OIKOCREDIT USA OFFERS A WAY TO INVEST IN PEOPLE FOR ‘DADS AND GRADS’ SEASON

‘OikoGifts’ honor a household, empower people, and allow people to give a gift that has meaning and a financial return

Washington, DC, April 8, 2010 – The season of Mother’s and Father’s Day, graduations and spring celebrations is here – and Oikocredit USA (www.oikocredit.org/sa/usa), one of the oldest microfinance organizations that help people invest in other people, is offering a special way to give a more meaningful gift with OikoGifts.

By giving a gift of a microfinance investment, for as little as $20 people can give a meaningful gift that honors the recipient in a unique way, and improves the lives of hardworking poor entrepreneurs in developing countries. The investment goes in the name of friends and family being honored, who earn the modest return rate as the loan is repaid.

“In Greek, the word Oiko means ‘house, community or world,’ and is core to our central belief in the power of households and communities to build a better world by lifting poor people from poverty,” said Terry Provance, Executive Director of Oikocredit USA. “Giving an OikoGift is a great way to honor someone in your household with a socially responsible loan, and help support the household of a hardworking entrepreneur in a poverty-stricken country.”

OikoGifts are a special way to honor Mom, Dad, or the grad in lieu of expensive and often forgotten gifts. It can teach a recent graduate about the power of socially responsible investing, and celebrates Moms and Dads for all they do by helping a hardworking poor person be all they can be through a small loan. When the loan is repaid, the gift recipient can lend again or withdraw the funds, creating a continuous way for people to invest in other people.

There are three ways to give an OikoGift:

• Click – through lending partner MicroPlace.com, for as little as $20, anyone with a computer, a check or PayPal account, and a conscience can invest in alleviating global poverty with an investment gift.
• Call – a call to the Oikocredit USA office at 202-728-4140 allows people a more direct way to give this meaningful gift.
• Write in – download an application form and prospectus at www.oikocredit.org, or write to PO Box 11000, Washington, DC 20008.

Oikocredit USA is one of a few microfinance organizations with transparency and environmental clauses, and supports 45 fair trade cooperatives on three continents. People know they can rely on Oikocredit USA as a role model for high ethical standards coupled with low financial risk and a solid return, making any gift a safe, easy way to do good for a Mom, Dad or grad.

Through Oikocredit USA, these microfinance loans directly help over 19 million people worldwide living in poverty become self-sufficient. Mothers can finally provide schoolbooks, healthcare and food for their children. And hardworking poor entrepreneurs can thrive, find dignity and respect in their communities. With nearly 3.5 billion people living on less than $2 a day, there is no limit to the amount of good that can be done with a microfinance loan.