We Need Your Support

Our fundraising success is leading to developing the next generation of entrepreneurs - this reduces poverty and creates jobs. We've received some off-line donations and are now 1/3 of the way to our goal! A hearty thank-you to our donors!

There are 21 days left in our campaign, can you help us raise another $200? A donation of any size would help - $25 or even $2 would push us that much further toward helping others. Not ready to donate? Sign up to follow the blog so you can receive updates on our progress.

Not sure how this works? Funding is the #1 barrier to entry for many new innovators and entrepreneurs. They have a great idea but no way to bring it to market. The traditional method of financing is going to your local bank and staking your personal assets for your business. Many do not have t enough personal assets or a high enough FICO score to qualify for a bank loan. Nor do they have the connections or business history for venture capitalists and angel investors. Enter microloans and 3pgroup as the solution.

New entrepreneurs can launch sustainable, profitable businesses with small infusions of start-up capital. A loan of under $10,000 can help buy needed equipment and supplies to launch a business- especially when accompanied by technical assistance and education. There are numerous success stories of how this has worked globally.

This is where 3pGroup fits in the puzzle of creating a sustainable economy. We are committed to furthering this concept here in the US. And we need your help to spread the work, sign up for updates and support our cause! Thanks so much!

It's July! Can we get 100 supporters?

Its a new month and a new phase for 3pGroup as we continue setting the foundation for the best Anti-Poverty Non-Profit. The mission of 3pGroup is poverty alleviation to make the world a better place through Passion, Productivity and Power. Our Goal is measurable poverty reduction. Our three areas of focus are poverty reduction through microfinance, educational advocacy and community involvement.

Getting started involves some visible efforts and some things behind the scenes. Behind the scenes we are laying a firm foundation by navigating the financial and legal frameworks to set up this organization to not just achieve our goals now, but to be flexible and strong enough to continue working in the future. In the forefront right now, we need funding! It would be amazing and exceedingly helpful if we were able to receive large donations of $5000 or more - so if you are able, please go ahead. But if not, that isn't going to stop us. With small donations from several people who give to our cause, we can achieve a lot. Can you give $30 today? Or how about starting with just $3?

This month, we must raise $300 - this could come from one person - or it could come from 100! Personally, I'd love it if I could get 100 people excited about our cause! Mahatma Gandhi once said, We must be the change we wish to see in the world. Are you that change? I know that person by person, we can stem and stop the tide of poverty from trapping generations of people in hopelessness. Do you?

This fundraising drive is for the month of July only - so don't wait to donate! Don't know what to do next?

What to do next:
1) Use the button to the right to donate via Tipjoy or Paypal
2) Encourage friends to learn about the organization by sending them this link: bit.ly/w6cVr
3) Start a competition with your friends to see how many people you can recruit to our cause - the top recruiters will receive recognition on our blog: bit.ly/w6cVr.


Before I forget, please note we will pick one supporter from July 1-July 15 to receive a $5 giftcard and one supporter from July 16-31 to receive one as well. Yes its a small token - but hey donate $3 and get $5 - that's the power of social media. Besides, we're a non-profit!

Follow Friday to save the world!

As many of you know, I love Twitter! I really like the #followfriday trend - but sometimes you want to know WHY someone chose a particular person to mention. Sometimes if you are only mentioning one person, you have enough characters left to briefly mention why. But usually you have more than one person to highlight.

In the areas of saving the world, microfinance and non profits in general, I have two #followfriday recommendations for you. The first is @johndrew25. He posts a wealth of information on nonprofits and leads a grant-related ning group that has been helpful to me. The second is @goodsocialnet - a positive tweeter who is doing good in the world! So follow these two ASAP! I never get tired of hearing positive things.

Happy #FollowFriday everyone!

Questions

If you had to guess what the #1 obstacle is to entrepreneurs, what would you say? Is it lack of health care? Lack of family support? Lack of a rich uncle to underwrite their life?

In my opinion its impossible to pick just one. Naturally every situation is different and we all come from a different place - background, education, motivation, etc. But cutting across all of those differences, there are two obstacles that vie for that coveted spot in just about every entrepreneur's life: fear and lack of money. They are related in a lot of situations but they do not have to be.

Do you agree? Disagree? Have an example? Leave a comment!

Currently I am looking to interview some new entrepreneurs and feature them on this blog. Let me know if you'd be interested or know someone who would be!

FICO SCORES

There are many websites explaining what FICO scores are, trying to get you to pay for your credit reports (which are free), and trying to rope you into paying for scammy services that claim to rebuild your credit in days.

Hopefully most people know that you have the right to request your credit reports for free each year. You can do this via the internet or through the good old fashioned US Postal Service. Also, there is not way to instantly improve bad credit. However it is possible to start rebuilding your credit. To begin rebuilding your credit there are two major things you need to do: pay everything on time and have positive things reported on your credit report.

It is really depressing to be rejected for pre-approvals, rejected for financing, rejected for credit cards, etc. This is doubly depressing if you do not have savings to fall back on. For someone with an entrepreneurial spirit, this can feel like an inescapable trap. How can you start a business if you don't have at least a little bit up front?

This is where microfinancing comes in. 3pgroup will review each entrepreneur's file extensively and take into consideration more than just the FICO score. Additionally, 3pgroup will report to the major credit reporting agencies your payment history. Not only will the microloan give you a chance to jump start your business, by reporting positive repayment information to the credit bureaus, this will position you to expand your business via traditional financing in the future.

The World of Microfinance

Microfinance is a thriving sector of credit lending that is primarily focused on the poor with the objective of smoothing consumption and lifting individuals and families out of poverty. It is the objective of 3Pgroup to successfully bring Microfinance to the western world and to also expand on work that has been done internationally.

3p is defining poor internationally as individuals who live on $1/day or less. Within the US, the povery level could be defined in many ways - this will be explored in a later post.

As with any pre-launch, it is beneficial to know what's out there: what organizations exist, how are they structured, what do they do? I came across an interesting organization called Freedom from Hunger ( www.freedomfromhunger.org).

This great organization makes loans to impoverished women in Latin America, Africa and Asia. They don't just make loans, however; they also provide educational programs. The organization started with the objective of eliminating world hunger. The method they chose was by providing these small microloans to help women develop sustainable businesses that could break the cycle of poverty and eliminate starvation for themselves and their families.

What I like most about this organization is that they combine education with microfinance. And that is a program element that 3p Group will definitely incorporate. The question remains that in the western world, what educational programs would be most useful?

Stay tuned! As always, we welcome your comments and posts.
Find us on twitter @3pgroup!

Pre-Launch

Microfinance, in my opinion, is one of the best anti-poverty mechanisms out there.  Via microfinance, low-income individuals are able to smooth consumption over time and some are even able to make forays into entrepreneurship that lift entire family groups out of poverty. 

Microfinance is not as developed in the Western world as it is elsewhere.  However, there is a need for it - especially with the current economic crisis.  I intend to utilize this method locally to combat poverty and help bridge the gap between the haves and the have nots.

I welcome your comments and suggestions!