Opportunity International offers ‘Spread the Joy’gift cards

Marketwire

OAK BROOK -- Opportunity International offers gift-givers a chance to “Spread the Joy” by supporting entrepreneurs in the developing world who are working their way out of poverty.

The “Spread the Joy” card is a socially responsible way to express gratitude. By providing the gift of opportunity, consumers can participate in the global efforts to eradicate poverty. The global nonprofit organization provides access to savings accounts, small business loans and financial tools to more than three million people across the world.“The Spread the Joy holiday campaign is a great way for anyone to give a gift that makes a real difference,” said Ruth-Anne Renaud, vice president of Women’s Philanthropy, Opportunity International. “Each gift card represents a chance for hard-working people, the majority of whom are working mothers, to lift themselves out of poverty and create long-term growth opportunities for their children and their communities,

“With as little as $10, you can be part of making small-scale entrepreneurs change agents in the fight against global poverty,” Renaud added,

To obtain a card, visit http://www.opportunity.org/give/giftcard to purchase a tax-deductible gift card. Once purchased, the gift card can be printed, emailed or mailed. Gift recipients visit the same site to redeem the card and fund a loan to an entrepreneur profiled on the site whose business they’d like to invest in.

Users can select from hundreds of entrepreneurs around the world, operating a wide variety of businesses. Once the gift card is redeemed, the card recipient can receive updates on the entrepreneur whose loan they funded.

This year, several donors have made it possible for Opportunity International to offer 5,000 gift cards for free, during a limited time, to users who register at its Facebook page. Users can register online and receive their gift card via e-mail or mail, which they can redeem at http://www.opportunity.org/give/clients.

The business loans provided through Opportunity International make it possible for entrepreneurs -- 85 percent of whom are women -- to work their way out of poverty by expanding their small businesses. As a result, market vendors can fill their stalls with goods, educators can expand schools, artisans can make a profit and farmers can move beyond subsistence.

For more information, please visit http://www.opportunity.org/give/giftcard.