Community Impact Funds

INVEST IN COMMUNITIES TODAY CREATE YOUR OWN COMMUNITY IMPACT FUND

THE CHALLENGE THE POVERTY TRAP NEARLY 1 IN 2 PEOPLE IN THE PHILIPPINES LIVE ON LESS THAN US$2 A DAY. Living in poverty is about much more than living without money – it means being trapped, unable to access basic services, and knowing that every setback can leave you vulnerable and even worse off.

Without a safety net, it can be impossible to get ahead.

THIS IS AN INJUSTICE WE MUST CHANGE TOGETHER. Living in poverty leaves families struggling without basic items and services every day. There’s not enough money to: • • •

Feed their family Send their children to school Live in a safe shelter

IMAGINE IF YOU ONLY HAD $2 TO FEED YOURSELF TODAY?

THERE ARE 25 COMMUNITIES IN SOUTHERN LUZON IN URGENT NEED OF YOUR HELP IN 2016

THE SOLUTION INTRODUCING COMMUNITY IMPACT FUNDS. JUST LIKE TRUST BANKS, BUT WITH BIGGER IMPACT. Since 2001, thousands of Australians just like you have given a hand up to families living in poverty, one community at a time. Once known as Trust Banks, Opportunity has revised this model to create Community Impact Funds, which are even more cost-effective and impactful than before! Now, $10,000 is enough to fund 140 loans, helping 700 people (assuming an average family size of five).

HOW DOES MICROFINANCE WORK?

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Giving a small loan to mothers provides an effective and sustainable way of to helping them leave poverty behind.

With a small loan to start a small shop or purchase seeds to plant a vegetable farm, families are able to transform their lives and their children’s futures. Since 98% of small loans are recycled, the impact creates a ripple effect within their family and community.

THE MULTIPLIER EFFECT

$1 = $6

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Every $1 invested in Opportunity becomes $6 at work over five years.

Opportunity works with local microfinance partners in developing countries to deliver small loans to mothers. Through these partnerships, we leverage every hand up. This means that for each dollar you give, more than one dollar ends up in the hands of those who need it most.

Our program partners leverage donations to increase available loan funds, which loan recipients repay and we reinvest back into more families in need.

VISION Opportunity’s vision is a world in which all people have the opportunity to achieve a life free from poverty, with dignity and purpose.

MISSION By providing financial solutions and training, we empower people living in poverty to transform their lives, their children’s futures and their communities.

4 With the simple act of a hand up, a cost-effective and sustainable solution is set in motion, helping more families work their way out poverty and transform their lives.

MOTIVATION We respond to Jesus Christ’s call to love and serve the poor. We seek to emulate the Good Samaritan, whose compassion crossed ethnic groups and religions. We serve all people regardless of race, faith, ethnicity and gender.

YOUR IMPACT COMMUNITY IMPACT

BENEFITS FOR YOU AND YOUR FAMILY

Community Impact Funds provide a catalyst for the transformation of individuals, families, communities and ultimately nations. Thanks to your giving, community members receive holistic support from loan officers who not only provide them with a hand up, but also deliver additional support to enable:

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Choose the community you wish to support from a limited selection of 25 areas in urgent need of a hand up

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Receive communications from the loan group, the loan officer and Opportunity to stay up to date with your impact

• Increased empowerment • Decreased vulnerability • Increased income and business growth • Increased access to children’s education • Increased access to sanitation and safe

drinking water • Increased access to healthcare

We don’t stop with microfinance. As well as small loans, savings, micro-insurance, micro-pensions and remittances, we provide people in poverty with non-financial services and training to strengthen their businesses and develop their communities.

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Join a community of like-minded Australians through the Trust Bank and Community Impact Fund Alumni Group.

Be invited to events and visit the field together to see your impact first-hand.

Because loans are repaid and lent out again, each donation can go on to help more and more families out of poverty over time.

QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS Who takes out small loans?

Families living in poverty in developing countries use small loans to start their own small businesses, earn regular incomes and provide for their children. These loans and other microfinance services assist people who are excluded from the mainstream banking sector because they have no collateral, formal identification or steady income, giving them new tools to transform their lives.

What’s a loan group?

First-time loan recipients typically take out a loan as part of a group. Group members meet on a weekly or fortnightly basis to provide peer support and make repayments together.

What’s a loan officer?

Loan officers are often local people who can easily build a rapport with communities. Usually, loan officers will hold information sessions in village halls, churches or other meeting places.

Who are local partners?

Opportunity works through local program partners to ensure that we’re understanding and meeting the needs of the families we’re reaching. Local to the communities they’re serving, loan officers and staff at these partner organisations speak local languages, understand community challenges and concerns and, in doing so, enable you to have a greater impact. Committed to helping families transform their lives, we only partner with capable local organisations that share our mission.

SPARK COMMUNITY TRANSFORMATION WHAT CAN YOU DO

RIGHT NOW YOU CAN SPONSOR THE FULFILMENT OF DREAMS You can do this by: • Investing in a Community Impact

Fund as an individual • Splitting the cost between yourself,

friends, family or work colleagues • Asking your employer, church or

community group to contribute or

match your gift • Raising funds through your peers,

suppliers or customers

$10,000 = 140 LOANS = 700 PEOPLE You can help 700 people on their journey out of poverty by setting up your very own Community Impact Fund.

Choose the community you’d like to help, find some people to help you raise the funds, and watch as your giving transforms one community.

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Choose the community where you’d like to set up a Community Impact Fund by June 30

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In July, hear from your Loan Officer once your gift has been received

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Get a video from a loan group in the community you’ve picked

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$10,000

Receive community updates in October and February, including a photo of a loan group in your community for the fridge

$5,000

Share your legacy and keep in touch through your own Community Impact Fund webpage, featuring your name and any other contributors (optional) Join an Insight Trip to see how your giving is making a difference

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Re-commit next year to help another community on their way out of poverty. Stay in touch through the Trust Bank and Community Impact Fund Alumni Group.

Opportunity International Australia helps you give families living in poverty the tools they need to transform their lives, their children’s futures and their communities.

Opportunity International Australia Limited GPO Box 4487 Sydney NSW Australia 2001

Tel: 1800 812 164 or +61 2 9270 3300 Fax: +61 2 9270 3399

opinfo@opportunity.org.au www.opportunity.org.au ABN 83 003 805 043