the microdreams foundation
gregory f. casagrande, founder at the microdreams foundation, inc. - relationship science
the microdreams foundation, inc. south pacific business development microfinance network transformative ventures ltd .
we have 5 contacts for the microdreams foundation inc, including 3 contacts with email addresses .
mission: the microdreams foundation supports small promising microfinance institutions in the developing world to achieve permanency through financial self - sufficiency .
the microdreams foundation provides direct investments, bilateral loans and loan guarantees to highly rated small microfinance institutions, ensuring funds continue to reach entrepeneurs in need throughout the developing world .
the microdreams foundation is located in newark, new jersey. this organization primarily operates in the civic and social associations business / industry within the membership organizations sector. this organization has been operating for approximately 8 years. the microdreams foundation is estimated to generate $ 201, 273 in annual revenues, and employs approximately 3 people at this single location .
programs: the microdreams foundation provides direct investments, bilateral loans and loan guarantees to highly rated small microfinance institutions, ensuring funds continue to reach entrepeneurs in need throughout the developing world. the microdreams foundation provides direct investments, bilateral loans and loan guarantees to highly rated small microfinance institutions, ensuring funds continue to reach entrepeneurs in need throughout the developing world .
gregory casagrande is the driving force behind the microdreams foundation (“microdreams”) and south pacific business development (“spbd”), which make up the first successful microfinance network across the south pacific, with operations in samoa, tonga, fiji and the solomon islands. (more about the founder )
we have 3 contacts for aids resource foundation for children inc, including 1 contact with email addresses .
microdreams’ microenterprise development partners in the fight against global poverty span the globe. below is a list of select microenterprise development organization (medo) alliances that microdreams has established :
aids resource foundation for children is located in newark, new jersey. this organization primarily operates in the civic and social associations business / industry within the membership organizations sector. aids resource foundation for children employs approximately 3 people at this branch location .
our formal rebranding to “the microdreams foundation” occurred in 2007 to highlight our expanding geographic focus and mission to assist young mfis to follow the successful path to commercial permanence blazed by spbd samoa. to that end, microdreams has provided critical financing to mfis in latin america to help them grow .
we need your help so microdreams can provide the critical financial assistance to spbd - fiji .
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u. s. internal revenue code. donations to microdreams are tax - deductible .
microdreams builds financially sustainable, replicable, and scalable medos that directly empower poor families to lift themselves permanently out of poverty. and microdreams does this where no one else does .
the microdreams foundation has its roots in the south pacific business development foundation (spbd), a microenterprise development organization founded by greg casagrande in the pacific island nation of samoa in 2000. spbd is the first successful medo in the pacific islands region and is well known for its efficiency and its effectiveness at empowering the poor. in 2007, spbd - usa re - branded and became microdreams. microdreams is now focused on helping young medos follow the successful path to commercial permanence blazed by spbd. today, although microfinance is renowned, the vast majority of financing goes to the world’s largest microfinance institutions, and hence the vast majority of the world’s poor remain without meaningful economic opportunity. the execution of microdreams’ vision will help to spread microfinance services throughout the developing world .
with support from donors and investors, microdreams usa and microdreams new zealand continue to grow. we are proud to be early investors in successful mfis in the south pacific and latin america. microdreams will continue to work with new partners around the world to seed the next generation of mfis that will benefit the world’s poor .
microdreams empowers the poor to lift themselves permanently out of poverty through meaningful economic opportunity. to learn more visit
through its partner organizations, microdreams touches the lives of thousands of entrepreneurs, who in turn invest in their families’ education and housing needs. microdreams is proud to be an organization focused on changing lives, one at a time. microdreams has helped empower dreams for those profiled below and many more .
also on the list are villagereach (which charity evaluator givewell listed as its top rated charity from 2009 to november 2011), living goods (which has been profiled in many media outlets), bridge international academies (a muso, and the microdreams foundation .
' the microdreams foundation
' is a u. s. 501 (c) (3) non - profit organization founded by gregory casagrande in 2002 as a microfinance accelerator that helps small, growing micro - enterprise development organizations reach financial self - sufficiency .
the microdreams foundation is a charitable microfinance acceleration fund designed to help new and emerging microfinance and micro - enterprise development organizations launch and scale their organizations to the point of commercial viability. microdreams has been the driving force behind the development of the spbd microfinance network in the south pacific (samoa, tonga and fiji) and has helped to scale young emerging partner mfi’s in bolivia, ecuador and peru. microdreams provides loans, loan guarantees and technical assistance to partner microfinance institutions to help them achieve their goals of providing meaningful economic opportunity to the poorest members of society .
any references to a parallel application for incorporeal entities indicated through patch notes included with the revision were taken out in subsequent updates. further investigation by foundation agents is ongoing .
microdreams uses loans, loan guarantees, and technical assistance to help provide meaningful economic opportunity to the poorest members of society .
