May 19 , 2009

Invest and Honor Your Favorite Graduate

When you invest as little as $20 with MicroPlace this month, they will send a terra cotta piggy bank, hand-crafted by artisans in rural Chile, to your special graduate.

MicroPlace makes it possible for everyday people to invest in microfinance, which gives entrepreneurs in developing countries the capital necessary to start and grow small businesses. As they begin to succeed, these entrepreneurs are able to invest more in their family's health and education. Many are able to send their children to school for the first time. In Bangladesh, for example, nearly all of the families receiving microloans sent their daughters to school, compared with the rest of the population, which had their daughters in school only 60% of the time.

Honor your graduate today! Here's how it works:

1) Go to www.microplace.com and enter the name of your graduate.

2) Find an investment that meets your social interests (Example: Invest in women in South America).

3) Invest as little as $20 using your bank account or PayPal and MicroPlace will send an artisan piggy bank to your grad with a note stating that you are honoring them by investing in the hardworking poor.

To ensure that your investment benefits from the extensive measures we have taken to protect our investors, look for listings labeled "brought to you by Calvert Foundation."

Calvert Foundation Helps Organizations Reach Out to Their Local Communities

Calvert Foundation is pleased to welcome two new organizations that are investing in our Community Investment Note to help the communities they serve: Bon Secours Health System, Inc. and Harrington Investments, Inc.

Bon Secours Health System, Inc., one of the largest Catholic health systems in the U.S., invested $1.6 million in the Community Investment Note. The $2.6 billion health care system, which employs more than 20,000 people in seven states, is seeking to help several communities where they have a strong presence, including Baltimore, New York City and Richmond.

Harrington Investments, Inc. invested $2 million in the Note as part of their California Communities Initiative. The long-term goal of Harrington’s work is to increase investment in affordable housing, microfinance, health care, education and other programs critical to community development in California. Their investment is supporting groups such as the Low Income Investment Fund and The Rural Communities Assistance Corporation, both of which work directly with low-income families in California.

We are excited to have both Harrington Investments, Inc. and Bon Secours Health System, Inc. as investors and to see organizations taking a proactive approach to investing to help underserved communities when they need it most.