50 Weeks of Opportunity
Each week for the next 50 weeks, we will share a piece of Opportunity’s history—major or minor, sobering or inspiring, we have gotten where we are today by facing some of the world’s greatest challenges, with you by our side. Please join us in celebrating the many impactful moments that have built the foundation on which we will embark on our most audacious vision yet: ending extreme poverty.
What We All Can Learn from the 2020 Gates Letter
Beyond simple human decency, there are other factors at play that make gender equality such a significant priority for those working in development around the world.
Read MoreRosa Wang on the Ideagen Podcast
Rosa Wang, our Global Director of Digital Financial Services, was featured on the Ideagen Global podcast, hosted by Ideagen President George Sifakis, to discuss transformations and trends in digital finance.
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Our Top 10 for 2019
We spent the first part of the year reflecting on 2019 and were struck by the momentum we have harnessed. The final numbers aren't even in yet and we already know our supporters helped us increase the number of parents who have a business loan, up to 7.4 million and counting. We doubled the number of children we are reaching through our education programs—now up to 3.5 million. Your collective impact is moving the needle on poverty! We am joyous for what each and every numeric achievement…
Read MoreJanuary Book Club: Good Economics for Hard Times
As you make your resolutions for the year ahead, we have a challenge for you. Set a reading goal! Maybe it’s a number of books you want to complete in 2020 (we’ve got 12 recommendations coming your way this year — so 12 would be an excellent goal!). Maybe you want to read about cultures and regions that are less familiar to you, or maybe you want to focus on underrepresented authors. Whatever your personal reading goal is, the Opportunity Book Club is here to help! We’re…
Read MoreRead With Us: Our December Book Club Selection, Monstress
Winter makes us want to do one thing: curl up with a hot beverage, a cozy blanket, and a great book. Doesn’t that sound like the ideal day? Last month, we read Think Like a Freak by Steven Levitt and Stephen Dubner. With detailed research and hilarious stories, Levitt and Dubner highlighted the benefits of thinking outside of the box—and challenged our assumptions about the world. Now we’re closing out the year with a collection of short stories by Filipino-American author…
Read MoreCongratulations to Muffy Macmillan, Outstanding Individual Philanthropist of the Year!
Opportunity International congratulates Muffy MacMillan, Opportunity Board Member and Global Ambassador for Women and Girls, on her Outstanding Individual Philanthropist Award presented on Friday, November 15, 2019, by the Association of Fundraising Professionals-Minnesota Chapter at the National Philanthropy Day Awards Luncheon in Minneapolis. Thank you, Muffy, for bringing opportunity to women and girls across the world as you work to help end extreme poverty. Your passion for life, love for people,…
Read MoreWomen and Girls Opportunity Awards Highlight Partners’ Dedication to Gender Inclusion
Opportunity just concluded our second year of the Women and Girls Opportunity (WeGO) Awards. This award was launched in 2018 to celebrate and promote innovations in economic empowerment for women and girls as an essential part of ending extreme poverty. It honors staff and clients in Africa, Asia, and Latin America who work selflessly in challenging environments and calls attention to good work that deserves expansion and replication.
Read MoreRead With Us: October Book Club Selection
Have you read something great recently? As a community of book enthusiasts, we love getting recommendations from all of you. Let us know if you have a new must-read book to add to our list! Here at the Opportunity Book Club, we just finished reading The Thing Around Your Neck by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie. We became fans of Adichie while reading her books, Americanah and We Should All Be Feminists (add those to your reading list, too!), and we loved diving into her short story collection…
Read MoreTaste of Home: What's on my plate
Chicagoans are partial to their hot dogs and New Yorkers claim their pizza is the best. Food has always played a critical role in our communities. We gather with our families, friends, and neighbors over a meal for a multitude of reasons, and we spend countless hours thinking about what we want to eat next—but how often think about what dinner looks like for our global neighbors living in poverty? Pull up a chair and join us as we share virtual meals around the world! …
Read More5 Unforgettable Lines from Gates Goalkeepers
Each year, Bill and Melinda Gates release a report that compiles data on our collective global progress toward the Sustainable Development Goals. This Goalkeepers report is a touchstone for those of us in the development community. It reminds us of the progress we have already made, and that optimism is supported by overwhelming data that the world is indeed getting better. At the same time, it calls us to action—pointing to the wise investments, critical changes, and big opportunities the Gates…
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