GRAMEEN AMERICA INC
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Mission Statement
Grameen America is a nonprofit microfinance organization that empowers women who live in poverty to create better lives for themselves and their families through entrepreneurship. A nationally certified CDFI, Grameen America provides affordable capital, credit- and asset-building, financial education and peer support to enable program participants to boost their income, enter the mainstream financial system and create jobs in their communities. The fastest growing nonprofit microfinance organization in the U.S., Grameen America has provided over $2.5 billion in small business loans to over 150,000 low-income women entrepreneurs. Our members have repaid their loans at a rate of over 99% and are helping transform the lives of their families and communities.
About This Cause
Founded by Nobel Peace Prize recipient Muhammad Yunus, Grameen America utilizes a unique, proven group-lending model based on peer support to provide small business loans to women entrepreneurs. Our model was developed and successfully refined over 35 years by Professor Yunus and the Grameen Bank in Bangladesh. The group model, in which members encourage, support, and learn from each other, is the cornerstone of Grameen America's approach to microfinance; it sets us apart from other CDFIs and drives our success. We require neither a credit score nor collateral to join our program, and only ask that women meet with our staff on a weekly basis to repay their loans and engage in ongoing peer training and conversation. This atypical underwriting makes it affordable and efficient to disburse large numbers of small loans and allows us to reach the most vulnerable populations with reasonable and accessible financial services. We also help members open savings accounts, and provide credit-building services, financial education and peer support. Since opening our doors in 2008 in New York City, we have expanded to 29 cities, operating 50 branches nationwide. Our members are 98% Hispanic, Latina, or African American, with an average age of 40. Most are single mothers and heads of household with an average family size of three. Grameen America targets the most disadvantaged communities with the greatest barriers to economic independence and helps women entrepreneurs build their small businesses by closing the capital and capacity gaps that are extensive for this demographic. With no or poor credit score and limited financial resources and education, our members struggled to grow their businesses and climb out of poverty prior to joining Grameen America. Philanthropic support allows us to expand our national reach and serve a greater portion of this vulnerable population to help break the cycle of poverty.