That homeless man on the corner gets you every time. His tattered clothes and soft whisper for help resound within your core. You walk briskly by, scared to look into his eyes and see a pain you don't know how to fix. He mutters "God Bless You," as you, his only hope, walk by. Once he had a life, but then something went wrong. He'd give anything for a place to call home other than the streets. He just needs someone to believe in him and give him his chance.
You open your newspaper and see a picture of a starving woman in Bangladesh. She flashes a painful, weary smile as giggling children crawl into her lap. Each day she works tireless hours to eek out a meager existence, not knowing what the next day might bring. She knows there's a world of opportunity and hope out there. But right now it seems so far out of reach. She just needs her shot.
If only things were different.
Around the world there are countless stories of personal struggle and pain. In a world where we claim to champion human rights and social equality, many things are left wanting. We try to remain idealistic, holding onto our dreams and beliefs, but somewhere along the way, our desperate cause seems too big to fight on our own. Never give up on this battle.
Recently, great strides have been made in reducing poverty through community investing. Through various investing organizations such as Calvert Foundation, you can invest money in nonprofits that promote affordable housing or finance small businesses around the world. By investing in these organizations, you not only earn a fixed rate of return, but you also invest in people's ideas, strengths, and passions. You are investing in their potential to succeed.
Community investing brings together the brilliance of Muhammad Yunus and his concept of microfinance with domestic solutions to hunger and homelessness. It expounds upon traditional social welfare through offering sustainable solutions to poverty. But most importantly, it offers a comprehensive approach to community development.
Your community investment can help women in Ghana earn extra income to provide better nutrition, education, and health opportunities for their children. It can help an underprivileged family in Washington, D.C., afford a home, providing them with stability and confidence. Or it can serve as start-up capital-fueling innovative and socially conscious businesses. Investing a little money goes a long way.
You don't have to look away from that homeless man on the street anymore. You can be part of his solution.
Over the past few decades, community investment organizations have drastically improved the lives of each and every borrower. By investing in someone else's potential, they aren't trying to ignore today's issues by throwing money at the problem and hoping it goes away. But rather they are using money as a resource linked to skill and income generating programs that provide individuals with the rare opportunity to succeed. This is one time that you and your money will change the world.
Anne Katharine Wales, Trinity '06 and a former Chronicle columnist, currently works as an investment relations associate.
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