ATLANTA (ABP) — The Cooperative Baptist Fellowship has received an anonymous $1 million gift for funding “micro-finance” loans in poor countries and other CBF ministries.
Daniel Vestal, the moderate Baptist group's executive coordinator, announced the gift March 20, according to a CBF news release.
“It is humbling and encouraging that a donor would entrust the Fellowship with this kind of gift,” Vestal said. “We are excited to be able to put these new resources to work in fulfilling our vision of being the presence of Christ among the most neglected. Lives will be forever changed because of this gift.”
Half of the $1 million gift will be used for a new finance initiative coordinated through the CBF Foundation. The group is currently conducting due-diligence research on creating a fund designed to give the organization and its partner churches and ministries a way to invest funds in micro-finance banks around the globe.
Micro-finance banks lend small amounts of money to people in developing countries as start-up funds for small businesses. For example, an initial loan of as little as $50 to a woman in many parts of Latin America, Africa, or Asia would enable her to open a business that, within a few months, could generate enough income to provide for her family's basic needs, employ neighbors, repay the loan and qualify for another one.
Many non-profit groups have begun operating or investing in micro-finance programs in the last 30 years. Such loans have demonstrated significant success in lifting small entrepreneurs and entire communities out of poverty while experiencing the dignity of self-sufficiency.
Last year, CBF leaders committed to supporting the United Nations Millennium Development Goals for reducing global poverty. At least six of the eight goals depend directly on helping families become economically self-sufficient so that they can address issues like education and health.
“The donor's visionary investment will help the industrious poor lift themselves out of poverty by providing access to capital to start their own businesses and earn income to support their families and repay the loans,” said Don Durham, CBF Foundation president. “Loans to poor people are repaid with amazing reliability, and lending money to poor people has been one of the most reliable strategies globally for helping the poor lift themselves out of poverty. Thanks to this gift, CBF Foundation can provide a way for CBF and other CBF Foundation clients to invest so that their principal does as much good as the proceeds. This provides an exponential increase in the positive impact we are all able to make among the most neglected.”
The donor designated the other $500,000 of the gift for a number of Fellowship-supported ministries, including equipping CBF field personnel with computers, supporting missions opportunities for undergraduate students, and care and wellness programs for missionaries.
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