| LOUISVILLE –
Oikocredit USA, an international
Christian credit organization, handily surpassed its 2003 new-investment
goal of $1 million, thanks to members and congregations of the
Presbyterian Church (USA) and other faith-based investors.
Oikocredit said it received $1,247,000 in new investments in
2003 from churches, denominations and individuals. The money will
be used to provide low-cost loans to cooperatives and microcredit
banks in Asia, Africa and Latin America.
Eighty-six percent of the money came from church members and
religious groups, including participants in the PC(USA)’s
“Investing
in Hope” program.
Oikocredit, known as “the bank of the unbankables,”
was established by the World Council of Churches in 1975. It fights
poverty by making credit available to poor people in developing
countries who are without collateral or assets.
The PC(USA) is the second-largest denominational investor in
Oikocredit USA; the largest is the Church of Sweden. PC(USA) entities,
including the Presbyterian
Church (USA) Foundation, Presbyterian
Women and the Presbyterian
Hunger Program, hold investments totaling nearly $2 million.
Many PC(USA) members and congregations have invested in Oikocredit
during its 29 years in business. East Liberty Presbyterian Church
in Pittsburgh, PA, is the largest congregational investor, with
a holding of $500,000, said the Rev. Gary Cook, the coordinator
of the Hunger Program. He also is the chair of Oikocredit’s
board of directors.
“We often think of gifts and grants as the way to help
people living in poverty, but often credit is what is most needed,”
Cook said. “With the loans available through Oikocredit,
poor people can develop the means to support themselves, their
families and their communities.”
Last year was the first for which Oikocredit USA set a new-investment
goal. It had not received as much as $1 million in a single year
in more than a decade.
Oikocredit USA, launched in 1980, is affiliated with the worldwide
Oikocredit organization, which took in new investments of about
$16.5 million last year.
Oikocredit, the largest private organization of its kind, lends
to more than 400 cooperatives and microcredit institutions in
67 countries. Recipients use the loans to finance income-generating
projects.
The United Nations has designated 2005 as the “International
Year on Microcredit.”
Oikocredit USA has established a goal of $1.5 million for 2004.
Potential investors can reach Oikocredit USA by mail at PO Box
11000, Washington, DC 20008, or by email at office.us@oikocredit.org.
For information about the PC(USA) “Investing in Hope”
program, visit www.pcusa.org/oikocredit
or contact Melanie Hardison by telephone (toll-free) at (888)
728-7228, ext. 5626, or by email at mhardiso@ctr.pcusa.org.
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