microdreams helped south pacific business development expand into tonga in 2009, fiji in 2010, and the solomon islands in 2013 .
microdreams is a non - governmental, non - profit organization and a registered charitable organization in the united states and new zealand .
greg casagrande of summit, ceo of the microdreams foundation, meets the ceos of the eighth - grade groups that raised money for his organization. from left: jonathan saminski of westfield, jordan rose of north plainfield, naya shim of warren and yumna naqvi of south plainfield. (photo courtesy of wardlaw - hartridge school )
genoveva has been a valuable client of emprender, microdreams’ field partner in bolivia, since 2005. doña ...
microdreams’ first investment was in spbd samoa. when spbd samoa repaid its start - up financing, microdreams reinvested this money into other mfis. we have been there every step of the way to support the launch and growth of spbd in samoa, tonga, fiji and the solomon islands .
south pacific business development foundation (spbd) apia, samoa urltoken since its arrival in samoa in 2000, spbd has provided over usd 12 million in loans to provide opportunities for some 9, 000 samoan families. microdreams has helped spbd mobilize more than usd 1 million in financing via grants, direct loans and loan guarantees. microdreams funds have been used to provide loans to samoan women in need, execute key good governance projects and expand to the nearby and more rural samoan islands. microdreams also provided direct aid to hundreds of families devastated by the samoan tsunami in 5september 2009 .
the body shop australia, the wise foundation, and south pacific business development of samoa (spbd - samoa) have teamed up to launch a small business training and mentoring program for several small retail shop owners in samoa to help them further develop successful micro - enterprises. in addition to the training, the wise foundation also provided a $ a30, 000 grant to spbd - samoa for the expansion of its micro - enterprise loan program .
in 1989, sting and trudie styler founded the rainforest foundation in response to a direct request for help from a kayapo indian leader in brazil who was seeking to protect his peoples’ land and culture .
what do you consider your greatest achievement? other than my kids, the development and growth of my microfinance initiatives (spbd and microdreams) .
we have partnered with the following microfinance institutions in the south pacific and latin america. microdreams will continue to work with new partners around the world to seed the next generation of mfis that will benefit the world’s poor .
greg casagrande greg is the founder and managing director of microdreams. he is also the founder of south pacific business development microfinance network (spbd), the leading microfinance institution in the pacific islands region .
the rainforest foundation us has worked with three catchafire pro bono professionals to date. the projects included brand identity, a public relations plan and copywriting. all three of these initiatives have helped broaden awareness and support for their cause .
wardlaw - hartridge students showed their compassion and generosity by providing microdreams with a $ 1, 500 donation to support our work with the south pacific business development microfinance network. the school has supported microdreams and spbd for many years, and greg (a graduate of the school) visits to discuss microfinance and the work of spbd with students .
the rainforest foundation supports indigenous and traditional people of the world in their efforts to protect their environment and and fulfill their rights. the rainforest foundation was one of the first organizations to focus on the vital link between protection of the rainforest and securing the rights of indigenous peoples. as deforestation pressures have intensified, providing the support needed for indigenous peoples to remain stewards of their ancestral lands has proven to be extremely effective in protecting rainforest. recent data in brazil shows that the deforestation rate in the amazon was 1% in indigenous areas versus 24% outside of those areas .
all four groups were able to make a profit in their businesses, led by ceos naya shim of warren, jonathan saminski of westfield, jordan rose of north plainfield and yumna naqvi of south plainfield. the money they raised, $ 2463. 76, was presented to casagrande on june 6 for his microdreams foundation to help empower more women to start businesses .
microdreams will help change this by financing the startup of our newest micro - enterprise development organization field partner, spbd - fiji, which officially launched in october .
4. iamfi’s membersfounding membersdoen foundation tiaa - crefomidyar network plainfield asset managementgray ghost ventures rockefeller foundationgray matters capital triodos managementprudentialcharter members blueorchard finance usa, g. casagrande (spbd, microdreams), calvert foundation, co - operative financial services, developing world markets, elevar equity, global microfinance partners, hsbc, j. p. morgan, microcredit enterprises, microfinanza rating, microvest, minlam asset management, morgan stanley, norwegian microfinance initiative, planet rating, prudential, omidyar - tufts microfinance fund, orrick herrington & sutcliffe, ronoc, triple jump, individuals
microdreams has recently posted its first projects to catchafire, and is now seeking its first pro bono professionals! you can have an impact by helping microdreams with a copywriting project and a website design project. the copywriting project will assist microdreams deliver their message more effectively to donors / supporters, partners and other key stakeholders. the professional would work with the coo to play a crucial role in helping to convey their message in a compelling, thoughtful and inspirational way. microdreams is also looking for a website design professional who can help them re - design their new, but not - yet - launched website to better communicate the “look and feel” of the organization .
greg has not only changed lives in samoa, microdreams has also made it their goal to help other young microenterprise developers (medo), follow their success. microdreams has delivered $ 500, 000 of financing to young, well managed medo’s in bolivia, ecuador, tonga and uganda .
