Next Wednesday, MAY 7^th, You Can Do It All!

1. Support WMI's annual Relax-At-Home Fundraiser

2. Increase your giving power by 30%

3. Celebrate the women in your life with a Mother's Day donation

This year WMI is holding a different type of annual fundraiser. Instead of a Potluck Dinner, relax at home, and just log into the Global Giving web site starting at 9 AM on Wednesday, May 7^th and make a donation. Your donation will be increased by 30% through matched giving from the Global Giving Foundation.

Here's how it works: Global Giving has set aside $75,000 in matching funds for the May 7^th Bonus Day. The Bonus Day begins at 9 am Washington, DC time (EST) on Wednesday, May 7. Matching is available on donations up to $1,000 and until funds run out. So please make your donation early in the day and please cap your donation at $1,000! Global Giving is also offering two $1,000 Bonus Day Awards: One award for most money raised and one award for most individual donors.   So WMI has the chance to benefit even more during this fundraising event.

Here is the link to the WMI project page on the Global Giving web site:

WMI Project on GG web site

If you have any problems you can go to the GG home page at globalgiving.org and just type WMI's project code, 2349, in the search window. This will take you to the WMI project page.

WHY support WMI? WMI delivers critical financial services to marginalized rural women in a format that has very low overhead and demonstrated impact results. We are effective, committed and multi-faceted so that your donations return a triple bottom line: poor women get the capital, training and support they need to start businesses; banks make fundamental changes to serve WMI loan program graduates; and, rural women leaders are groomed to become advocates for themselves, their families and their communities.

WHO are the WMI borrowers? They are moms, daughters, sisters, aunts and community role models - just like you and your family members. But they are struggling with the challenge of providing and caring for their families in the impoverished rural villages of East Africa, where they have no real access to financial services, no jobs and no support services. They use the resources WMI offers to improve their homes with cement floors and tin roofs, pay school fees, buy medicine for their children and create a better life for themselves and their families. They are responsible, smart and determined - their number one priority is improving the living standard for their families.

Join us! Please mark Wednesday, May 7^th at 9 AM EST as your day to make your contribution to WMI.

Where will you find a rural woman who took out a loan from WMI over five years ago? Why, at her business, of course!

WMI began loan program operations in 2008 in the village of Buyobo, Uganda. During the last three months WMI followed up with the first 120 women who received WMI loans. Just over 98% of women are still operating businesses after 5 years! (Excluding the 12 women who died, moved, retired or are too ill to work).

These are extraordinary results by any measure. WMI is able to track the women's business status because we are a village-level program. We know our borrowers and have an operating continuity that allows for close observation of the loan program's impact.