11.19.2007 - 04:35pm ET

(CSRwire) BOSTON, MA - November 19, 2007 - ACCION(R) International, a pioneer and leader in microfinance, today announced that it has received a $400,000 Centennial Grant from UPS to support its work in delivering financial services and training to the world's entrepreneurial poor.

UPS, the world's largest package delivery company and a global leader in supply chain services, is celebrating its 100th anniversary this year by creating the Centennial Grants Fund, awarding a total of $1m to global microfinance organizations. ACCION will use the funds to expand the reach and sustainability of microfinance in various countries around the world.

The grant will support ACCION’s microfinance activities in four key areas:

Developing new products and services, such as savings and remittance instruments, specifically tailored to the needs of the poor.

"ACCION is deeply appreciative of UPS's confidence, and honored to help them celebrate their centennial in such a way," said María Otero, ACCION president and CEO. "UPS and ACCION share a commitment to providing the world’s poor with access to microfinance, so that they can work their way out of poverty."

About ACCION USA

ACCION USA is a private, nonprofit organization that serves low-income microentrepreneurs, primarily minorities and women, who are unable to access bank credit for their businesses. A pioneer and recognized leader in the domestic microfinance field, ACCION USA is dedicated to providing microentrepreneurs and individuals on the economic margin with the crucial chance to borrow capital at fair rates of interest. In doing so, ACCION USA enables clients to increase family incomes, create jobs and revitalize and empower economically disenfranchised communities. For more information, visit www.accionusa.org.

About ACCION International

ACCION International is a private, nonprofit organization with the mission of giving people the financial tools they need - microenterprise loans, business training and other financial services - to work their way out of poverty. A world pioneer in microfinance, ACCION was founded in 1961 and issued its first microloan in 1973 in Brazil. ACCION International's partner microfinance institutions today are providing loans as low as $100 to poor men and women entrepreneurs in 25 countries in Latin America, Asia, Africa and the United States. In the last decade alone, ACCION partners have disbursed more than 17.9 million loans totaling more than $12.3 billion; 97 percent of the loans have been repaid. Selected for the fourth consecutive year for its pioneering approaches to poverty alleviation, ACCION was among 43 organizations awarded the 2007 Social Capitalist Award by Fast Company magazine. ACCION has also been awarded Charity Navigator's highest rating - four stars - for efficiency and sound fiscal management. For more information, visit www.accion.org.

ACCION(R) is a registered trademark of ACCION International.

For more information please contact:

Bruce MacDonald, VP, Communications
ACCION International
617-616-1546
www.accion.org

For more CSR news and information from this organization:

Corporate Social Responsibility Profile for ACCION International

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