FOREWORD
Insights on the microcredit movement from Dr. Muhammad Yunas, winner of the 2006 nobel Peace Prize.
CHAPTER 1
The Power of What Works
Phil Smith, a successful oil executive, discovers microcredit is the cost-effective, business-savvy way to reach his personal goal of enabling 1 million people to lift themselves from poverty.
CHAPTER 2
Beyond the $900 Billion Black Hole
International philanthropy expert Eric Thurman exposes the reasons for public distrust of many charities and contrasts the past with the new 21st century philanthropic paradigm championed by Bill Gates and Warren Buffet.
CHAPTER 3
Giving Credit Where Credit Is Due
Smith explains the nuts-and-bolts of microcredit and why the very poorest people are, surprisingly, much better credit risks then the well-to-do.
CHAPTER 4
Barefoot Banking
Through verbal snapshots, Thurman profiles community banks as the centerpiece of microcredit in practice. He follows the formation of one such a bank as it changes lives through tiny loans, savings accounts, and community development.
CHAPTER 5
Moving the World
Smith, using practical business analysis, calculates the actual bottom-line cost to raise one person from poverty in radically diverse economies worldwide, an amount as low as a $1.20 in the very poorest places.
CHAPTER 6
Microcredit Plus
Thurman looks at the broad social impact of microcredit on poverty-related issues including health and nutrition, women's rights and empowerment, HIV/AIDS, preserving the environment, community development, and disaster recovery through reliance on local solutions instead of expensive Western interventions.
CHAPTER 7
Beyond Good Intentions
Smith makes the case that writing a check should be the final, not the first, act of an individual's philanthropic involvement; he provides specifics of due diligence in evaluating personal charitable goals and current trends, and offers insights into sorting out pros and cons of possible donations.
CHAPTER 8
A Thousand Battles, A Thousand Victories
In frank detail, Thurman examines just how poverty works its captivating power to keep so many people in perpetual near-starvation. His call to action advocates for microcredit as one of the few proven ways to break the grip of poverty.
CHAPTER 9
The Best Due Diligence
Smith travels to Eastern Europe, meets face-to-face with people living changed lives through microcredit he's funded, helps local loan officers with business advice, and finds his life's mission.
CHAPTER 10
Tough Love Leads to Happy Endings
Viewing philanthropy through the exacting prism of a business mind set reveals microcredit at its best: demonstrable investment results, donor satisfaction and joy and, most of all, countless people worldwide giving the one "break" that lifted them from poverty.
QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS
APPENDIX A: A VERY BRIEF HISTORY OF MICROCREDIT
APPENDIX B: SELECTED MICROCREDIT ORGANIZATIONS
APPENDIX C: MICROCREDIT INFORMATION SOURCES
APPENDIX D: CALCULATING AN END TO POVERTY
GLOSSARY
INDEX