Community Development Grants give CMCs and individual community members the opportunity to put the literacy, numeracy, and project management knowledge they gained during the Community Empowerment Program into practice. The grants provide a way for community members to participate in income-generating activities, allowing them to provide for their families and invest in their communities.

We provide the CMC with a small grant—usually between $300 and $1,000. The CMCs often use this grant to establish a rotating microcredit fund, which helps villagers, particularly women, with the investment they need to start small businesses, invest in agriculture, or take on other income-generating activities.

The CMC will operate the microcredit fund based on a group-lending, revolving-funds system. The CMC works together to set the interest rate and the length of the loans they will grant. Strong community ties help encourage a high repayment rate.

The CMC then uses the income from the interest to expand the number of loans available, undertake community projects, or establish a solidarity fund for children’s educational expenses and emergency medical needs.

Community Development Grants are provided to the CMC who then distribute funds to the wider community.

Community Development Grants provide the practical means to develop projects which support the community’s vision for their development. They also help reduce poverty in rural villages by expanding economic opportunities, especially for women.