

In early 2000, Mohammed Yunus invited a number of Unitus board members to Bangladesh for a behind-the-scenes look of how Grameen had evolved over 25 years. By then, Grameen had reached 40,000 villages. The replication potential was powerful. Seeing microfinance in action -- including learning what worked and what had not -- left Mr. Murray and his Unitus partners convinced that this was the area where they could have the most impact. This led to an in-depth analysis of the structure of the worldwide microfinance "industry", with an intent to identify opportunities for strategic, long-term leverage. "We wanted to learn all that we could so that we could create a 'second generation' model for the expansion of microfinance as a poverty alleviation tool," says Mr. Murray.

A great description of what makes Unitus unique:

What makes Unitus unique microfinance practitioners is its singular focus as a "microfinance accelerator." This is a term coined by the founders to describe a combination of large-scale funding and impactful consulting services that enable existing microfinance institutions to expand their services quickly and efficiently so that more poor people who want to pull themselves out of poverty have resources to do so.

Mr. Murray says he would be delighted to see other organizations adopt the role of microfinance accelerator. There are some 3,000 microfinance institutions around the world; at least ninety percent serve no more than 2,500 clients. "Microfinance is an award-winning concept, but it's failing to meet its potential. Only a handful of MFIs serve over 100,000 clients. We believe that we've created a methodology that will allow some of the most promising smaller MFIs to greatly accelerate their growth in clients."

In seeking which groups to support, Unitus automatically excludes larger ones with a strong track record, such as Grameen and BancoSol, which serve over 100,000 customers. These larger organizations already receive funding from mainstream grantmakers and the formal financial markets. Rather, Unitus identifies smaller MFIs with real growth potential based on strong leadership and management practices, a good location and a solid infrastructure. Unitus identifies high-potential MFIs using a thorough due diligence review of over 60 criteria. Those scoring highest become candidates for funding from Unitus with Unitus having the explicit aim of helping these groups to scale up. Once a partner organization has achieved accelerated growth and financial self-sufficiency, Unitus will move on to other partners.

Since Unitus is just two years old, much of the discussion is still in the future tense. To date Unitus has funded just one project so far, Pro Mujer Mexico (www.promujer.org), with $1.9 million dollars, including $1.5 million for loans and the balance for capacity building. A second partnership has recently been established with an MFI in India, SKS (Swayam Krishi Sangam -- www.sksindia.com), which has the potential to serve 200,000 to 300,000 women in the next five year. SKS was founded by Vikram Akula, an Indian economist who was raised and educated in the US but who relocated to India some years ago to pursue a commitment to economic development in his birth country.

To Mike Murray, Philantrophy is a Verb...

"Philanthropy to me is a verb," says Mr. Murray. "I feel compelled to give. I want to be involved in efforts that help create permanent improvements in people's lives. And I want to be involved in efforts that promote self-reliance. I suppose that the roots of this go all the way back to the creamery. There were no slackers. We all had to work hard in order to make the business go. And twenty years in the computer industry coupled with my more important roles as father, husband and church member have deepened my understanding. If we can pay a small part in improving the quality of life for a few of our brothers and sisters, then a bit of hope is kindled. And when we have hope, we are able to listen, and love."

A mention from Global Giving Roundup about Unitus

Global Giving Matters is a newsletter on best practices and innovations in individual and family philanthropy and social investment. It is produced jointly by Synergos and the World Economic Forum (WEF) for members of WEF and the Global Philanthropists Circle (GPC).

Here is what the Global Giving Roundup said about Unitus:

Unitus (www.unitus.com), a nonprofit organization that helps microfinance institutions (MFIs) grow to scale, has announced a $1.2 million investment in an innovative partnership with Jamii Bora, an MFI that serves some of Kenyas poore'st populations. "Jamii Bora is one of the most exciting MFIs we've seen on any continent. They offer microcredit loans, extremely low-cost healthcare insurance, alcoholism rehabilitation, and even housing mortgages for former slum dwellers," said Geoff Davis, Unitus CEO. Unitus, co-founded by Mike Murray, a former Microsoft executive and member of the Synergos Global Philanthropists Circle, carefully selects the highest potential MFIs in developing countries and partners with them to accelerate their growth and help them become self-sustaining banks for the poor. Unitus estimates that Kenyan MFIs currently reach only about 5 percent of the potential market, leaving four million prospective clients without access to financial services. The partnership, which aims to help Jamii Bora grow from 70,000 to over 500,000 clients, includes a $1 million line of credit and a $200,000 grant for staff training, and advanced computer systems to support their planned expansion.

