A new campaign that promises to empower women with the financial independence necessary to start and grow their own businesses has been launched, and has garnered some serious celebrity support.
joinFITE’s (Financial Independence Through Entrepreneurship) Lend Your Hand campaign powered by Kiva, is a six-week rally for consumer engagement that will provide capital to women business owners in 57 countries around the world. joinFITE, championed by Dermalogica founder Jane Wurwand, was created to release the untapped potential of women through entrepreneurship. To help spread the word about the importance of empowering women entrepreneurs, joinFITE has enlisted high-profile celebrity support from Demi Moore on behalf of the DNA Foundation, Cindy Crawford, Jason Alexander, Emma Watson, Kelly Rutherford, AnnaLynne McCord and many more who have activated their commitment to the cause.
“The Lend Your Hand campaign is designed to engage consumers in a fun and interactive way. We want to make it easy for consumers to unlock microloans and fund an entrepreneur through an innovative platform which provides a rewarding experience. By participating in this campaign you can support an entrepreneur of your choosing and allocate funds through Kiva.org, to give a woman the start she needs to build a real future for herself,” says Dermalogica founder and owner, Jane Wurwand.
To activate a loan, consumers redeem joinFITE codes which work like gift certificates, allowing individuals to direct funds to a woman entrepreneur in a specific part of the world and to a type business that they choose. At the same time, joinFITE will reward consumers each time a code is redeemed by entering them to win a prize. joinFITE’s corporate partners, including Lifetime Television and Movie Networks, The Container Store, Foot Petals, Dailyworth.com, SheBrand and many more are endorsing the initiative by providing codes or prize donations. Winners will be determined through a drawing and announced at joinFITE.org on November 18, 2011.
To help promote Lend Your Hand, the campaign is kicking off with the unveiling of “Secret Celebrity” partners who are lending a hand for this great cause. Consumers can visit the joinFITE.org website and its Facebook page to guess which celebrity is lending his or her hand; by doing so they not only get a free $1 microloan to direct as they choose, but they are also entered to win great prizes just for taking the time to participate.
“We know that women are disproportionately impacted by the effects of poverty,” said Premal Shah, president of Kiva. “However, women are also powerful catalysts for change, investing as much as 90% of their income into creating a better future for themselves and their families. Kiva is proud to power the joinFITE platform, enabling more people to support women entrepreneurs in sparking a virtuous cycle of change.”
To date, joinFITE has funded over 5,000 women and strives to reach 25,000 total over the next two years by generating consumer interest and brand partner engagement to ensure financial success for women in economies worldwide. The Lend Your Hand campaign aims to raise funds over the next six weeks that will help 3,000 women around the world in starting their own businesses. To be part of this effort, visit www.joinFITE.org.