in 2007, spbd - usa re - branded and became microdreams. microdreams is now focused on helping other young medo’s follow the success path to commercial permanence blazed by spbd a few years earlier. since rebranding, microdreams has delivered nearly us $ 500, 000 of financing to young, well managed medo' s in bolivia, ecuador, tonga and uganda. each medo is now quickly scaling its operations to become permanently viable medo’s dedicated to empowering the poor with a powerful hand - up and not a hand - out. microdreams continues to actively take on new partners around the world in its mission to seed the next generation of medo' s to benefit the world’s poor .
the organization’s initial project led to a role coordinating the first ever privately funded demarcation of indian land in the region. since then the rainforest foundation has grown into a small network of four independent organizations in the us, the uk and norway, working collectively in 20 rainforest countries around the globe. collectively they have helped protect 28 million acres of forest .
the microdreams foundation has its roots in south pacific business development foundation (spbd), a microenterprise development organization (medo) founded by greg casagrande in the pacific island nation of samoa in 2000. spbd is the first successful medo in the pacific islands region and is well known for its efficiency and its effectiveness at empowering the poor. a sister organization, spbd - usa, was established in 2002 as a us 501c3 nonprofit organization to help fund the launch and growth of spbd in samoa. as spbd grew and become economically viable, several commercial entities stepped in to permanently finance its ongoing growth. this enabled spbd to payback its spbd - usa sponsored start - up financing and gave spbd - usa the opportunity to expand its horizons .
edison — in january, greg casagrande, a 1981 graduate of the wardlaw - hartridge school and current member of its board of trustees, spoke to eighth grade students about business and finance. he told them that he started the south pacific development foundation / microdreams to empower women in the villages of samoa to begin their own businesses. the success of these women has enabled them to pay back their loans and also improve their communities by helping each other .
following the success of spbd samoa, microdreams helped the launch of spbd tonga in 2009. in general, tonga’s economy is vulnerable and employment opportunities are limited. around 70% of the population lives in rural areas, where much of the rural poor lack a source of income. the labor force participation rate as a percentage of the female population is 54% , which is one reason why the help of spbd tonga and microdreams is so important .
the microdreams team has deep experience in the u. s. and new zealand private sectors and a history of successfully harnessing private sector expertise to build efficient, sustainable, socially responsible businesses within the non - profit world .
microdreams is the sister organization to the south pacific business development (“spbd”) microfinance network, the most successful group of mfis operating in the south pacific islands of samoa, tonga, fiji and the solomon islands. founder gregory casagrande and board members established microdreams in the united states and new zealand as charitable entities (originally called spbd - usa and spbd - nz) to enable friends and family in these countries to raise awareness and funds for microfinance in the south pacific .
microdreams is a charitable organisation registered in the united states and new zealand. the organisation is focused on helping young microenterprise development organisations (medo’s) follow the path to commercial permanence through credit and education. microdreams aims to empower the world’s poor by providing them with meaningful economic opportunity so that they can work their way permanently out of poverty by providing sustainable, replicable and scalable solutions in markets where no one else does .
today, although microfinance is renowned, the vast majority of financing goes to the world' s largest microfinance institutions and hence the vast majority of the world' s poor remain without meaningful economic opportunity. the execution of microdreams vision will help to spread microfinancial services to every corner of the developing world .
microdreams works to ensure its partner microfinance institutions are able to grow and to provide much - needed financial and non - financial services to poor women in remote and rural areas .
microdreams seeks only the highest quality microfinance partners who can demonstrate managerial excellence, client growth and a healthy loan portfolio and who share our value of providing meaningful economic opportunity to those who needed it most .
microdreams has continued to help ider expand its outreach and services into the rural regions of peru. as of the end of 2015, ider’s percentage of female borrowers reached 59. 7% with 2, 471 total active borrowers .
securing land rights for indigenous peoples is a top priority for indigenous peoples across the world as it gives communities the control and security they need to protect their forests. however, indigenous groups often face significant legal, procedural and technical hurdles to obtaining legal recognition of their land rights, such as accurate marking of boundaries, professional maps and formal title documentation. the rainforest foundation is assisting its partners overcome these challenges by providing technical support to map territorial boundaries, document land claims and assist with complex administrative and legal procedures. on regional and national levels, the rainforest foundation is supporting indigenous organizations and networks to negotiate with the relevant authorities and gain formal recognition .
in may and june, microdreams made loans totaling $ 250, 000 and $ 200, 000 to spbd samoa and spbd fiji respectively. the loans will enable the two entities to continue expanding their outreach and improving their product offerings .
microdreams is pleased to have polly kelekis join the team as its first chief operating officer. polly is working closely with greg to develop the organization further and grow its resource base with the ultimate goal of empowering poor microentrepreneurs by providing them with meaningful economic opportunity so they can work their way permanently out of poverty. polly is responsible for the day - to - day operations of microdreams, including new business development, stakeholder relationship management, marketing, outreach and fundraising .
