Our story

Wisconsin Microfinance is a grassroots organization based in Madison, Wisconsin. Driven by passionate local business leaders and volunteers from the Madison community, Wisconsin Microfinance has grown from a startup capital of $3,000 in 2010 to provide over $220,000 in circulated loans. In 2014 the organization attained its 501(c)3 status, and continues to expand and provide more loans to the people in the world who need it most.

Primary objective

While the primary objective of Wisconsin Microfinance is to raise as much money as we can for micro-loans, a small amount of administrative capital is required to keep the organization running, manage the loan repayment process, and collect stories from the field. Consider making a monthly recurring donation today that will help ensure the continuity of the organization, and allow Wisconsin Microfinance to build and grow our micro-lending programs to reach more and more people.

Wisconsin Microfinance provides small loans to those living in extreme poverty, primarily in geographies recovering from natural disasters.

History

The organization was founded in 2010 by Tom Eggert, a now-retired professor at the University of Wisconsin. A major earthquake hit Haiti in January, 2010, and the students in Tom’s class wanted to directly help families impacted by the earthquake. Tom had been teaching about the power of microfinance for many years, and here was an opportunity to put those lessons to practice. Working with an economic development group in Haiti, a microfinance program was born with startup capital of $3,000. The program has grown and expanded ever since, becoming a 501 (c)(3) organization in 2014.