Borrowers on our platform have a 30 day time limit to complete the funding of their loan. We have already created a fund that attempts to save worthy loans from expiring (The SOS Loan Fund) so that borrowers can lift themselves out of poverty through their own hard work. We are trying to increase this fund to the $10,000 mark so that we may save more loans - and it all gets paid back to lend again!
The challenge here is that there is not enough lender money on our platform to fund every loan request. Even very worthy loans sometimes do not get funded within the 30 day listing limit. This means that a person or group in poverty who has been qualified by a microfinance institution as having a worthy business plan, will not get the interest free loan from the lenders on the lending platform (crowdsourcing). These borrowers deserve the best shot at an interest free loan.
We've created the Poverty2Prosperity.org SOS Loan Fund. The specific purpose of this fund is to save loans that are in danger of expiring through a number of methods such as direct funding, raising the popularity rating of the loan, and securing interest in the loan among people who have expressed an interest in saving these loans. Now we need to increase the SOS Loan Fund so more loans can be saved.
The long term effects of giving a person who is in poverty yet willing to work their way out of it by starting a business are profound. Not only do these people have a lot of pride in paying back their loans (we have a 99%+ payback rate currently), but they apply for additional loans to grow their businesses and hire additional help. The economic benefits are not limited to a single person. Entire households are supported with the businesses these loans make possible.