microdreams monitors its mfi partners and ensures that they provide loans for underprivileged people to start their own businesses as well as proper training and mentoring to guide their female microentrepreneurs towards business success .
along with his partner claire he traveled to samoa in 2006 and saw the spbd and microdreams project in progress. it was both humbling and inspiring to visit several villages and witness first hand what the project means to the women involved and the significant impact on their day to day lives .
in january 2014, the new zealand - based snakk media, contributed funding to microdreams in support of the spbd networks' newest branches in fiji and the solomon islands as part of its impactful treasury management strategy and in recognition of new zealand' s deep links to the south pacific .
we offer an enormous thanks to graeme wise, founder and owner of the body shop australia and the wise foundation, for his support of samoan micro - entrepreneurs through this program. we also express our heartfelt appreciation to alex mcdonald, mark kindness, louisa trombin, adam valvasori, lawrence cupido, and all others involved .
prior to launching my own mfi, i visited chittagong, bangladesh for a few weeks to learn firsthand the details of operating an mfi from one of the world’s most successful organizations, grameen bank. back in samoa and armed with new knowledge, i launched a greenfield mfi to give samoan women the opportunity to improve their families’ lives. and thus, spbd was born. when my family and friends learned what i was doing, they wanted to help. so, we established the microdreams foundation (originally called spbd - usa) to raise awareness and funds for microfinance in the south pacific .
since rebranding, microdreams has delivered more than us $ 1. 5m of financing to young, well managed medos in bolivia, ecuador, peru, samoa, tonga and fiji. each medo is scaling its operations to become permanently viable and is dedicated to empowering the poor with a powerful hand - up and not a hand - out. microdreams continues to actively take on new partners around the world in its mission to seed the next generation of medos to benefit the world’s poor .
if you want to get involved, please favorite the rainforest foundation us on catchafire. (you need to be logged in to do this .) we’ll alert you as new opportunities to get involved become available. if you want to learn more about this great opportunity, email community @ catchafire. org .
microdreams acts as a catalyst to help develop and grow a new generation of microenterprise development organizations (medos). with microdreams’ suite of new venture financing and advisory services, these small, young, promising, potentially high - growth medos will grow, prosper and become permanent entities in their communities. they will provide the local poor with small business training, unsecured credit and ongoing guidance and motivation to make their clients’ micro - businesses a success. microdreams’ medo partners will also provide their clients credit for basic housing improvements and for childhood education, as well as access to convenient savings facilities and appropriate insurance coverage .
microdreams will act as a catalyst to help develop and grow a new generation of microenterprise development organizations (medos). with microdreams suite of new venture financing and advisory services, these small, young, promising, potentially hi - growth medos will grow, prosper and become permanent entities in their communities. they will provide the local poor with small business training, unsecured credit and ongoing guidance and motivation to make their clients' micro - businesses a success. microdreams medo partners will also provide their clients credit for basic housing improvements and for childhood education as well as access to convenient savings facilities and appropriate insurance coverage .
out of 80 nominations, spbd has been shortlisted as a finalist in the microfinance recognition awards taking place in washington d. c. on october 26. spbd has been nominated in the category of microfinance professionalization. other shortlisted organizations in this category include sks microfinance, grameen foundation, and women' s world banking. congratulations and good luck !
women like tina in samoa, had the opportunity to start her own company with just a $ 270 loan from microdreams. now she is able to support her five children. this is just one of the success stories made possible by greg and his initiative .
tay - bandz primarily does good through raising funds for cutting - edge pediatric cancer research. the foundation is currently funding research at memorial sloan - kettering cancer center, hope & heroes children’s cancer fund at the columbia university medical center and the national institutes of health. through partnerships with corporate sponsors such as bloomingdale’s and capitalone, tay - bandz advocates for research and raises awareness of the lack of adequate government funding .
since its founding, microdreams has delivered approximately us $ 2, 000, 000 of financing to young, well - managed medos (microenterprise development organizations) in bolivia, ecuador, peru, tonga, fiji, and the solomon islands .
microdreams is currently looking for professionals to help them with a copywriting project. and a website design project. if this is not in your skillset but you would like to get involved, please favorite the microdreams page on catchafire. (you need to be logged in to do this .) we’ll alert you as new opportunities to get involved become available. if you want to learn more about this great opportunity, email community @ catchafire. org .
description: scp - 2876 is a smartphone application titled
headspace
appearing in web application marketplaces connected to the global public internet. it describes itself as a service making
dreams from the floor to your door
and allows users to purchase customized dreams and microdreams .
change the name (also url address, possibly the category) of the page .
via a loan guarantee, microdreams negotiated fundamic' s access to usd 100, 000 in financing from a commercial bank. the funds are being used to expand fundamic' s regional reach and provide more dollars to more ecuadorian entrepreneurs in need .
