Empowering Transgender Entrepreneurs Through Targeted Micro-lending
Recently I attended two very special birthday parties: “Kiva Turns 4!” and Transgender Law Center’s 7th Anniversary Event. I came away with the idea of introducing these organizations to each other in hopes that they might discover a valuable partnership.
Kiva Turns 4!
The first party was for the socially conscious, micro-lending non-profit known as Kiva. This pioneering organization packed the house at Berkeley’s David L. Brower Center with lots of entertainment, delicious and sustainable food and drink, and opportunities to mingle.
If you are not yet familiar with Kiva, their mission is “to connect people through lending for the sake of alleviating poverty.” Kiva Lenders (that’s you, me, and anyone else in the world who wants to participate) are given an opportunity to choose a vetted and profiled businessperson somewhere in the world and finance their efforts with a tiny amount of money that can make a world of difference – such as elevating themselves and their families out of poverty.
At the party, I made my first micro-loan of $25 to a Nicaraguan woman wanting to establish a shaved ice business in her community. A Kiva representative guided me through the online process and near the end a screen prompt asked if I wanted to give a “tip” (above the $25 loan amount) to Kiva in order to cover a portion of their overhead. All of the loan money is heading to my shaved ice lady; Kiva’s administration costs are calculated outside the loan amount. I want to note that I love any organization that engages in this level of transparency! We’ve come a long way from those commercials on late night TV asking to support a starving child for the “price of a cup of coffee a day” and then wondering what percentage actually ends up in the nonprofit’s pocket.
All in all, the Kiva party was a rousing success and I felt as if I earned a bit of good karma to boot. On their website, Kiva notes that 98% of all loans are repaid and over $100 million has been distributed in loans.
Transgender Law Center’s 7th Anniversary
A couple of nights later I was off to the Transgender Law Center 7th Anniversary Event, held at the End-Up in downtown San Francisco. This well-attended party included supporters such as Assembly Member Tom Ammiano (and other San Francisco and state level politicians), comedian Margaret Cho (co-hosting duties) and celebrity Chaz Bono (formerly Chastity).
TLC Executive Director Mason Davis, gave an inspiring speech about the progress that has been made since the Center came into existence. He described the realities of discrimination that the Transgender community still encounters on a daily basis, especially when it comes to jobs. Mason noted that unemployment among the Transgender community is twice the national average. According to SFGate the national unemployment is now 10.2% and California is hovering closer to 12% with a staggering 21.9% reporting underemployment it is not hard to imagine the job challenges facing a Transgender person looking for work.
Micro-lending for Transgender Entrepreneurs
It was not until my partner and I were talking on the way home that I was struck by the connection between the two events. I remember author Ernesto Sirolli’s description of creating vibrant local communities in his book, Ripples from the Zambezi. Basically, Sirolli says it’s not about motivating or inspiring entrepreneurs – it’s about giving inspired and motivated entrepreneurs the ability to execute on their visions. Sirolli’s simple, yet profound philosophy came rushing back to me on the way home from the TLC event. What if Kiva could connect with the entrepreneurs within the Transgender communities? How would that change lives? My daydreaming vision included a domino effect of prosperity within the community – not just among Transgender folks, but that big, diverse, all-inclusive community of which we are all a part.
I hope that some day soon I am able to log on to my Kiva account and make a loan to a transgender entrepreneur who will be launching a viable business… and when I push “Send,” I’ll feel that rush of good karma coming back.
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