SPECIAL ANNOUNCEMENT:

I am on the advisory board, and my company, Creative Sage/Cathryn Hrudicka & Associates, is a partner in the following innovative Social Entrepreneur/corporate philanthropy programs that serve people on local and international levels. Here is the announcement for an upcoming event in San Francisco that we are co-producing, and the Web links:

http://givefoundationonline.blogspot.com/

Global Initiative to Advance Entrepreneurship

Event: May 10, 2007
Alleviating Poverty Through Microfinance:
Three Bay Area Programs Initiate Social Change

Location:

Hotel Rex
562 Sutter Street (at Mason)
San Francisco, CA 94102
P: 415.433.4434

Time: 6:00 pm check in; 6:30pm-8:00pm program
Cost: $30.00/includes dinner
Register in advance at: http://sfmicrocredit.eventbrite.com/

Microcredit is breaking the cycle of poverty. By providing credit via small loans to the poor, microcredit programs are transforming the lives of millions of families and communities around the world. Based on the idea that the poor have the capacity to improve their own situations, microfinance programs help impoverished people build viable businesses and create their own economic opportunities.

Alleviating Poverty Through Microfinance, the first event in the Social Entrepreneurship Lecture Series, will showcase three Bay Area microcredit initiatives. Three featured speakers include:

Vijay Kapoor, I Create India. I Create, Inc., provides Integrated Entrepreneurship Training to disadvantaged communities in India. Vijay will discuss how I Create is working with Bay Area nonprofits to “adopt” villages in low-income areas in northern India and providing training and seed money to aspiring entrepreneurs.

Bob Graham, NamasteDirect. Bob is founder and Chief Executive Officer of NamasteDirect, a San Francisco-based nonprofit focusing on microcredit in Central America by providing small loans to first time women borrowers. Bob will discuss opportunities to provide microcredit to underserved communities in Central America.

Keith Axtell, Rotary International District 5150. Keith is World Community Service Chair for Rotary District 5150, serving the greater San Francisco Bay Area. He will discuss local Rotary microcredit programs in Guayaquil, Ecuador, resulting in three hundred small businesses in one of the poorest areas of the country.

Who Should Attend?

This two hour event is for anyone interested in the exciting field of microfinance, including nonprofits, social entrepreneurs, and members of the business community. The event will encourage innovation among organizations already participating in microfinance programs, and provide opportunities to form strategic partnerships to build and expand the outreach and success of microcredit and microfinance.

Sponsored by Rotary Club San Francisco Golden Gate, Global Initiative to Advance Entrepreneurship, Creative Sage and other nonprofit and business partners, this is the first of an ongoing series showcasing social entrepreneurship initiatives in the Bay Area and around the world. This series will be comprised of speakers, expert panels and film screenings that showcase the emerging field of social entrepreneurship. To learn more, visit http://www.givefoundationonline.org.

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