genoveva llanos de marin makes beautiful shoes in her small house in bolivia. thanks to the support she is getting from microdreams' patner emprender, genoveva was able to improve and expand her home and workshop, and also help her daughter through university .
over the past nine years, microdreams has provided substantial support to the spbd microfinance network in all four of its branches in (samoa, tonga, fiji, and the solomon islands) and has helped to scale up other young emerging partner microfinance institutions (mfis) in bolivia, ecuador, and peru .
navigating the waters of nonprofit, international poverty alleviation through microfinance is tricky business, and microdreams could not do what we do without expert legal help. thanks to an incredibly talented team from allen & overy law firm in new york, we have received valuable legal advice and services relating to complex governance and regulatory issues. the allen & overy team' s professional expertise and extensive due diligence will ensure microdreams' ability to carry on our work around the world. what' s more, they provided all these services pro bono !
for many organizations with a mission to serve the poor, it is essential to measure local poverty levels and track their development so that services can be properly targeted and so stakeholders are provided with objective evidence demonstrating the influence and impact such institutions are generating. developed by the grameen foundation to be easy to use by local organizations, the progress out of poverty index is one of the most recognized and effective poverty measurement tools and is used by over 200 organizations in 45 countries worldwide, including the international finance corporation .
through funding from whole planet foundation and pfip, spbd solomon islands opened a second branch in munda on march 11 th, 2016. in the next three years, spbd si plans to reach another 5, 255 women entrepreneurs and give $ 15. 4 million sbd ($ 1. 9m usd) in loans. already and even in the first month of its opening, the munda branch had already served over 200 clients .
five body shop employees will visit samoa for a week, pro bono, to initially train 10 spbd members who have started their own retail shops in merchandising, marketing, customer service, and business planning. the wise foundation will also assist in the development of the curriculum for the small business training and mentoring program. this inspiration program will offer samoan women entrepreneurs the opportunity to grow and develop their businesses and entrepreneurial skills, and provide australian entrepreneurs a unique challenge and cross - cultural exchange .
it' s official: south pacific business development has expanded to fiji! the new microenterprise development organization will bring meaningful economic opportunity to tens of thousands of low income fijians. microdreams will provide major financial support to spbd - fiji to catalyze its outreach and growth .
mission markets is currently working with their first pro bono professional on a brand identity project. mission markets had a lot of ideas about the brand and messaging related to their marketing, but were looking for an expert to help them define the right brand to capture who they are and what they are trying to do. this brand identity will clearly convey their mission, values and personality to the outside world and form the foundation of their future marketing and communications strategy .
spbd microfinance ltd - tonga nuku’alofa, tonga microdreams is proud to be the major launch partner for spbd - tonga which began operations in august 2009. spbd - tonga helps fight poverty by providing opportunities for women and their families to enhance their income generating capabilities through microfinance and training. microdreams has provided over usd 200, 000 in start - up capital to help spbd - tonga reach nearly 1000 tongan microentrepreneurs in only a few short months. spbd - tonga operates on the main island of tongatapu and will subsequently expand to outer islands .
the body shop australia, wise foundation and spbd samoa launched a pilot to strengthen microenterprises and build business skills for spbd clients. last month, a small group of clients participated in the business development workshop led by facilitators and mentors of the body shop australia. during the 5 - day training and mentoring program, spbd clients learned about sound business principles, including good service, merchandising, promotions and cash flow. with help from program mentors, clients applied the theory in each of their respective businesses .
microdreams works in samoa, tonga, fiji, the solomon islands, vanuatu (2017) and peru has helped more than 60, 000 poor but aspiring micro - entrepreneurs lift themselves and thier families out of poverty in these nations via a sustainable micro - entrepreneurship program .
microdreams mission is to empower the world' s poor by providing them with meaningful economic opportunity so that they can work their way permanently out of poverty. we work in countries throughout the south pacific - - samoa, tonga, fiji, solomon islands, vanuatu (2017) - - and in latin america .
spbd launched services in fiji in december 2010. after strong successes in samoa, empower women to start microbusiness with funds sources from spbd. since its opening, spbd fiji has disbursed 25, 250 loans to its clients since inception. microdreams expects spbd fiji to become the largest mfi in the sbpd network over the next 5 years with a client base in excess of 20, 000 clients. since the devastating cyclone winston, that killed two spbd fiji members and destroyed many of their homes, grants from many funders have been given to spbd for the relief and rehabilitation program. microdreams new zealand gave approximately us $ 40, 540 or fj $ 83, 402 to the program and more funds are expected to come in the next quarter .
based on casagrande’s business, a project was created so that the eighth graders would understand the purpose of microdreams and help them become leaders themselves. the eighth graders were broken up into four groups and each group was to form a business, elect officers, write a business plan and double the $ 140 given to them by the middle school student council as start - up money. they worked on this project from late february until the second week in may .