Jamii Bora was launched when 50 street beggars pleaded with Ingrid Munro, an African-based UN housing expert, to help them improve their lives. Many of those helped by Jamii Bora come from Nairobi's Mathare and Soweto slums; the Kenyan MFI is unusual in that its staff is composed almost exclusively of previous borrowers with a firm understanding of clients' needs. Unitus has partnered with MFIs in India and Mexico, helping them double the number of families they serve.

Joseph Grenny - Unitus Board Member

I first met Joseph with Todd Manwaring and Warner Woodworth. It must have been 1999. I had known Warner for years, but this was the first time I had met Todd and Joseph. They wanted my advice about a non-profit that they were putting together and Warner brought them to me. As I threw out advice, I found that Joseph and Todd had already considered everything that I had thought of and it seemed to me that they knew more about the topic than I did.

A few months later, we connected up again and Joseph told me about their plans to run a cooperative in Kenya to help the unemployed. I was fascinated by the idea and wound up helping fund part of the venture and visiting Kenya a while later with Joseph and his wife. My in-laws volunteered to spend almost a year in Nairobi to try to help get the cooperative off the ground. It was there in Kenya that I first saw the skill and talent of Joseph in helping people find a middle ground.

During this time, Warner brought Todd, Joseph, and I to a meeting where we met, among other people, Bob Gay, Mike Murray, and Louis Pope. It was from this initial meeting in early 2000, that Unitus took its formation. One of the things that I really remember from that meeting was how deep the conviction each of these people had in trying to make a difference. I remember that there were 2 things that we agreed upon early on, which were:

1. We wanted to do something big - globally. We didn't want to get tied down in some corner.
2. We wanted to maximize leverage. Have our resources have the biggest impact that they could have.

As I think of what Unitus has evolved into, I am pretty impressed at how those early two objectives are being achieved. I give props to Mike Murray for helping the organization have that obsessive focus to stay the course.

I got to know Joseph much better after this, with him becoming a beloved friend and a trusted confidant.

Joseph is also incredibly successful. Joseph (with his partners at VitalSmarts) have written two New York Times bestseller Crucial Conversations: Tools for Talking When Stakes are High, and his newest release, Crucial Confrontations: Tools for Resolving Broken Promises, Violated Expectations, and Bad Behavior.

Joseph is an exceptional speaker (see a clip of one of his seminars here), speaking at keynote speeches around the country. He is also a very successful consultant. Over the past 20 years he has been an advisor to CEOs and senior executives on more than a dozen major change initiatives – including one with Lockheed Martin Aeronautics whose CEO credited Joseph’s work with enabling their winning of the $200 billion Joint Strike Fighter program.

I know I consider myself fortunate and I think Unitus does as well to have an association with Joseph Grenny. If you have a chance to meet Joseph, you find yourself rolling on the floor with laughter, but you will also sense the incredible love that Joseph exhibits for you.

Unitus Job Openings

If you want to work for a world class organization as well as do something meaningful with your life, consider one of the following job openings with Unitus:

Current Employment Opportunities (these change, so check the site for current offerings)

Positions based in Redmond, WA

Administration:
• Bookkeeper

CEO Office:
• Assistant to the President & CEO

Investment Services:
• Investment Director
• Investment Associate

MFI Services:
• General Counsel and MFI Transformation Manager
• MFI Capacity Services Manager
• MFI Services Analyst


Positions based in Bangalore, India

• Capacity Services Facilitator – India
• Financial Services Advisor – India
• Microfinance and Financial Analyst – India

You can apply here.

