Important New Book Offers First Look at Microcredit From Donor Perspective

NEW YORK, March 8 /PRNewswire/ -- In December, 2006, "barefoot banker" Muhammad Yunus received the Nobel Peace Prize for his pioneering work in microcredit. An important new book offers the first independent look at microcredit from the perspective of the donor, and shows why it is the most powerful tool for ending world poverty.

The spotlight is on microcredit like never before. Now is the time for donors to think like investors and join the world's most effective force for stimulating job growth, promoting economic stability, and empowering individual self-confidence and entrepreneurship in developing countries.

A BILLION BOOTSTRAPS: Microcredit, Barefoot Banking, and the Business Solution for Ending Poverty (McGraw-Hill / Publication date: April 2, 2007) brings the power of business thinking to the massive challenges of poverty. Co-authors Eric Thurman, CEO and microcredit expert, along with philanthropist and former energy executive Phil Smith, reveal how microcredit yields greater returns than any other philanthropic vehicle by partnering with the poor. Vividly detailing the revolutionary idea made famous by Muhammad Yunus, Bangladeshi economist and winner of the 2006 Nobel Peace Prize, Thurman and Smith adroitly explain how the system works, why it changes poverty permanently, and how ordinary people can accelerate this revolution by investing their charitable dollars in donor programs that produce astonishing returns.

After achieving financial success, Smith, the former CEO of Prize Energy Corporation and of Tide West Oil Company, decided to focus on his philanthropy and was eager to learn more about microcredit. However, while much has been written about the topic, Phil discovered it was either written for microcredit professionals or to raise money for microcredit organizations.

Together, Smith and Thurman, featured in a provocative article in Forbes titled, "Contrarian Charity: You want big returns on your investments, so why not on your charitable giving too?", decided to write a book detailing the nuts and bolts of microcredit and how it works on a practical level rather than just esoteric lending practices and heart-rending stories. In straight and clear prose explaining how microcredit works, A BILLION BOOTSTRAPS presents an impartial overview of microcredit so readers quickly grasp how it works and discover the many ways to become involved.

A BILLION BOOTSTRAPS details how microcredit institutions -- "barefoot bankers" -- arrange tiny loans, sometimes as little as $25, so families can break free of hunger and other painful shortages. Using a very small amount of money, people are empowered to work their way out of poverty by expanding or starting neighborhood businesses and services. Through microcredit, donors, borrowers, and microcredit staff become partners in solving complex problems and meeting shared goals. Donors provide money for microloans, and microcredit organizations administer the loans. Borrowers increase their incomes and pay back the loans. Unlike charity or grants, these relationships are reciprocal, rich with mutual trust. "Ample research documents the fact that loan recipients are credit-worthy and repay their microloans at rates higher than rates reported by commercial banks -- in part because their neighbors guarantee the small loans," write Thurman and Smith.

Smith and Thurman explore the causes of poverty and the reasons why traditional poverty-alleviation programs fail; they urge due diligence in charitable giving and explain how to calculate the bottom line; and calculate in detail how many lives are changed through specific amounts of donated money. Further, by applying investment techniques, they illustrate how contributions to microcredit can be leveraged so that the net cost of lifting one person in Rwanda out of deadly poverty is a mere $2.20. In some countries, the net cost is even less. They also discuss the provocative concept of having equal concern for all people, not just those in our own communities; the limits of microcredit, why microcredit interest rates are surprisingly high; and whether microcredit works better in rural or urban areas.

Thurman and Smith write from a business point of view because, as they say, "Poverty responds to the same investment principles that fuel business growth anywhere in the world." Savvy donors know that the wiser the philanthropic decision, the more effective the results. Smith and Thurman offer insight into applying investor principles to philanthropy, such as: seek charities offering the best return on your investment; require that the returns are measurable; let your investment style guide your decisions; adjust your philanthropy portfolio if a charity is not meeting expected performance; and find out the true overhead costs of the charity.

In addition, A BILLION BOOTSTRAPS provides a chapter designed to walk the reader through reliable ways he or she can connect with microcredit organizations while avoiding pitfalls. Thurman and Smith write, "Microcredit is not as simple as sending money and a half-page loan agreement to an entrepreneurial person in a faraway country." The writers also outline key questions to ask yourself to determine where to direct your microcredit donation, such as: Do you want to make a one-time donation or are you considering a long-term commitment? Is there a particular type of person you are motivated to help? Are you interested in solving a range of poverty- related problems, or would you prefer to focus solely on helping people increase their incomes?

Smith and Thurman acknowledge that people who are desperately poor need programs to assist them when they suffer by providing nutrition, medical care, and other humanitarian services. These services are provided at a very attractive cost by using the microcredit infrastructure. But they firmly believe that, first and foremost, people need to break the grip of poverty. They write, "Once they have income and assets, they can provide for their own needs. Microcredit enables millions of people to lift themselves by their bootstraps."

  A BILLION BOOTSTRAPS
  Microcredit, Barefoot Banking, and the Business Solution for Ending
  Poverty
  Phil Smith & Eric Thurman
  McGraw-Hill / April 2007
  ISBN: 0071489975 / $24.95 / 224 pages