Would you like to visit one of the most beautiful countries in the world and see firsthand the impact that fair trade has on craft producers and farmers?

By entering our £1,000 Challenge you will automatically be entered  into a prize draw to win a Meet the People fair trade holiday to Peru, Kenya or Costa Rica and Nicaragua. Meet the People Tours are offered to Shared Interest and Traidcraft supporters as an opportunity to meet fair trade producers while enjoying a unique and authentic insight into a country’s people and culture.

As many of you already know Shared Interest Foundation does some amazing work to help people in the developing world work their way out of poverty. Whether it’s giving a small grant to pay for an organisation to attend a trade fair or running an intensive three-year training course, our work changes people’s lives.

We would love to help more craft makers and farmers achieve their true potential, however this can only be achieved with your help and this is where the £1,000 challenge comes in.

We are looking for 100 people to commit to raising £1,000 within one year. Now this may seem daunting at first, however with our help – in fundraising ideas, sponsor forms and marketing advice – and support from your family and friends it is achievable. You can help thousands of individuals to improve their livelihoods and you could win a holiday of a lifetime.

I have signed up for this challenge myself (although I will not be entered into the holiday prize draw for obvious reasons!) and will be recording my progress monthly to share ideas, challenges and hopefully successes stories. I’m being sponsored to swim the length of the English Channel in four weeks. I will swim 22 miles which equates to 35,405 metres, which is a whopping 1,416 lengths of a 25m pool. I set up a justgiving page and only a week into the challenge I had over £250!

If you’re not one for swimming, then why not try holding a coffee morning or a sponsored silence or selling homemade cards? Whatever you do you’ll be helping disadvantaged craft makers and farmers work their way out of poverty.

If you would like to sign up to the £1,000 Challenge you can download our £1000 challenge pledge  form by clicking here, or for more information please send me an email.

Click here to learn how you can invest in fair trade. Click here to donate to the Shared Interest Foundation

This week, ahead of National Ethical Investment Week, Shared Interest was delighted to have taken part in The Guardian’s, You Ask, They Answer.  This five day online slot, which is part of The Guardian’s Ethical Living Section, involves companies putting themselves forward to be questioned by Guardian online readers.

Shared Interest’s PR Manager Stina Dodds said, ‘Securing this online slot was a real coup for Shared Interest, especially in the run up to National Ethical Investment Week.  You can see how we did by logging onto the site at any time.  You might even want to add comments to future slots if they link in any way to fair trade or Shared Interest.  All you have to do is register with The Guardian if you are not already signed up.  This only takes a couple of minutes and you can register here.  Then, when you go to make a comment, the site will ask you to provide a User Name.  Once this is done, you are ready to go and can start asking questions.’ Continue reading →

Click here to learn how you can invest in fair trade. Click here to donate to the Shared Interest Foundation

Is Shared Interest a micro-finance organisation?

Microfinance, or microcredit, is the lending of very small amounts of money for short periods of time, especially to a start-up company or self-employed person.

The loans and credit that Shared Interest provides does not qualify as microfinance or microcredit, however some of the amounts we lend are small and short term. Shared Interest also does not offer funding for start up capital as the customers we work with are already established Fair trade businesses.

However, the Shared Interest Foundation supports businesses that are just starting out in the fair trade world, or which are in the process of achieving fair trade status with training in business skills and capacity building.

Click here to learn how you can invest in fair trade. Click here to donate to the Shared Interest Foundation