Unitus

Unitus, founded in 2000, is an international nonprofit organization working to reduce global poverty by increasing access to life-changing microfinance services.

In 2001, Unitus' founders traveled to Bangladesh to learn about Grameen Bank and meet its founder, Muhammad Yunus. The trip left the founders of Unitus convinced that microcredit was the key to large-scale poverty alleviation and they began their increased efforts to eliminate poverty.

Their goal is to reach the most people in need as quickly as possible. To do this, Unitus seeks out and partners with young, high-potential microfinance institutions (MFIs), helping them build capacity, attract capital, and achieve exponential growth. "Rather than directly providing microfinance services, Unitus connects the ambitious visionary social entrepreneurs  who lead our partner MFIs with the business expertise, capital investments, and innovative tools and services required to grow faster, dream bigger, and reach farther. Their success in turn provides hope and opportunity for thousands who would otherwise remain stuck in the downward cycle of poverty."

"Unitus believes in the inherent value of every global citizen. They see the potential of all individuals to change the world for the better, given the opportunity. They believe they can transform the future for million of the world's least fortunate by scaling up highly leverages, market-based approaches to fighting poverty using the power of microfinance. Once the working poor are no longer excluded from the resources and opportunities of the world's financial markets, they are empowered to realize their full potential, building stronger families, communities, and lives."

In just seven years the organization has helped their partners serve more than seven million clients. Unitus' goal is to help their partners extend their reach to 15 million families by 2010.

Unitus website is full of useful information about microfinance and their approach. For more information, including the various ways you can get involved please visit their website.