at microdreams, we believe that extending financial services to low - income people – known as “microfinance” – is an effective and flexible strategy in the fight against poverty. we believe that everyone deserves access to financial services, which will help them work their way to a better future. today, microfinance institutions (mfis) provide critical financial services to some of the poorest populations in the world that are viewed as “too risky” by traditional financial institutions. by establishing successful mfis, microdreams enables poor, aspiring microentrepreneurs to start or grow their businesses and generate income to improve the quality of life for themselves and their families. we have seen the results, and we are proud to support our partner mfis and the hard - working microentrepreneurs they serve .
polly brings more than 17 years of both corporate and non - profit experience to microdreams, including six years in the microfinance industry. her work in microfinance has taken her to diverse countries, including tanzania, honduras, haiti, armenia and fiji. prior to microdreams, polly worked at finca international and consulted for the united nations capital development fund (uncdf). in 2003 - 04, she managed the volunteer team for the opening and closing ceremonies at the 2004 olympic games in athens, greece. previously, polly held posts at accenture and booz allen hamilton and also worked at the office of dr. henry a. kissinger, the center for strategic and international studies (csis), and the corporate executive board. polly has an mba from the wharton school of business, an ma in international economics and international relations from the school of advanced international studies (sais) of the johns hopkins university, and a ba from yale university .
polly brings more than 17 years of both corporate and non - profit experience to microdreams, including six years in the microfinance industry. her work in microfinance has taken her to diverse countries, including tanzania, honduras, haiti, armenia and fiji. prior to microdreams, polly worked at finca international and consulted for the financial inclusion practice area (fipa) of the united nations capital development fund (uncdf). in 2003 - 04, she managed the volunteer team for the opening and closing ceremonies at the 2004 olympic games in athens, greece. previously, polly held posts at accenture and booz allen hamilton and also worked at the office of dr. henry a. kissinger, the center for strategic and international studies (csis), and the corporate executive board. polly has an mba from the wharton school of business, an ma in international economics and international relations from the school of advanced international studies (sais) of the johns hopkins university, and a ba from yale university .
one device containing scp - 2876 is to be held in a deactivated state within site - 77. it is to be regularly activated every 30 days in a controlled environment in order to check for updates and changes to scp - 2876' s functionality. scp - 2876' s apparent origin point of portland, or, is to be monitored by foundation agents stationed at site - 64 for future activity .
microdreams is a non - governmental, non - profit organization and a registered charitable organization in the united states and new zealand. our mission is to directly empower the world’s poor by providing them with meaningful economic opportunity so that they can work their way permanently out of poverty. we provide sustainable, replicable and scalable solutions in markets where no one else does .
polly kelekis as chief operating officer, polly is charged with further developing the organization and growing its resource base with the ultimate goal of empowering poor micro entrepreneurs by providing them with meaningful economic opportunity so they can work their way permanently out of poverty. polly is responsible for the day - to - day operations of microdreams, including new business development, stakeholder relationship management, marketing, outreach and fundraising .
allyson lippert allyson lippert is a consultant at the boston consulting group, focusing on retail and marketing work. she received her mba in 2007 from the stanford graduate school of business with certificates in both global and public management. she interned with south pacific business development foundation during the summer of 2002, completing marketing projects for the organization. in addition, she created 20 paintings of women at work in the micro - businesses to raise awareness of spbd and the impact of microcredit. she graduated from the university of north carolina at chapel hill in 2003 with a bs in business administration and a ba in political science, having written a thesis entitled
the macroeconomic impact of microfinance in samoa .
she currently resides in san francisco .
significantly increased the visibility of the breadth of issues facing lgbt people and their families. throughout 2010, the task force was one of the most quoted lgbt organizations in the country, and has one of the largest and most - followed social media efforts in the community .
1. to hold the issue of youth unemployment firmly on the global agenda .
ider cv was established in 1990 as a development ngo and has been involved in microfinance since 1993 through its procrider division. procrider currently has nearly 3, 000 clients in the la libertad, tumbes and cajamarca regions of northern peru. through microdreams’ support, ider cv has accessed usd 150, 000 in additional financing to expand its services mainly to poor rural clients in the huamachuco area .
to build a successful microfinance network, i believe one of the key factors is to be client - oriented – we must always be respectful of our clients and work hard to directly serve their needs. it is this culture of respect and client service that runs throughout the work that microdreams and spbd does. this is why we refer to them as “clients” and not “beneficiaries. ”
at the award ceremony in tonga, the minister of education, women' s affairs and culture gave the keynote address .
the experience proved valuable for both spbd and the students. as ashley larson writes ,
coverage of the initiative, by clicking on the video below or go to urltoken .
another of the task force’s most exciting new programs is the new beginning initiative, composed of a variety of organizations which are organized by the task force. the coalition has been working with the obama administration to make concrete changes that benefit the entire lgbt community .
through the queer the census campaign, the task force distributed over 140, 000 stickers that people placed on their census envelopes demanding that lgbt individuals be counted in the census .
