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Both in terms of growth of portfolio and impact
in Nicaragua, 2006 proved to be SOSTENICA's
best year ever. Total assets for the year grew by more than $338,000
(27.6%) from $1,224,053 in 2005 to $1,562,136 in 2006. Almost 95%
of our total assets ($1,473,927) were at work in Nicaragua's fields
or in her neighborhoods by the end of 2006. We succeeded in raising
$22,308 more donated funds than budgeted, allowing us to increase
SOSTENICA's fund equity
by $35,000, from $145,000 to $180,000. We paid our investors over
$28,000 in interest for the year, and still had $28,000 to invest
in technical assistance for our rural borrowers. At the same time
our cost of operations (overhead) remained remarkably low. Excluding
funds donated for technical assistance and interest paid to investors,
we spent only $39,186 on operations, including salaries and benefits.
Meanwhile in Nicaragua, financial growth, combined
with excellent management, resulted in our greatest impact ever.
In 2003 we made slightly fewer than 1,000 loans worth $675,000.
By 2006, the number of new loans had grown to 6,116, worth $2,341,825!
The number of new loans grew by 36% from '05 to '06. 78% of all
new loans in '06 went to women, with almost $.60 cents of every
$1 dollar going to a female.
Fifty-two service oriented micro-enterprises
(beauty parlors, welders, auto mechanics) received a total of $37,718
to help grow their businesses. One hundred and twenty seven home
owners received on average $553 each towards improving or purchasing
their homes. Ninety-seven micro-manufacturers (bakers, seamstresses,
tortilla makers) borrowed a total of $104,321 in '06. As 2006 came
to a close, 2,234 borrowers had active loans worth $1,601,556. Based
on their past performance, we predict a better than 97% repayment
rate. We are opening new offices in several towns and small cities
to make it easier for Nicaraguans outside of urban areas to gain
access to SOSTENICA
credit.
In our Sustainable Rural Development program,
we kept the number of communities served constant at 36 from 2005
to 2006. Growth came not in terms of the number of communities,
but rather in the number of families served. As of 2005, 666 families
had received loans worth $1.25 million dollars. In 2006 we added
163 families for a total of 829, lending over $2,264,000. The average
farm family received $2,700 in credit. Taking advantage of the technical
assistance offered by our program, the average rural borrower family
generated $4,693 in income, and created a total of 3,071 part or
full time jobs in their region.
Non-profit organizations are often measured by
their impact compared with their operational overhead. By this useful
standard, SOSTENICA
measures up - significant impact achieved with very low overhead.
How are such impressive results possible? In a word, hard working
Nicaraguans team up with generous and thoughtful North American
investors and donors. As of 2006, 79 individual investors had joined
16 institutional investors to make $1,293,937 available for lending
in Nicaragua. That, combined with SOSTENICA's
own equity brought our loan portfolio to $1,473,937. Many of those
"socially responsible investors" made direct cash donations, while
others made "in kind" donations by requesting a lower than market
interest rate on their investment. In all, reduced interest rates
resulted in more than $10,000 being added to the SOSTENICA
budget. The total math on our donors adds up as follows: 63 adults,
70 middle school students, and 10 institutions. Connecticut teacher
Frank Keen's social studies class at Middlesex Middle School in
Darien adopted SOSTENICA
as a class project. A Connecticut team of "ordinary men leading
extra-ordinary lives" made SOSTENICA
their service commitment. And Dorothy Wright made her penultimate
major gift to support technical assistance (see inside). Indeed,
SOSTENICA has much
for which to be grateful.
Alan
Wright, Ph.D. President
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