Every day that we show up to work at Clearbridge, we show up to make a difference. We’re doing that by empowering people to do their best work by leveraging the right technology in the best ways possible. This is the impact that we strive to make in businesses in our part of the world.
While we’re passionate about the impact we’re able to make here, we’re equally as excited about a new initiative that we have launched called One-To-Many. This initiative is our impact on creating and financially supporting entrepreneurial opportunities in the developing world in an effort to end global poverty.
What we’re most excited about is that One-To-Many is only made possible through great partnerships. Our initial investment of $48,000 (over 3-years) to this cause is directly funded from the revenue we generate from each of our great clients. It made possible through the support of our great partners and delivered through our partnership with Opportunity International Canada. (Opportunity was ranked a Top 10 Charity for 2019 and is listed on Maclean’s Top Canadian Charities for 2020).
QUESTIONS & ANSWERS
What we’re doing, and how it all works.
WHY ONE-TO-MANY?
One-To-Many because we’re but one company creating an impact to many through the creation of new businesses, new jobs, and empowering those who otherwise live on less than $1.90 per day.
HOW DOES MICROLENDING WORK?
Microlending is based on the old adage of “give a man a fish and you feed him for a day; teach a man to fish and you feed him for a lifetime”. Along with training, mentorship, and other financial tools, those living in poverty are given the opportunity to borrow funds to start a business. (This video best explains how micro-lending works and how it differs from traditional charity work.)
The average first loan amount is ~$250 and we’ve kickstarted One-To-Many with an initial commitment of $48,000 over 3 years. With a repayment rate of 97%, and a typical loan term of 4-months, our initial $48,000 contribution will be re-lent as many as 9 times over the next 3-years levering $48,000 into over $400,000 in loans.
WHAT DO THESE LOANS DO?
Business loans help people like Doris to purchase her first sewing machine so she can produce and sell products (who later also started a cabinet shop). They help Sandra who started a store with her husband and then went on to open up a restaurant which now employs others in her community.
HOW CAN WE GET INVOLVED?
We plan to host a number of brown bag lunches in our Abbotsford office throughout the year to enable those interested in learning more to hear more about the work that is being done. If you’re interested in attending one of these (in person or virtually), just let us know—we’d love to have you!
Finally, we are already working on plans for a trip to the Dominican Republic in Fall 2020 to visit some of the entrepreneurs that we’ve funded loans for. This trip will be open to Clearbridge staff and partners. (If you’d like to join our team, please visit our careers page for current openings. If you’d like to talk about how Clearbridge can help your business, contact us here, we’d love to hear from you!)
HAVE MORE QUESTIONS?
If you have more questions about One-To-Many, we’d love to hear from you!
