Grameen Foundation does LinkedIn for Good
About LinkedIn For Good:
LinkedIn for Good is an ambitious LinkedIn project where we encourage the 12 million professionals, currently on LinkedIn (as of July 2007), to promote positive social change through their LinkedIn network. Want to know more about LinkedIn For Good? Check out our recent blog coverage on the topic.
About Grameen Foundation:
We've had an diverse array of organizations from across the globe on LinkedIn for Good, and we're glad to announce that the Grameen Foundation, a pioneer in microfinance or microcredit (what is microfinancing?), is one of our newest entrants to that long list of philanthropic organizations on LinkedIn.
The Grameen Foundation was founded in 1997 as a vehicle to replicate the model of Grameen Bank beyond the borders of Bangladesh and increase the access of poor people to microfinance by millions worldwide. Grameen Foundation operates under the mission, "to empower the world's poorest people to lift themselves out of poverty with dignity through access to financial services and to information (Source: Wikipedia)
More than 1 billion people on earth live on less than $1 a day. To answer the global poverty crisis, Grameen Foundation was founded in 1997 by a group of individuals inspired by the work of Professor Muhammad Yunus and Grameen Bank, winners of the 2006 Nobel Peace Prize. Professor Yunus is a founding and current board member of Grameen Foundation.
Yunus is credited with disbursing the first micro-finance loan in Bangladesh 1974. Besides winning the Nobel Peace Prize, he was also recently selected as one of the 50 people who matter now (via Business 2.0). Here's a glimpse into the genesis of Grameen:
By offering tiny loans to Third World entrepreneurs, Yunus isn't just building a healthy stock of karma -- he's inventing a new model for global capital investment. A former economics professor, Yunus had a eureka moment during a trip to a Bangladeshi village, when he discovered that a loan of just 22 cents was enough to help a poor bamboo craftswoman start her own independent business. That prompted him to found Grameen Bank in the troubled country, and he later set about connecting an international network of investors to would-be entrepreneurs who need small-time investments. (Source: Business 2.0)
Be a LinkedIn Do-Gooder
So, you want to be a LinkedIn do-gooder. Here are four easy steps to activate your goodness on LinkedIn:
1. Check out LinkedIn for Good
2. Select a philanthropic organization that you support or would like to support (for e.g. Grameen Foundation's page)
3. Add a badge to let your professional network know where your goodness lies
4. Make a donation to the specific organization (Donate to Grameen)
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Still curious?
1. See who else is affiliated with Grameen foundation?
2. Check out LinkedIn Answers on government and non-profit
3. Ask a question on philanthropy