Unitus Opens India Microfinance Center

This is the third of recent announcements from Unitus about further developments in India. While Unitus is a Global Microfinance Accelerator, India is a core piece of the strategy, because of the concentration of the world's poor there.

This is very exciting to see Unitus growing so that it will have a base established in India.

Here is the announcement:

Unitus (http://www.unitus.com), an innovative nonprofit organization that helps alleviate poverty by accelerating the growth of microfinance institutions (MFIs) worldwide, today announced the launch of the Unitus India Microfinance Center, in Bangalore. The Center serves as the hub for Unitus's Indian microfinance operations. In addition to supporting Unitus's three existing MFI partners in India: SKS, ASA-GV and BSS, the Center will support future MFI partners and will serve as a resource for broader microfinance industry collaboration. Unitus has set the ambitious goal of bringing microfinance services to more than 10 million of India's working poor by 2015.

"Unitus works worldwide but has a specific focus on India, given the large number of poor people, industry-leading MFIs, and favorable banking and regulatory environments," said Geoff Davis, Unitus President and CEO. "We foresee at least half of our work occurring in India and expect this Center's team to help catalyze the creation of a large-scale, profitable Indian microfinance industry, leading to massive poverty alleviation throughout the country."

For more than 30 years, microfinance - including microcredit loans as small as $50 - has empowered millions of poor people worldwide to improve their lives by helping them grow their small businesses and increase their families' financial security. But, despite a long, successful history, microfinance services still only reach an estimated 16 percent of the 500 million people who could use them. The microfinance field's challenge is to scale this high-potential industry to fill the enormous supply shortfall. Unitus was created to help transform this opportunity into reality.

"Poverty in India is so pervasive and opportunities for creating permanent solutions through microfinance are so great, that we believe we have a unique opportunity to work with investors, technical capacity-builders and leading microfinance organizations to reach our goals in India, and even collectively double or triple our 10 million-client goal," said Sandeep Farias, Unitus India Country Director.

About Unitus
Unitus is a global microfinance accelerator, acting as a social venture capital investor for the microfinance industry. Unitus identifies the highest-potential microfinance institutions (MFIs) in developing countries and then helps accelerate their growth through capital investments and capacity-building consulting, thus empowering them to help exponentially more poor people worldwide. In doing so, Unitus aims to demonstrate that MFIs can be run as profitable, large-scale, poverty-focused businesses with links to local capital markets. Based in Redmond, Washington, USA, Unitus is a nonprofit organization that relies on innovative financial instruments, and the financial resources of like-minded individuals and foundations, to fulfill its mission.

Unitus Announces Sixth Microfinance Partner, Grameen Koota, in India

Here is another recent press release, about another new Unitus partner. The role of Unitus is to accelerate microfinance growth, helping existing MFIs grow faster, reach sustainablity, and serve more poor. The way that is done is by provide additional capital (either through equity or debt) and strengthening the MFI's ability to handle the growth. This might come in the form of technical assistance, training for the staff, or assistance with the internal IS systems or processes.

Here is the article:

Wednesday July 27, 4:00 pm ET
$1.1 Million Investment Will Bring Poverty-Alleviating Microfinance Services to 500,000 Clients by 2009


REDMOND, Wash., July 27 /PRNewswire/ -- Unitus (www.unitus.com) today announced a $1.1 million investment in microfinance institution (MFI) Grameen Koota (GK) (www.grameenkoota.org) in Bangalore, Karnataka, India. The MFI partnership will help GK grow from serving 22,000 to 500,000 clients by 2009. Unitus will provide up to $1 million in catalytic debt and a $100,000 grant for investment in human resources development and implementation of improved management information systems.
"Grameen Koota excels at the on-the-ground work of bringing life-changing microfinance services to India's poor," said Unitus President and CEO Geoff Davis. "By helping accelerate Grameen Koota's growth, together we'll reach 500,000 clients at a rate that defies industry norms."

Unitus chose GK because of their exceptional leadership team, urban expansion plans, and demonstrated success serving Karnataka's working poor.

"Our estimates show that if they had access, almost three and a half million poor in Karnataka could leverage microfinance services to enhance their income and help feed their families, send their children to school, and obtain proper health care," said GK's Founder and CEO, Ms. Vinatha Reddy. "With Unitus's involvement, we plan to address that demand."

