Financial Promise For The Poor

* Balanced assessment of recent savings-led programs in microfinance * Contributors include wide range of scholars and practitioners The entry of the private sector into financial services for the poor is a relatively new development, but already the glossy promises of credit-led microfinance are facing scrutiny from the development community. Policymakers and economists have begun picking through the hype of microfinance to identify where and how top-down loans might fit into broader human development efforts. To many, the answer involves shifting focus to another financial service: savings. Serving as a strong and perhaps more effective tool than microcredit, microsavings is quickly becoming a lauded poverty-alleviation tool. Contributors to Financial Promise for the Poor cover current innovations in microsavings happening around the world. They describe how savings group members in the developing world are avoiding many of the financial liabilities and debt of other microfinance programs while gaining skills and finding opportunities in collective enterprise. The turn from credit to savings speaks to the growing empowerment of individuals and communities as they break the bonds of indebtedness and find their own paths to financial security.

Examines major myths informing American education and explores how educators can better serve students, increase college retention rates, and develop alternatives to college that don’t disadvantage students on the basis of race or income Each year, as the founding headmaster of the Boston Arts Academy (BAA), an urban high school that boasts a 94 percent college acceptance rate, Linda Nathan made a promise to the incoming freshmen: “All of you will graduate from high school and go on to college or a career.” After fourteen years at the helm, Nathan stepped down and took stock of her alumni: of those who went to college, a third dropped out. Feeling like she failed to fulfill her promise, Nathan reflected on ideas she and others have perpetuated about education: that college is for all, that hard work and determination are enough to get you through, that America is a land of equality. In When Grit Isn’t Enough, Nathan investigates five assumptions that inform our ideas about education today, revealing how these beliefs mask systemic inequity. Seeing a rift between these false promises and the lived experiences of her students, she argues that it is time for educators to face these uncomfortable issues head-on and explores how educators can better serve all students, increase college retention rates, and develop alternatives to college that don’t disadvantage students on the basis of race or income. Drawing on the voices of BAA alumni whose stories provide a window through which to view urban education today, When Grit Isn’t Enough helps imagine greater purposes for schooling.

Whether you're living paycheck to paycheck or just trying to make smarter financial choices, let award-winning writer and Washington Post columnist Michelle Singletary show you the practical steps you need to take for the financial peace you long for. In The 21-Day Financial Fast, Michelle proposes a field-tested financial challenge: for twenty-one days, put away your credit cards and buy only the barest essentials. What happens next will forever change the way you think about wealth. With Michelle's guidance, you'll discover how to: Break bad spending habits Plot a course to become debt-free with the Debt Dash Plan Avoid the temptation of overspending for college Learn how to prepare elderly relatives and yourself for future long-term care expenses Be prepared for any contingency with a Life Happens Fund Stop worrying about money and find the priceless power of financial peace Join the thousands of others who have already discovered practical ways to achieve financial freedom and experience what it truly means to live a life of financial peace and prosperity.

The double-edged impact of policy and education in the lives of poor women.

Are you tired of living paycheck to paycheck, feeling like financial freedom is an elusive dream? Imagine breaking free from the chains of financial struggle and walking in divine abundance. "Poverty is Not an Option" is your ultimate guide to transforming your financial destiny through God's promises and principles. In this groundbreaking book, you'll discover powerful insights and practical steps to overcome financial hardships and unlock the door to God's financial blessings. Written with divine inspiration and backed by biblical truths, "Poverty is Not an Option" will equip you with the knowledge and faith to turn your financial situation around. This is not just another financial guide; it's a spiritual journey towards lasting prosperity and abundance. Imagine living a life where financial stress no longer holds you back, where you can provide abundantly for your family, and where generosity flows freely from your heart. This book will ignite your passion for financial transformation and empower you to step into the freedom God has planned for you. Through engaging stories, practical exercises, and profound biblical wisdom, you'll learn how to harness God's promises for wealth and prosperity in every area of your life. Don't let another day go by trapped in financial limitations. Embrace the path to financial freedom today! Get your copy of "Poverty is Not an Option" and start your journey towards breaking the chains of financial struggle and walking in God's divine financial freedom. Why You Need This Book: Transform Your Mindset: Learn how to shift your thinking from scarcity to abundance through powerful, faith-based principles. Practical Financial Strategies: Discover actionable steps and practical tips to manage your finances effectively and achieve lasting wealth. Biblical Wisdom for Wealth: Understand and apply God's timeless principles for financial success and prosperity. Inspiring Stories: Read real-life testimonies of individuals who broke free from financial bondage and experienced God's blessings. Empowerment Through Prayer: Unlock the power of prayer in your financial journey, with guided prayers and affirmations for prosperity. Elevate your financial future and step into the abundance God has in store for you. "Poverty is Not an Option" is not just a book; it's your gateway to divine financial freedom. Get your copy now and start your journey to financial transformation!

This latest entry in Riddle's popular series contains promises in the Bible on financial increase, followed by a conversational prayer along with a personalized scriptural declaration of faith.

The world of welfare has changed radically. As the poor trade welfare checks for low-wage jobs, their low earnings qualify them for a hefty check come tax time—a combination of the earned income tax credit and other refunds. For many working parents this one check is like hitting the lottery, offering several months’ wages as well as the hope of investing in a better future. Drawing on interviews with 115 families, the authors look at how parents plan to use this annual cash windfall to build up savings, go back to school, and send their kids to college. However, these dreams of upward mobility are often dashed by the difficulty of trying to get by on meager wages. In accessible and engaging prose, It’s Not Like I’m Poor examines the costs and benefits of the new work-based safety net, suggesting ways to augment its strengths so that more of the working poor can realize the promise of a middle-class life.

Introduction : enfolding the poor -- Entrepreneurship and work at the "bottom of the pyramid"--Social banking to financial inclusion -- The reluctant moneylender -- The domestication of microfinance -- Financial risk and the moral economy of credit -- Insured death, precarious life

A history of US involvement in late twentieth-century campaigns against global poverty and how they came to focus on women A War on Global Poverty provides a fresh account of US involvement in campaigns to end global poverty in the 1970s and 1980s. From the decline of modernization programs to the rise of microcredit, Joanne Meyerowitz looks beyond familiar histories of development and explains why antipoverty programs increasingly focused on women as the deserving poor. When the United States joined the war on global poverty, economists, policymakers, and activists asked how to change a world in which millions lived in need. Moved to the left by socialists, social democrats, and religious humanists, they rejected the notion that economic growth would trickle down to the poor, and they proposed programs to redress inequities between and within nations. In an emerging “women in development” movement, they positioned women as economic actors who could help lift families and nations out of destitution. In the more conservative 1980s, the war on global poverty turned decisively toward market-based projects in the private sector. Development experts and antipoverty advocates recast women as entrepreneurs and imagined microcredit—with its tiny loans—as a grassroots solution. Meyerowitz shows that at the very moment when the overextension of credit left poorer nations bankrupt, loans to impoverished women came to replace more ambitious proposals that aimed at redistribution. Based on a wealth of sources, A War on Global Poverty looks at a critical transformation in antipoverty efforts in the late twentieth century and points to its legacies today.