What would you do if someone handed you $25? Buy the latest best-selling novel? See a movie with a friend, complete with popcorn and soda? Or maybe splurge at lunch today?

In some parts of the world, what seems like an insignificant amount of money to us can make a significant difference. In Kenya, $25 can go a long way to helping a woman improve her vegetable-stand business and expand her customer base. The same amount of money can help provide the boost a man in Azerbaijan needs to buy his own car for a growing taxi business.

This concept stuck a chord with the members of the 24th BBA+ Weekend group. And when the time came to select a community service project for their Business in Society class, the students decided to think big and small: tackling global poverty by initiating a micro financing program.

Simply put, micro financing provides very small—that is, micro—loans to struggling entrepreneurs living in poverty-stricken areas of the world. These seemingly small amounts of money—usually $1,000 or less—can make all the difference in the world to helping an individual grow a small business and, in turn, continuing to support a family.

“We are going full-speed ahead with our micro financing program,” said Frank C. McGuinness, BBA+ Weekend Group 24 class president, who is majoring in international business and management. “We already have formed the FIU Micro Lenders, an official new student organization, as well as a non-profit 501(c)(3) Florida corporation that is committed to helping fight global poverty.”

“Once again, our students are raising the bar when it comes to community service that’s truly international in scope.”

—Robert Hogner, associate professor, Department of Management and International Business, coordinator of the College of Business Administration’s Civic Engagement Initiative, and instructor, Business in Society

“Once again, our students are raising the bar when it comes to community service that’s truly international in scope,” said Robert Hogner, associate professor, Department of Management and International Business, coordinator of the College of Business Administration’s Civic Engagement Initiative, and instructor of the Business in Society course. “I see tremendous growth potential for support of the micro lending concept—spreading throughout our programs, beyond this one class and tying in with finance, entrepreneurship, and marketing courses, on to the point where this becomes a college-wide initiative.”

Group takes a multi-faceted approach to launching micro lending program.

To kick off the fund-raising efforts, the class began collecting donations of used textbooks from fellow students and sold them via Amazon Marketplace. They also are selling collected goods on eBay.

“We quickly made more than $1,000, which we used to establish micro loans through Kiva, the world’s first online lending platform connecting online lenders to small businesses in the developing world,” McGuinness said.

At the same time, the founding members of the new FIU Micro Lenders organization began analyzing their own employer’s companies, laying the groundwork for establishing strategic partnerships, donations, and cross-marketing efforts in support of global micro lending.

“We are proud to announce that Barfield, Inc., an aviation industry leader based in Miami, has signed on to become the first corporate sponsor of our organization,” said Terry Tasker, FIU Micro Lenders treasurer and compliance officer who hopes to join the college’s Professional MBA (PMBA) program in 2008.

“Micro financing is a powerful tool that lifts people out of poverty. To be a part of this initial effort here on our campus is very exciting.”

—Terry Tasker, FIU Micro Lenders treasurer and compliance officer

“This is not a one-off project for us,” Tasker said. “We want to build, manage, and nurture FIU Micro Lenders as part of our commitment to investing in a better world. Micro financing is a powerful tool that lifts people out of poverty. To be a part of this initial effort here on our campus is very exciting.”

McGuinness agrees.

“We will continue to forge partnerships within our community, raise awareness about the powerful force of micro loans, and redefine what it means to be an international business student,”

—Frank C. McGuinness, BBA+ Weekend Group 24 class president

“We will continue to forge partnerships within our community, raise awareness about the powerful force of micro loans, and redefine what it means to be an international business student,” he said.

Visit the FIU Micro Lenders Kiva.org lender’s web page to see the faces of people whose lives and businesses are already benefiting from the group’s initial loans: http://www.kiva.org/lender/fiumicrolenderscorp.