long before most residents in the village of matafaa rise in the morning, industrious faaea is wide awake, preparing the ...
jim young jim has been a board member of microdreams and its predecessor organization since 2002. he is a graduate of princeton university with an economics degree and received his mba from the kellogg school of management. he also completed the cfa program. jim works as an investment analyst at west family investments, a private family office, in evanston il. before his current position, he worked at goldman sachs for 19 years - equity research for 3 years in new york city and institutional equities sales for 16 years in chicago. he lives in evanston, il with his wife, karen, and children, stephanie, henry and katie. karen is an active and enthusiastic supporter of microdreams. jim and his family are committed to microfinance and its basic premise of helping people help themselves .
we continue to have a busy and productive year here at microdreams. in september and october i traveled to fiji to help launch our newest field partner, south pacific business development fiji (spbd - fiji). lionel somaratne is the new general manager, bringing his extensive microfinance management experience as ceo of nationwide microbank in papua new guinea. (you can read more about lionel and spbd - fiji
because of the lack of employment in the area, karina decided to open a business making picture frames. she has used the ...
( thank you very much) to the kelley team for their excellent report and to professor phil powell, the mba program chair, for coordinating the project and laying the groundwork in suva .
tina is one of the micro - entrepreneurs supported by microdreams. she lives in a village in vaimoso, samoa and has a business which produces concrete balusters at her home. she has used her creativity, industrious work effort and a loan from microdreams’ partner south pacific business development (spbd) samoa to implant herself right into the middle of the samoan construction industry. tina took out a st $ 750 (about us $ 270) loan to purchase molding cases, a vice, iron rods and cement mix. using the tools, iron rods and concrete mix, she can make a finished concrete baluster in about three hours. she can sell a baluster for st $ 50 (about us $ 18) and is now producing and selling 40 balusters per week. that’s 120 hours per week (her operation is truly around the clock !). her balusters are used for new western style homes and offices, and tina has now lined up several local contractors to whom she supplies her product. tina, a mother of five, is also now able to afford significant improvements in her very basic home and can afford to give all of her children a good education and a good environment in which to grow up. she is just one of microdreams’ shining examples of formerly poor members who are now supercharged micro - entrepreneurs .
instituto de desarrollo regional
cesar vallejo
( ider cv) trujillo, peru urltoken ider cv was established in 1990 as a development ngo and has been involved in microfinance since 1993 through its procrider division. procrider currently has nearly 3, 000 clients in the la libertad, tumbes and cajamarca regions of northern peru. through microdreams’ support, ider cv has accessed usd 150, 000 in additional financing to expand its services mainly to poor rural clients in the huamachuco area .
speak up now to stand with the 68. 5 million refugees and displaced people around the world .
gregory casagrande is the driving force behind south pacific business development (“spbd”), the first successful microfinance network across the south pacific, with operations in samoa, tonga, fiji and the solomon islands .
south pacific business development fiji announced that it is partnering with the reserve bank of fiji (rbf) and the microfinance charity good return to hold workshops on the progress out of poverty index (ppi) that has been developed for fiji and the first in the south pacific region. the aim of the workshops is to shed light on issues of poverty improvement, measuring and monitoring poverty, as well as to provide training for the use of the ppi .
thank you for joining the mercy corps community. together we will help meet the world’s urgent needs and build a brighter future for people around the world .
the final phase of the institute is innovation, during which scholars and community members bring the innovations they have developed into a business context and prototype their ideas. they use a process of iteration to develop the products or services into viable business options and collaborate on plans to access the investment needed to start the business .
duddy, the middle school history co - chair, worked with casagrande to create this project for the eighth grade .
microfinance stands as one of the most promising and cost - effective tools in the fight against global poverty .
jacoba siza pingos is a micro - entrepreneur from alluriquin, ecuador. she has received three microloans from microdreams' ecuadorian partner, fundamic. as a 40 year old single mother, segunda works hard to support her children by making and selling taffy, candy and other sweets. the loans from fundamic have helped segunda grow her micro - enterprise and increase her income. segunda explains ,
i' m happy because this institution believes in me and helps me with credit and information to live better .
the sean costello memorial fund conducts fundraising through the sale of merchandise and music benefits, however they also search for donors who can provide ideas to further the cause and engage with scientists in groundbreaking research. in 2010 they sponsored a conference of three members of their scientific advisory board in san francisco with the purpose of analyzing data to determine the relationship between creativity and bipolar disorder. additionally, the data was used to evaluate the impact of mania on creativity. the results of this conference were so significant an article was published in clinical psychology review and spawned a community consultation day with crest. bd at the university of british columbia in vancouver. additionally, the scientists presented their findings at the irbd in rome this past april. the irbd is the largest international conference on bipolar disorder, and the sean costello fund was prominently represented .
on the unfortunate side, a few brave souls decided that this warning was the last straw and that they, too, have now decided to permanently move uphill into the bush .