For more than 30 years, microfinance -- including microcredit loans as small as $50 -- has empowered millions of poor people worldwide to improve their lives by helping them expand their small businesses and increase their families' financial security. But despite these successes, MFIs still only reach an estimated 16 percent of the 500 million people who could use their services. The primary challenge for microfinance is to scale this high-potential industry to meet the enormous demand. Unitus was created to help transform this opportunity into reality.

About Unitus

Unitus is a global microfinance accelerator, acting as a social venture capital investor for the microfinance industry. Unitus identifies the highest-potential microfinance institutions (MFIs) in developing countries and helps accelerate their growth through capital investments and capacity-building consulting, thus empowering them to help exponentially more poor people worldwide. In doing so, Unitus aims to demonstrate that MFIs can be run as profitable, large-scale, poverty-focused businesses with links to local capital markets. As of June 2005, Unitus has seven MFI partners worldwide serving more than 399,000 poor clients. Based in Redmond, Washington, USA, and with offices in Bangalore, India, Unitus is a nonprofit organization that relies on innovative financial instruments, and the financial resources of like-minded individuals and foundations, to fulfill its mission.

About Grameen Koota

Grameen Koota (GK) offers microfinance services to help poor women in Karnataka's rural areas and urban slums work themselves and their families out of poverty. GK works to empower women, create livelihood opportunities, reduce vulnerability of the poor, and provide credit to the unorganized sector. Since GK launched their microfinance program in 1999 they have grown to serve more than 23,500 clients as of June 2005.

Unitus Expands Across India With Bandhan Partnership

This was a recent press release by Unitus. India has become a major focus for Unitus, with 500 million poor there. Bandhan, working in the West Bengal state, is a great organization and we are excited to be working with them reach 1 million poor through loans by 2009.

Here is the press release:


Wednesday July 27, 4:00 pm ET
Microfinance Partnership Will Empower 1 Million of India's Poor by 2009


REDMOND, Wash., July 27 /PRNewswire/ -- Unitus (www.unitus.com), an innovative nonprofit organization that helps alleviate poverty by accelerating the growth of microfinance institutions (MFIs) worldwide, today announced a microfinance partnership with Bandhan in Kolkata, West Bengal, India. Through the partnership, Unitus will provide capacity-building consulting, $1.1 million in catalytic debt, and a $100,000 grant for management information systems and human resources, all targeted at helping Bandhan grow from 52,000 to 1 million poor clients by 2009.

"We are privileged to work each day to help the world's very best microfinance institutions become even better," said Unitus President and CEO Geoff Davis. "Bandhan clearly fits this group -- their growth to date, loan methodology, board of directors and operating systems are all world-class. In fact, during the months we were discussing the partnership, they increased their access to an additional 20,000 poor individuals!"

Bandhan operates in West Bengal, one of India's poorest states, using an individual lending methodology that differs from the group lending methodology used in most of India. This methodology helps them serve their clients in a highly personalized, efficient manner. Bandhan also serves very poor rural borrowers while achieving branch profitability, another industry-leading accomplishment. Only 14 percent of the poor people in West Bengal who could use microfinance services to improve their lives currently have access. Bandhan hopes to help fill that gap.

"With Unitus's assistance, we are excited to pursue our aggressive growth targets. Together we will be able to scale to new heights!" exclaimed Mr. Ghosh, Bandhan's founder and Executive Director.

Despite a long, successful history, MFIs still only reach an estimated 16 percent of the 500 million people who could use their services. The microfinance field's challenge is to scale this high-potential industry to fill the enormous supply shortfall. Unitus was created to help transform this opportunity into reality. During 2004, existing Unitus MFI partners doubled the total number of clients served, growth rarely seen in the microfinance industry. Bandhan joins Unitus alongside MFI partners ASA-GV, BSS, Grameen Koota, and SKS in India, Pro Mujer in Mexico, and Jamii Bora Trust in Kenya.

