Finca: making microfinance cool.

Most people probably didn't know or hear about microfinancing much just a few years ago. That changed when Muhammad Yunus of Grameen Bank won the Nobel Peace Prize in 2006.

While many might know of Grameen Bank because of the Nobel Prize win, there are others like it that have been operating in relative obscurity for 20 and 30 years. Even Grameen Bank started out as a concept as far back as 1976.

The Foundation for International Community Assistance International (FINCA) is one of those groups. "After the Nobel Prize was given, it raised the level of awareness that we couldn't have gotten, and didn't, for 20 years," said Diane Jones, public relations manager for FINCA International.

In recent months, you might have seen actress Natalie Portman mention FINCA in interviews. The Oscar-nominated actress is an "Ambassador of Hope" for FINCA, and along with Queen Rania AI-Abdullah of Jordan, is co-chair of the Village Banking Campaign.

FINCA launched The Call to Action Village Banking Campaign this past May, with a goal of operating 100,000 Village Banks by 2010 and reaching 1 million low-income entrepreneurs. In January 2007, FINCA International for the first time surpassed the 500,000 mark in clients. By August, the organization reached another new milestone-600,000 clients. Online giving jumped by 115 percent during 2007 after the Washington, D.C.-based charity revamped its Web site for the launch.

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For 2006, which is a 16-month reporting period (September 2005 to December 2006) because of a change in the fiscal year calendar, contributions totaled $29.4 million. Just five years ago, revenues were about $17 million, up from $5 million in 1997. Overall revenues are expected to be more than $33 million for Fiscal Year 2007. That translates to an increase in revenue of more than 500 percent compared to 10 years ago.

FINCA has kicked its direct mail program into high gear lately, mailing 3 million prospecting pieces during 2006, 5 million in 2007, and a plan for 7 million this year. A direct mail program was instituted during the late 1990s based on an analysis of the demographic makeup of its donor base, and giving trends of others who fit the same demographic description in general, Jones said.

"We tailor messages that resonate with this audience, which skews toward those with higher education levels, higher income levels, between the ages of 35 and 54, and who tend to make decisions regarding philanthropic giving based on information and outcome, rather than the pull on the heartstrings."

FINCA distinguishes itself from other microfinance organizations for its methodology of village banking, said Jones. Village banking brings together a group of 10 to 20 neighbors, focused on women generally. Since they don't have collateral they take out a group loan for a designated business. If one person defaults, the others are responsible for paying back the loan, she said. The group guarantee "creates a wonderful support network among the group; peer pressure but in a positive way," Jones said.

While most microfinance programs focus on one country or region, FINCA has programs in 21 countries. About 60 percent of its programs are self-sustaining, which takes about three to five years to accomplish. Up to that point, contributions are needed to move toward the self-sufficiency milestone.

John Hatch founded FINCA in 1984 and created the Village Banking method. In his work with the rural poor while with the Peace Corps, Hatch found that most credit programs were administered by outside experts, which resulted in poor repayment rates and low morale among borrowers.

Hatch retired as director of research in 2006 and continues as a FINCA board member, as well as a researcher on the impact of Village Banking.