microdreams’ goal is to help our microfinance institution (mfi) field partners to become permanently viable institutions dedicated to empowering the poor with a powerful hand - up – not a hand - out. we offer financial and non - financial support, including direct loans, loan guarantees, human resources development, strategic guidance and staff training. with our support, mfis can establish themselves in their communities, reach sustainability, and then scale up to become permanent entities – thereby creating self - sustaining, economic networks in local villages .
motor vehicles operating without the engine running, even running if the battery, engine, ignition and steering column were removed .
sakhi has transformed the lives of both individuals and communities. here are the highlights of just a few of their achievements :
the village of lalomanu, samoa is gone — where 21 clients of spbd lived before the tsunami destroyed their homes and businesses .
she may not be on forbes’ “the world’s most powerful people” list, but lupe made it to the top of ...
as he accepted the check from teacher nancy duddy, casagrande said, “i am very impressed with the efforts that the eighth grade students pursued over the last few months. i am sure all the students learned about leadership and decision - making as well as the importance of teamwork. and, running a business requires financial planning, an understanding of what customers want and the ability to market and sell a product. this is a wonderful learning experience. ”
the amiji twins give kids an opportunity to get to know other kids living all around the world so they can discover the many things they share in common, and the little things that make them unique. the amiji twins are friendship dolls. every one is handmade by the pair in nepal and has a twin just like it in another country. a handwritten code on the amiji’s tag allows kids to find where their twin lives on amijiworld. com .
greg casagrande has traveled the world, worked in the social sector, and the banking world, when he realized he had the tools to make a difference. ten years ago he and his wife were travelling through new zealand and fell in love with the country and decided to set up their family base camp there. samoa, an impoverished country was next door and the perfect place to launch
the planet finance group emerged from the belief that microfinance, alongside the three development mainstays of democracy, education and infrastructure, is a key factor in creating effective and sustainable anti - poverty strategies. with the support of our partners, the group’s ambition is to create a fairer world by giving those who ar e financially excluded access to the means by which they can create their own businesses, save and take out insurance against the unpredictable events of daily life.
the microdreams foundation is a u.s. 501 ( c ) ( 3 ) non-profit organization founded by gregory casagrande in 2002 as a microfinance accelerator that helps small , growing micro-enterprise development organizations reach financial self-sufficiency . over the past nine years , microdreams has provided substantial support to the spbd microfinance network in all four of its branches in ( samoa , tonga , fiji , and the solomon islands ) and has helped to scale up other young emerging partner microfinance institutions ( mfis ) in bolivia , ecuador , and peru . microdreams uses loans , loan guarantees , and technical assistance to help provide meaningful economic opportunity to the poorest members of society . microdreams ’ primary goal is to provide the global poor , in particular women , with economic opportunity to empower them to work their way out of poverty . the non-profit provides financing to start-up and tier 3 microfinance institutions that otherwise would not be able to receive funding . the majority of large microfinance investment vehicles and asset management firms avoid providing funding to these types of microfinance institutions because they are considered too small and too risky to be a safe investment . 
the microdreams foundation is a u.s. 501 (c) (3) non-profit organization founded by gregory casagrande in 2002 as a microfinance accelerator that helps small, growing micro-enterprise development organizations reach financial self-sufficiency. over the past nine years, microdreams has provided substantial support to the spbd microfinance network in all four of its branches in (samoa, tonga, fiji, and the solomon islands) and has helped to scale up other young emerging partner microfinance institutions (mfis) in bolivia, ecuador, and peru. microdreams uses loans, loan guarantees, and technical assistance to help provide meaningful economic opportunity to the poorest members of society. microdreams ’ primary goal is to provide the global poor, in particular women, with economic opportunity to empower them to work their way out of poverty. the non-profit provides financing to start-up and tier 3 microfinance institutions that otherwise would not be able to receive funding. the majority of large microfinance investment vehicles and asset management firms avoid providing funding to these types of microfinance institutions because they are considered too small and too risky to be a safe investment.
the microdreams foundation is a u.s. 501 (c) (3) non-profit organization founded by gregory casagrande in 2002 as a microfinance accelerator that helps small, growing micro-enterprise development organizations reach financial self-sufficiency. over the past nine years, microdreams has provided substantial support to the spbd microfinance network in all four of its branches in (samoa, tonga, fiji, and the solomon islands) and has helped to scale up other young emerging partner microfinance institutions (mfis) in bolivia, ecuador, and peru. microdreams uses loans, loan guarantees, and technical assistance to help provide meaningful economic opportunity to the poorest members of society. microdreams ’ primary goal is to provide the global poor, in particular women, with economic opportunity to empower them to work their way out of poverty. the non-profit provides financing to start-up and tier 3 microfinance institutions that otherwise would not be able to receive funding. the majority of large microfinance investment vehicles and asset management firms avoid providing funding to these types of microfinance institutions because they are considered too small and too risky to be a safe investment.