About Unitus

Unitus is a global microfinance accelerator, acting as a social venture capital investor for the microfinance industry. Unitus identifies the highest-potential microfinance institutions (MFIs) in developing countries and helps accelerate their growth through capital investments and capacity-building consulting, thus empowering them to help exponentially more poor people worldwide. In doing so, Unitus aims to demonstrate that MFIs can be run as profitable, large-scale, poverty-focused businesses with links to local capital markets. As of June 2005, Unitus has seven MFI partners worldwide serving more than 399,000 poor clients. Based in Redmond, Washington, USA, and with offices in Bangalore, India, Unitus is a nonprofit organization that relies on innovative financial instruments, and the financial resources of like-minded individuals and foundations, to fulfill its mission.

About Bandhan

Bandhan -- meaning "togetherness" -- offers a variety of microfinance services including microcredit loans, savings, and loan repayment insurance to poor women in both rural and urban areas in India's West Bengal state. Beyond microfinance, Bandhan provides services in micro entrepreneurship, health, education, and disaster management to the disadvantaged community of the society, specially women and children, to help break the vicious circle of poverty.


Contact:
David Schappell
425-881-2793
dschappell@unitus.com

Matt Whitaker is the other producer of "Small Fortunes", as well as the writer and director. He was director of another successful show in PBS, this one a series, called Ancestors.

This is from the PBS site about Matt:

Matt Whitaker was raised in a tiny town in Northern California, the youngest of seven children. Being the baby of the family, he was able to avoid any need to choose a "responsible" profession, and therefore decided to study film. Much to everyone's surprise, including his own, people began to pay him to make movies (can you imagine?).

Short Interview With Sterling Van Wagenen

This is an excerpt of an interview with Sterling Van Wagenen, one of the producers (Matt Whitaker the other) of Small Fortunes. Sterling gives props to Mike Murray and Warner Woodworth, both of the Unitus board for his inspiration.

Questions for Sterling Van Wagenen, producer of Small Fortunes: Microcredit and the Future of Poverty, that will premiere at the launch of the Year of Microcredit 2005 at UN Headquarters in New York on 18 November 2004.

1. To produce this film on the history of microfinance and the transformation of how people look at poverty and poor people, you traveled all over the world to places like India, Bangladesh, the Philippines and Kenya. Is there one interview that stands out as the most memorable?

Two, actually. Our interview with Mohammed Yunus, founder of the Grameen Bank, was memorable because of Yunus’ remarkable optimism in the face of extraordinarily difficult conditions in Bangladesh. His unshakable belief in the value and capacity of individuals, no matter how poor or “disadvantaged” was inspiring. Stanley Fischer of Citigroup was memorable because of his remarkable combination of pragmatism and compassion—qualities one rarely finds balanced so well in very successful business executives.

2. What inspired you to tackle this subject?

The work of Mike Murray, CEO of Unitus, a Microcredit accelerator, and Warner Woodworth at the Center for Economic Self-Reliance at Brigham Young University. Both men are thinking outside the box in terms of how to address poverty in ways that take the realities of human nature into account. If capitalism really is the best economic system, it should be able to address the problems of the world’s poor people more effectively than charitable giving. Microcredit seems like a credible answer to that challenge.


Sterling Van Wagenen is a former director of UCF’s film program. He is the co-founder of the Sundance Film Festival. and has produced, directed and written many films. He co-produced “The Trip to Bountiful,” which won an Academy Award for best actress for Geraldine Page and a nomination for best adapted screenplay.

For more on the premiere at the UN and about Van Wagenen, go here.

Word of Blog

David Schappel referred this to me, so I thought I would try it out:

Heard the Word of Blog?

Word of Blog is a new and free service that helps you spread the word about things you like, events you care about and worthy causes you want to support.

Bloggers: You can pick and choose any of the ads appearing on this site and display them into your blog or website. Simply copy the HTML code appearing below the ad and paste it where you wish it to appear. The ads have been formatted to fit into most blog columns.

Organizations: If you want to post an ad on this site so that bloggers can start spreading the “word of blog” about you, please go to the “Submit Ad” section.


It is great to see that Unitus is the most viewed ad!

