This holiday season, with your help, Opportunity International has the potential to fund 6,000 new loans for women around the world. For our new campaign, the One Woman Holiday Challenge, we have an ambitious goal of raising $450,000 in 45 days. And thanks to a generous donor, all gifts to the campaign will be matched one to one up to $450,000.

More than 1.5 billion people live in extreme poverty and many are women entrepreneurs with a plan to help themselves, their families and their communities. Just $150 funds an Opportunity loan for a woman entrepreneur so she can start or expand a business, provide for her family, create jobs for her neighbors and build a safety net for the future.

The data is clear: If you want to change lives in the developing world you must invest in women. It’s that simple.

Today, I accepted the One Woman Holiday Challenge, and launched an online fundraiser so I can play a role in helping our women clients build better futures. I believe in our mission and our clients so deeply that I kicked off my campaign with a personal commitment to match, one to one, every dollar invested up to $25,000. This, combined with the generous match from an anonymous donor, will triple the value of every dollar invested in my campaign. Not only do we triple our investment, but also our impact.

I invite all our supporters to join me by participating in the One Woman Holiday Challenge. To start your own fundraiser, go to opportunity.org/woman. Once launched, you will be able to track your fundraiser’s progress and receive regular updates, which will hopefully inspire you to share this with everyone in your network of friends, family and colleagues.

Meet Annie Nyangomba, just one of the many Opportunity clients we will serve through this challenge. In the photo above, Annie holds out her finger to be read at the Kinshasa branch of Opportunity Democratic Republic of Congo. It’s one of the few places in the developing world offering this technology, which requires only a fingerprint-embedded ID card to access an account. Even clients who are illiterate or don’t have formal identification are able to control their finances, some for the first time ever.

A mother of two, who sells sweet potatoes in the local Masina Market, Annie was hesitant to open a bank account because she thought it would be too expensive. That was before she became an Opportunity client. She now feels more secure and recognized as an important member of the community. Her income has increased 20% and she receives business training and advice from her loan officer, Pelagie Kawadio. “Now I get more respect,” Annie says. “I feel more secure for the future of my children. I especially have a sense of hope. It’s like God is giving me a second chance to change my life.”

Together, we can meet the One Woman Holiday Challenge for clients like Annie, and millions of other women like her, who merely want the opportunity to provide for their families and improve their children’s futures.

Partner with Opportunity to invest in better futures, one woman at a time.