5.15.2008 - 10:00am ET

(CSRwire) SAN JOSE, CA - May 15, 2008 - MicroPlace (www.MicroPlace.com), an online brokerage specializing in socially responsible investments that address poverty, today launched microfinance investment opportunities in the United States. For the first time, everyday investors can earn a financial return while funding loans to the working poor in the U.S.

"Since we launched late last year, MicroPlace has enabled socially responsible investors to invest in the working poor in all regions of the developing world. Now, we can make an even deeper impact by addressing poverty in our own backyard," said Tracey Turner, founder and general manager of MicroPlace. "We are extremely pleased to now provide opportunities for everyday people to make investments that address poverty in our country and abroad as well."

Investment dollars are used to provide microfinance loans to the world's working poor. As opposed to charity, MicroPlace enables investors to earn a return and to align their investment wallet with their social values. The purchase process for U.S. investments is similar to other investments offered on MicroPlace. Minimums for first-time purchases are $100, with subsequent minimums at $50.

The U.S. investments are issued by Calvert Foundation, a nonprofit organization that uses investment capital, rather than conventional philanthropy, to help microfinance institutions, nonprofits and social enterprises address critical social problems. Investors can channel their investment dollars to two leading microfinance institutions in the U.S., ACCIÓN Texas and ACCIÓN USA. These institutions offer credit, business loans and other financial services to low- and moderate-income self-employed people in the U.S. According to the Aspen Institute's FIELD Program, there are approximately 10 million micro-entrepreneurs in the U.S. who could benefit from the services that microfinance programs provide.

ACCIÓN USA serves clients through regional offices in Massachusetts, Florida and Georgia. To date, ACCIÓN USA has made loans in 45 states and Puerto Rico, including over $750,000 disbursed in California alone. ACCIÓN USA's clients are approximately 85 percent minority, 41 percent female, and 80 percent low- to moderate-income by federal standards. Typical businesses include day care providers, bodegas and street vendors, most of which have less than $5,000 in business assets.

ACCIÓN Texas serves 2 million micro-enterprises across Texas, including 20 counties that are among the poorest in the nation and home to colonias - small unincorporated subdivisions often without potable water, sewage systems or paved roads. In these areas, and others like them, ACCIÓN Texas is the only provider of loan services. Eighty-six percent of loans are to minority businesses, and 45 percent of their clients are women owned businesses.

The U.S. Census Bureau reported that in 2006, 12.6 percent of the population or 36.5 million people lived in poverty in the United States. In 2006, the poverty threshold for a family of four was $20,614, for a family of three, $16,079 and for a family of two, $13,167. Regionally, the South continues to have the highest poverty rate at 13.8 percent, followed equally by the Northeast, Midwest and West respectively. [1]

"Thanks to our grant from Omidyar Network, we are pleased to be able to work with MicroPlace to bring the opportunity to invest online in domestic microfinance to the everyday person," said Shari Berenbach, executive director of Calvert Foundation. "For more than 12 years, Calvert Foundation has been helping individuals invest in microfinance here in the U.S. and around the world. We are pleased to invest in award-winning partners ACCIÓN Texas and ACCIÓN USA, and feel confident that this new online investment offering will further expand the reach and potential for lifting hard-working people out of poverty."

Microfinance institutions around the world have discovered an effective way to enable the world's working poor to lift themselves out of poverty. These organizations need capital to expand and reach more of the working poor. MicroPlace connects investors with microfinance institutions looking for funds. The result is more microfinance opportunities available to poor entrepreneurs, satisfied investors, and ultimately, fewer people living in poverty.

About MicroPlace

MicroPlace (www.microplace.com), launched in 2007, is the world's first online brokerage specializing in socially responsible investments that alleviate poverty. MicroPlace enables everyday people to make investments that earn a return while empowering the poor to work their way out of poverty. MicroPlace is a wholly-owned subsidiary of eBay Inc.(NASDAQ:EBAY).

[1] Income, Poverty, and Health Insurance Coverage in the United States: 2006 report

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