Action: Get Clinton to Microcredit Summit

Encourage President Clinton to Attend the Microcredit Summit

The Microcredit Summit will be held February 2-4, 1997, in
Washington DC. Its purpose: "to ensure that 100 million of the
world's poorest families, especially the women of those
families, are receiving credit for self-employment and other
financial and business services by the year 2005."

Rep. Bruce Vento (D-MN) is circulating a Congressional sign-on
letter urging Pres. Bill Clinton to announce that he will come
to the Microcredit Summit. Clinton's announcement, and his
attendance, would raise the profile of the event, and
microenterprise lending in general.

Reps can contact Ms. Coral Cosway in Vento's office at
202-225-6631 to get more info or sign on.

ACTION

Call your member of Congress. If you don't already have a
relationship with an aide, ask to speak with the aide who
handles international development issues.

1. Share with the aide your inspiration about microenterprise
as a highly effective tool for helping people end their own poverty.

2. Talk about a local microenterprise program in your
Congressional district, or about a successful local borrower.

3. Go over some basic facts about microenterprise in the
developing world, such as the Grameen Bank.

4. Explain that the microcredit summit is being organized for
February 2-4, 1997, with the goal to ensure that 100 million
of the world's poorest families, especially the women of those
families, are receiving credit for self-employment and other
financial and business services by the year 2005. About 2
million of these borrowers would be from the U.S.

5. Ask your representative to sign on to Rep. Bruce Vento's
letter encouraging Clinton to attend -- which would help
assure that the goal of the summit will be achieved.

------------------------------------------------------
Sample conversation -- don't recite this one verbatim:
------------------------------------------------------

You: Who is the aide in this office who handles international
development issues?

Cong: Mary Smith.

You: May I speak with her please?

Cong: I'll connect you.

Cong: This is Mary, may I help you?

You: This is Jim Johnson, I work at the Southeast Neighborhood
Development Corporation here in Ourtown. I have a request I'd
like to make of the Congressman. Is this a good time to talk?

Cong: Sure, go ahead.

You: One of the things we do in SNDC is support small
businesses. We help people write business plans, and assist
with qualifying for bank loans. We also have a loan fund for
those who seek credit in amounts too small for the banks,
under $5000. We've made 25 loans in the past two years and all
but one of them are current in their payments. Some of our
borrowers have transitioned from living on public assistance
to being taxpayers and employing other members of our community.

We're part of a worldwide phenomenon, the microenterprise
revolution that was pioneered by the Muhammad Yunus, who
founded the Grameen Bank in Bangladesh. The Grameen Bank now
has over two million borrowers, 94% of them women, and they
achieve a repayment rate of 97 or 98%, making small loans
averaging about $140 to the poorest people in Bangladesh. A
borrower might buy a cow, a sewing machine, a loom, or other
asset and start or expand small a business, increasing their
incomes and improving the quality of life for their families and communities.

Our work here and the Grameen Bank are just two examples of
microenterprise lending. There are now 8 to 13 million
microcredit borrowers worldwide [estimates vary, use whatever
you're comfortable with] and they're ending their families'
poverty through hard work and self-reliance.

[If possible, insert here, something like:] I want to
acknowledge the past support from the Congressman for
microenterprise lending as a component of U.S. foreign
assistance and also right here in the United States. It's been
gratifying to work with you on this issue.

There will be a Microcredit Summit in Washington DC on
February 2 to 4, with the goal "to ensure that 100 million of
the world's poorest families, especially the women of those
families, are receiving credit for self-employment and other
financial and business services by the year 2005."

100 million might seem like an unrealistic number, but this
has the backing of hundreds of providers of microenterprise
services in the U.S. and abroad, as well as U.N. agencies,
several corporations, the World Bank, and other organizations.
Also, more than 20 members of Congress have announced that
they will join the Council of Parliamentarians and attend the summit.

Of course, it would be great if the Congressman would join the
Council of Parliamentarians, but that's not my request right
now. I'm calling because Rep. Vento is circulating a sign-on
letter to President Clinton, asking him to announce that he is
planning to attend the summit. This action by Clinton would
encourage other national leaders to attend and raise the
profile of the summit and microcredit generally, and help
assure that 100 million families -- which would be about half
a billion people -- will be able to benefit from microcredit
loans by 2005. So I am calling to urge the Congressman to sign
on to Vento's letter.

Cong: Well, we'd have to look at it first. How can we get a copy of it?

You: Please speak with Ms. Coral Cosway in Vento's office at
225-6631 to get a copy of the letter.

Cong: OK, I will get a copy and take a look at it, and it
seems reasonable I'll show it to the Congressman with a positive
recommendation.

You: Thank you very much. May I call you in about a week to check the
progress?

Cong: Sure.

You: Thank you. Bye.

Cong: Bye.

--------------------------------------------------------
If you take this action, please contact Joel Rubinstein,
the sender of this message, at jrubinstein@igc.apc.org.

For more information about the summit, please contact:

================================================== =====================
Microcredit Summit phone: (202)546-1900
236 Massachusetts Avenue NE, Suite 300 fax: (202)546-3228
Washington DC 20002 microcredit@igc.apc.org
USA http://www.igc.org/results/
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
Working to ensure that 100 million of the world's poorest families,
especially the women, are recieving credit for self-employment by 2005.
================================================== =====================




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Encourage President Clinton to Attend the Microcredit Summit

The Microcredit Summit will be held February 2-4, 1997, in
Washington DC. Its purpose: "to ensure that 100 million of the
world's poorest families, especially the women of those
families, are receiving credit for self-employment and other
financial and business services by the year 2005."

Rep. Bruce Vento (D-MN) is circulating a Congressional sign-on
letter urging Pres. Bill Clinton to announce that he will come
to the Microcredit Summit. Clinton's announcement, and his
attendance, would raise the profile of the event, and
microenterprise lending in general. The letter may close out as
early as Friday, December 6, so please take action immediately.
There are about 20 signers so far. Tell Republicans that there
are at least two Republicans on the letter, Ben Gilman and
James Walsh, both of New York.

Reps can contact Ms. Coral Cosway in Vento's office at
202-225-6631 to get more info or sign on.

ACTION

Call your member of Congress. If you don't already have a
relationship with an aide, ask to speak with the aide who
handles international development issues.

1. Share with the aide your inspiration about microenterprise
as a highly effective tool for helping people end their own poverty.

2. Talk about a local microenterprise program in your
Congressional district, or about a successful local borrower.

3. Go over some basic facts about microenterprise in the
developing world, such as the Grameen Bank.

4. Explain that the microcredit summit is being organized for
February 2-4, 1997, with the goal to ensure that 100 million
of the world's poorest families, especially the women of those
families, are receiving credit for self-employment and other
financial and business services by the year 2005. About 2
million of these borrowers would be from the U.S.

5. Ask your representative to sign on to Rep. Bruce Vento's
letter encouraging Clinton to attend -- which would help
assure that the goal of the summit will be achieved.

------------------------------------------------------
For a sample conversation, contact jrubinstein@igc.apc.org
------------------------------------------------------
If you take this action, please contact Joel Rubinstein,
the sender of this message, at jrubinstein@igc.apc.org.

For more information about the summit, please contact:

================================================== =====================
Microcredit Summit phone: (202)546-1900
236 Massachusetts Avenue NE, Suite 300 fax: (202)546-3228
Washington DC 20002 microcredit@igc.apc.org
USA http://www.igc.org/results/
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
Working to ensure that 100 million of the world's poorest families,
especially the women, are receiving credit for self-employment by 2005.
================================================== =====================


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