Founded 1998 | ||
Five Talents is a Christian charity that fights poverty, creates jobs and transforms lives by empowering the poor in developing countries through innovative savings and financial inclusion programs, business training and spiritual development.
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Organization
Five Talents has offices in Washington, DC and London, and partners with organizations in 10 countries around the world.
Five Talents was founded at the Lambeth Conference of Anglican Church leaders in 1998 as 'a long term response to help the poor in developing countries based on need not creed'.
The patron is the Archbishop of Canterbury, currently Justin Welby. Since 1998, Five Talents has mobilized over $10 million to build the capacity of indigenous organizations to provide over 535,000 loans and assist more than 360,000 individuals with business training, spiritual formation, small loans, and the creation of savings groups, credit associations and community banks.
Projects
Five Talents currently works in 8 developing countries, which are: Burundi, Bolivia, India, Indonesia, Kenya, Myanmar, Peru, Philippines, Sudan, South Sudan, Tanzania, and Uganda
In the media
In April 2012 Five Talents US announced the hiring of a new CEO, Sonia Patterson, who has 15 years of entrepreneurial experience in developing business, non-governmental and community relations in the United States, Latin America, the Middle East, Africa and Asia.
In December 2011 the work of Five Talents was highlighted on the Huffington Post website in an article by Carolyn Sharp, a professor at Yale University.
In May 2010 Five Talents was featured on the BBC's monthly television charity appeal programme 'Lifeline'. A short film starring Sandi Toksvig was broadcast on BBC1 and explored the impact of Five Talents on the poor in Tanzania.
Awards
Five Talents US received a $10,000 grant in June 2012 from the Giving of Life Foundation, following a major online social media campaign in which the organization finished 9th overall in Giving of Life's online voting competition.
Five Talents US was named "one of the best" non-profits for 2013-2014 by Greater Washington's Catalogue for Philanthropy, According to the Catalogue, "115 reviewers from foundations, corporations, corporate giving programs, giving circles,the philanthropic advisory community, and peer nonprofits, evaluate applicants for distinction, merit, and impact."
Five Talents UK won the 2011 Award from Advocates for International Development (A4ID) for the best Development Partner. This award celebrates the outstanding achievements of legal professionals and the development organisations they have worked with in tackling extreme poverty and meeting the UN’s Millennium Development Goals.
Group lending model
Five Talents operates using a training and savings led group lending model. Members receive training in financial literacy, savings, and business development. They meet on a regular basis, often weekly, and contribute to savings groups. After six months of savings, members can access low interest loans provided to the group as a whole, so if one person has difficulty in repaying, the others in the group will have to cover their repayments. This system aims to reach those who are unable to take out commercial loans due to lack of collateral. Typically groups will consist of between 5 and 10 people. The majority of borrowers are women.