Microcredit, or peer-group lending, has each member of a borrowing group guarantee the other group members' loan. Risk and cost reduction innovations have enabled microcredit programs to be successfully used in developing countries for many years. One of the Foundation's first micro-credit relationship was with the Foundation for International Community Assistance ("FINCA"). FINCA is a respected leader in microcredit throughout the world, including many parts of Latin-America. The Foundation also works with other established and reputable local organizations offering similar microcredit programs. Microcredit is offered to community residents based on need using proven microcredit principles. Loans are for micro-enterprise development, and are not for general or personal purposes.

Selling frozen chickens from home

The microcredit loans come from local banks and other funding organizations. CFH facilitates these microcredit loans by helping residents to form a village bank -- a group of people who work together and mutually guarantee each other's loans -- to complete the necessary paperwork to receive the loan, and to help the residents monitor each other's progress.

From small stall to city-wide distributor

Edwin Alvarado, pictured here with Dan Gifford, Chairman of Cause for Hope, is the candy man of Choluteca , Honduras . With the help of microcredit loans and especially the MicroPlan training course, he has gone from selling candy in a small open air market stall to becoming a candy distributor. He has a fine retail store, as seen here, with a warehouse in a location around the corner. He sells hundreds of cases of candy each day to local candy sellers throughout the city. He attributes his success to all he has learned from the small business training from Cause for Hope. "I can negotiate better, get better prices, and sell more," he says. "My wife and I want to grow and grow our little business."