Expanding the Yunus Vision to Eradicate Poverty
In 1976, Professor Muhammad Yunus started the Grameen Bank with $27 out of his own pocket.
In 2006, Professor Yunus won the Nobel Peace Prize for demonstrating the possibility of eradicating poverty through micro-lending to Entrepreneurs in developing nations throughout the world.
Today, the Grameen Bank serves more than six million poor families with loans, savings, insurance and other services. Yet, the bank remains fully owned by its clients and is a model for micro-finance institutions around the world.
Fast forward to February 29th, 2008 at 8am PST (11am EST) … this is the date that SMARTSTART|Giving was officially launched. Its mission is simple, yet profound and here it is: “Give less, help more.”
It is our aim to further the Yunus vision. Our chief objective is to accelerate the eradication of poverty in developing nations by facilitating high-impact, high-frequency and highly-effective “micro-fundraisers” that utilize the leveraging power of teleseminar marketing.
On the final Fridays of each month, we will host “tele-fundraisers” and conduct in-depth interviews with some of the world’s top thought leaders on entrepreneurship and small business enterprise.
Although these tele-fundraisers are free to attend, our objective is to “micro-fundraise” denominations of $10, $25 and $40 from our listeners.
Although I have no idea how you got to this blog, but I do know that you’ve read this far, so my sense is you are a “Giver.” If you’re an Entrepreneurial CEO, independent professional or information marketer and want to join or learn more about the “micro-fundraising” cause, please refer this website to your friends and colleagues.
The only organic path to “true growth” is through “word-of-mouth.” And it is your “word-of-mouth” we’re hoping will help raise more funds each month, faster, better and with human effort.
All proceeds of these “micro-fundraising” teleseminars will go to complete loans at Kiva.org and our aim is to become Kiva’s #1 funding “consortium” in 2008.
Will you join us?
Since you’ve read this far, I do hope your head is now nodding …“Yes!”
February 29th, 2008 at 9:14 am
I really enjoyed today’s teleseminar. I particularly liked the interview format as a means for generating ideas about how someone (in today’s case Alex himself) achieved their success.
I will immediately be adopting two of Alex’s ideas: 1) treating customers as students in order to foster a longer term relationship, and 2) giving away free consultations as a tool to generating more customers.
Alex: I hope you post a link to the replay for today’s call… it was a veritable goldmine of good ideas. I know that by listening to the call again I’ll find additional ideas to adopt into my business.
I’m looking forward to next month’s call…
February 29th, 2008 at 12:36 pm
Hi Alex and Linda,
Great call today!
We love that phrase, perpetual giving …
“Give once and it will keeping on giving”
We look forward to future calls, and supporting
this great Micro-Cause, because one small donation
can make a difference and keep on giving.
– Pat & Lorna
http://www.PatAndLorna.com
February 29th, 2008 at 4:02 pm
Thank you Brad, Pat and Lorna for taking the time to write to us! We’re glad you were able to pick up some useful ideas from the Final Friday call! We appreciate your support. And, as our followers are about to experience, when you give to others, you are really giving the greatest gift to yourself!
– Alex & Linda