A Little Goes a Long Way
One of the roadblocks we sometimes face when thinking about giving money to charitable causes is the sense that our money can't make much of a difference. Warren Buffet's billions could certainly make a dent in solving some of the world's problems, we figure, but what can my measly $50 do? Quite a bit, it turns out. In recognition of that fact, this year's Nobel Peace Prize went to Muhammad Yunus and the bank he founded for their pioneering work in microcredit.
According to a Wall Street Journal story on 10/14, 30 years ago Yunus loaned $27 to some female bamboo stool weavers in Bangladesh. He believed the poor could prove just as creditworthy as those with means, and that micro lending could help the poor rise above poverty. Three decades and 6.6 million small loans later, he's been proven right on both counts.
Matt's View
Thanks to Yunus' work, there are now many organizations involved in microcredit. If you're interested in supporting such work, you might consider giving to Opportunity International. There are many other groups that are making a big difference with relatively small donations as well. For example, for the 38 million Americans who do not have enough food, just $1 enables 20 pounds of food to be delivered to hungry people via America's Second Harvest, a national food bank network.
Think you can't afford to donate the sums needed to make a difference? Think again.
This article filed in: Giving
Managing Money by The Book
- "To keep me from becoming conceited because of these surpassingly great revelations, there was given me a thorn in my flesh, a messenger of Satan, to torment me. Three times I pleaded with the Lord to take it away from me. But he said to me, 'My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.'" - 2 Corinthians 12:7-9
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