For just $5, you can now start a responsible investment portfolio

Earlier this month, the federal Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) proposed new rules to regulate payday lending – the business of offering high-cost short-term loans to Americans on terms that many consumer advocates consider predatory.

Years of misrule and a subsequent dearth of hard currency, along with crippling bank-fostered debt cycles and exorbitant home mortgage interest rates, have created immense suffering for Myanmar's poor. But with the guidance of a local NGO, Women for the World, a pilot project helped women in some of Yangon's poorest neighborhoods capitalize on their cultural "head-of-household" status; by forming and managing community savings cooperatives, the women have instilled trust through local control and, above all, enabled members to secure land, build homes, buy food, and even generate profit through loans to families' business enterprises.

To improve financial literacy and knowledge around child development, Prosperity Works – a program in New Mexico – is offering classes focused on these issues to parents. This program offers the foundational education necessary to open a bank account and use Individual Development Accounts to save funds for housing or educational needs.

As small businesses, nonprofits, and independent contractors try to access funds made available through the federal government’s Paycheck Protection Program, bankers across the country are doing what they can to step up, follow federal guidelines, and process loans as quickly as possible. New features, including the SBA fully guaranteeing PPP loans, are making them more accessible. From typical SBA lenders to community development financial institutions to credit unions, many financial institutions are trying to help as many businesses as possible.

To help essential workers navigate the notorious traffic of Bogota, the city built over 50 miles of an emergency bike network. The plan was in place before the arrival of coronavirus but the execution was sped up to meet the demands of increased bike usage. Other measures were also put into place to make the roads more bike and pedestrian-friendly: Reduced speed limits for cars, a 20 percent increase in private parking for bikes, and a bike registration system to deincentivize bike theft. Efforts to expand bike lanes not only eased traffic, they also helped relieve pressure on the overcrowded bus system.

Philanthropies are funding “tough tech” startups that are developing technologies to cut greenhouse gas emissions and mitigate the effects of climate change. Since 2014, the nonprofit Prime Coalition has channeled more than $24 million from wealthy donors and foundations to 10 ventures focused on that goal. Not all of their investments, though, have paid off. Yet, some of these initial investments could lead to widespread solutions to the world’s climate crisis.

A pediatric care center in Philadelphia has partnered with a nonprofit that "helps people with tax prep and asset-building" as well as an organization that provides financial counselors to offer young patients free, on-site help with their taxes. The initiative is modeled after Boston Medical Center' StreetCred program which has "returned more than $5.3 million to more than 2,700 low-income families since 2016."

The Business Center for New Americans, a nonprofit that offers loans with a focus on immigrant-run businesses, is going above and beyond to make sure its lenders get through the COVID-19 economic crisis. They are offering tailored support on how to apply for Economic Injury Disaster Loans, sharing other grant and loan opportunities, and using its status part of the SBA’s Microloan Program to offer new loans.

A startup is making buildings more eco-friendly by converting their energy needs from oil and gas to electric heat pumps. BlocPower is a Black-owned clean tech startup that provides a no money down lease option, making it financially accessible.

The Nusantra Fund provides financial support directly to community-led projects in Indonesia. The aim is to improve the livelihoods of Indigenous and local people while tackling climate change impacts and protecting biodiversity.