The Microcredit Summit Campaign

The Microcredit Summit Campaign is thrilled to announce a few milestone achievements. For over 10 years, the Campaign has led the microfinance field in setting bold, measurable goals and ensuring barriers are removed to achieving those goals. In just a few weeks we will announce an important achievement surrounding our first goal set in 1997 – to reach 100 million of the world’s poorest people with access to credit. We are thrilled to have garnered support from various stakeholders and trailblazers who invested in our vision. On January 26 we will honor these early supporters who gave catalytic gifts: Citi Foundation, Monsanto Fund, Charles Stewart Mott Foundation, and The Summit Foundation. If you would like to participate in the events surrounding this announcement in New York City please email: mailto:info@microcreditsummit.org info@microcreditsummit.org . We would be happy if you could join us in celebrating this momentus occasion. Another reason for celebration is a recent $700,000 grant approved by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation to support our work measuring the number of microfinance clients who have crossed the $1 a day threshold mark. We still have a long way to go and their early support has been critical. For more information on this grant please click here. As I travel, I meet partners, stakeholders, donors and friends who are in awe at the amount of work the Microcredit Summit Campaign does on such a small budget. Many of you find our Summits inspirational, look to our State of the Campaign reports as an invaluable source of information, and see our advocacy critical to ensuring that the poorest women in the world receive access to credit. I would ask you to make a gift to the campaign, whether it be large or small, so that we may continue to accelerate outreach to those living on $1 a day. With your financial support and partnership we can achieve these bold, measurable goals. Our work is more critical now than it has ever been. The Latin America – Caribbean Regional Microcredit Summit We are pleased to announce that the Microcredit Summit Campaign has partnered with Banca de las Oportunidades to host the Latin America – Caribbean Regional Microcredit Summit from June 8-10, 2009 in Cartagena, Colombia. More information will be sent out shortly including the details of online registration, and participation. We look forward to seeing you in Cartagena. Happy New Year! Kathryn McElligott Director of Development http://microcreditsummit.org/