Madison, WI — Vermont Lutheran Church, in Black Earth, WI, has become a “Partner With Purpose” for a microfinance program in Iliolo City, Philippines. The church has committed funding for loans to help sustain small businesses that borrow from the Urban People’s Development Cooperative (UPDC). UPDC is a credit union in the Philippines.
The partnership is an initiative of WorldWise Microfinance (WMF); a new effort to bring small business women from the Global South together with institutions in the US. “We created Partnering With Purpose to allow just this kind of connection between local groups and our borrowers across the globe,” according to WorldWise president Tom Eggert.
Donors to WorldWise are not ordinarily linked to a specific country or program, and WMF allocates its funds across nine partners in six countries. Partnering With Purpose is the first opportunity for sponsoring donors to target an overseas community and direct their support to individuals looking to start or grow a small business.
Vermont Lutheran Church will receive a steady stream of information about UPDC borrowers, so the church becomes much more than a passive donor. “This will make it possible for our congregation to engage with entrepreneurs and their families, in a way that hasn’t been possible before,” said Paul Ohlrogge, a member of the Mission Team and a long-time Board member of WorldWise Microfinance.
UPDC members use loan funds to strengthen small “personal” businesses like food service, farming, sewing, and other cottage industries. The new Partnership With Purpose funding will allow the program to double the size of the existing program.