Banker to the Poor: Micro-Lending and the Battle Against World Poverty by Mohammad Yunus

Banker to the Poor: Micro-Lending and the Battle Against World Poverty by Mohammad Yunus.

This is a very powerful book about Mohammad Yunus' story and his insights on how poverty can be solved. I was very inspired when I read it.

I found this excellent synopsis of the book by Nikhil. If you don't have time to read the book, take a moment to read the review.

A pic with Mohammad Yunus, Founder of Grameen

I was cleaning out some of my old photo files online and found this photo from several years ago with Mohammad Yunus and myself when he visited Salt Lake City for a Results function. He was so kind to spend a few minutes with Joseph Grenny and myself and our spouses. When we had visited Bangledesh, he really opened up his organization to us and was very generous with his time and counsel.

He is one of my heros of individuals who have made a difference.

p.s. - I am wearing a shirt that was woven and sewn by one of the Grameen borrowers. It is very comfortable!

Blogs that mention Unitus

I did a search on technorati on Unitus and found some of these blogs that mention Unitus:

Huat Chye's Weblog

Huat Chye tells about running a speed dating event and contributing the proceeds to Unitus. I like what he said about why they chose to contribute to Unitus:

We had to select a new charitable cause, since no major nonprofit was still raising money for tsunami relief, and the natural choice was Unitus, an innovative Redmond organization that Mike and I have long admired (he’s even done pro bono consulting-type work for them).

Dave Schappell's Weblog

Dave is currently the VP of Marketing at Unitus. This post was about a visit to one of Unitus's partners, Pro Mujer in Mexico and his impressions of the impact of Microcredit before joining the industry.

Walking the Blog

Here is what John H. Kim posted about Unitus:

Unitus is involved in a promising subfield of social entrepreneurship called microfinance, essentially lending to the underserved in developing countries to promote private enterprise and self-empowerment. The high repayment and low default rates are quite amazing when you consider how poor and impoverished the loan recipients are in the urban slums or rural villages of the third world. Many get by on what is the equivalent of a few dollars a month. But the dignity that microlending instills in them produces the desire to make something of the loan and motivates them to stick to the repayment schedule. Amazing.

Thanks John.

Scott Loftesness

Scott tells about what he learned about Unitus at a group dinner. This is what he posted:

Unitus is all about assisting existing and successful microfinance institutions (MFI's) in developing countries accelerate their impact. MFI's lend small amounts to the self-employed poor in these countries to provide them the capital to get them on a path out of the poverty trap.

The numbers are compelling - of the roughly 6 billion people on this planet, half of them live in poverty on less than $2 per day. Microcredit loans are the fuel that helps these self-employed poor bootstrap themselves up the economic ladder.

Unitus is focused on helping MFI's accelerate their impact, providing them the resources (financial, technical and expertise) required to do so. By enabling the MFI's to accelerate their success, their impact on the self-employed poor is amplified. It's a beautiful idea.

The last post I will mention comes from:

BottomofPyramid

This is really just a mention about Unitus in an article about taking Financial Services to the Poor. Here is the mention:

A major boost to sustainable microfinance can be made by reviewing the limits for foreign investment in Micro Finance NBFCs. This may encourage socially conscious foreign investors to invest in young MFIs with NBFC status and provide a strong impetus to growth and scalability of the entire sector. The SKS Micro Finance deal with Unitus and TMSV LLC attracting US$ 0.5 Million as equity is possibly the most significant equity investment from foreign social venture capital funds and is an evidence of global interest in the Indian MFI Sector.

If I come across more posts, I will try to list them

BloggerCorps to the Rescue!

I just posted on BloggerCorps for help getting the local PBS Stations to show the film "Small Fortunes". If you arrived here from the Corps, drop a comment to let me know.

I appreciate your help!

BloggerCorps is a wide-ranging group comprised mainly of bloggers, activists, and tech organizations who work with non-profits.

Encourage PBS to Show "Small Fortunes"

I just got this email from Unitus about some concerns that local PBS stations won't decide to show the "Small Fortunes" documentary about microcredit. PBS is broadcasting the show nationally, but local stations have the choice to show it or not. We need as many people as possible to contact their local PBS station to let them know they want to see this extremely touching and powerful film.

Do you have a second to contact your local PBS Station and let them know that you want them to show "Small Fortunes" on October 27, 2005 at 10:00pm EST? The info how to contact PBS is below.

Thanks for your help! This film will spread awareness and touch many hearts to support this effective tool in the fight against the scourge of poverty!

A portion of Small Fortunes premiered at the launch of the United Nations International Year of Microcredit 2005 in November of 2004. To view this 20 minute video (QuickTime only) click here.

Here is the Unitus email:

Dear Tim,

We are extremely excited about the nationwide PBS premier of Small Fortunes: Microcredit and the Future of Poverty scheduled for Thursday, October 27, at 10 PM EST. Small Fortunes is a one-hour documentary describing microfinance's impact on global poverty. It features interviews with industry experts including Unitus staff and Board members, and Unitus MFI partners such as SKS in India.

Although PBS has included the documentary in its national broadcast schedule, local stations can opt out of airing the program or shift it to another time, and they are making those decisions now. Thus, we encourage you to contact your local PBS station today to tell them about your interest in microfinance and ask them to broadcast Small Fortunes on October 27. Positive and personalized emails and phone calls are most effective; mass produced mailings are not.

To locate the PBS station in your area, please visit:

www.pbs.org/stationfinder

We appreciate your support!

- The Unitus Team

From Tearing Down Big Brother in "1984" to Helping the Poor Around the World in 2005

On a interesting side note - Mike Murray is the Chairman of the Board for Unitus; dedicating his life to helping others. Earlier in his life, Mike was a senior executive at Microsoft and before that, at Apple. Mike Murray played a key role as the Macintosh marketing manager and was a key figure in the creation of the Award-winning commercial, "1984" for the MacIntosh launch, played once during the 1984 SuperBowl, and voted as the greatest commercial of all time. For more of the story, click here

To see the commercial, 1984, go here: http://www.uriah.com/apple-qt/1984.html

Small Fortunes - Microcredit and the Future of Poverty

On October 27, 2005 at 10pm EST, there is a nationwide PBS premier of Small Fortunes: Microcredit and the Future of Poverty. Small Fortunes is a one-hour documentary describing microfinance's impact on global poverty.

It is a beautiful documentary. The film crew was in India filming when I made my trip there with Unitus and they caught the incredible feel of the villages and even more important, caught the dignity and the intelligence of the borrowers.

I was really moved by the documentary when I saw the preview earlier this year. I loved the narrator's voice and the stories of the borrowers. I thought they did a good job of explaining the basics of Microcredit and had interviews with most of the pioneers of Microcredit, including Mohammed Yunus of Grameen, John Hatch of Finca, Maria Otero of Accion, and several other leaders in the field.

I thought the cinemotography was gorgeous. I wouldn't be surprised if it got some award.

Mike Murray, the Chairman of the Board of Unitus, as well as Geoff Davis, the President of Unitus are both interviewed.

Since it was produced by BYU-TV, they showed it locally here on the local BYU PBS station last week. My friend Carol watched it and this is what she said in an email to me:

"Tim, I was incredibly touched as I watched the program last night. Sterling Van Wagenen is a family friend and also produced the “Faith of an Observer” documentary about Hugh Nibley in 1983.

I woke up this morning wondering how I can help."

I am not sure the best way to answer Carol. The easiest way to help is with money. Microcredit needs access to money so they can make loans to the poor. The average loan is between $50-$100, so a donation of $2500 can usually fund loans for close to 50 borrowers. That still amazes me - $2500 can can the lives of 50 people. And when you think that there might be close to 5 people in a family of each borrower, the reach of that $2,500 could be as high as 250 people.

I know Unitus is interested in those that can make sizeable contributions, but they also welcome those that can make a donation of $2500 per year. If you want to make a donation to help the poor, click here.

I will think about other ways that Carol, on a limited budget, might be able to help and post some of those ideas later.

I hope you will take the chance to watch or Tivo "Small Fortunes". I think it could change your life.