Released on: September 25, 2008, 2:59 pm

Press Release Author: Schwab Charitable

Industry: Financial

Press Release Summary: First of its kind service allows Schwab Charitable donors to
support the world’s poorest entrepreneurs

Press Release Body: SAN FRANCISCO, September 24, 2008 — Schwab Charitable, one of
the country’s largest and fastest growing nonprofits and facilitators of charitable
giving with over $2 billion in assets and $350MM in annual grants, announced today
the launch of an innovative microfinance guarantee program. It is the first program
of its kind to enable donors to set aside a portion of their Charitable Gift
Accounts to guarantee microfinance loans to the world’s poorest entrepreneurs to
start, maintain or expand small businesses. Guarantees are different from direct
gifts to microfinance in that funds may never have to leave a donor’s account. The
new program is designed to allow donors to maximize their charitable impact by
putting donated dollars to use as a microfinance guarantee while they are still held
in their Charitable Gift Accounts and invested for growth and future granting.

“This program gives our donors an additional opportunity to make a difference in the
lives of others,” said Kim Wright-Violich, President of Schwab Charitable. “They
have secured a tax deduction by making a gift to a donor-advised fund and now they
can double their charitable impact by putting the funds to use once as a
microfinance guarantee and then a second time as a grant to a completely different
cause.”

The Schwab Charitable microfinance guarantee program is expected to increase the
availability and reduce the costs of microfinance loans in over 25 developing
countries and will be launched in phases in response to interest, which is expected
to be quite high. The first phase will begin with an estimated $20-30 million in
guarantees and could help make possible well over 100,000 microloans. The program
is being launched in collaboration with Grameen Foundation, a leading microfinance
network, and will evolve to include Developing World Markets, a leading lender to
microfinance institutions, as it grows.

“We are excited to be partnering with Schwab Charitable to expand the reach of
microfinance loan programs around the world,” said Alex Counts, President of Grameen
Foundation. “Historically, guarantee programs have only been open to large
foundations or to the very wealthy. This program opens up participation to a much
broader range of donors, democratizing access and building a solid base of ongoing
support.”

“This Schwab Charitable microfinance initiative will very efficiently deliver needed
financing to the world’s economically active poor, helping lift families out of
poverty and spurring economic growth. It’s an honor to join with Schwab Charitable
to execute and deliver on this mission.” said Peter Johnson, a founding partner of
Developing World Markets.

The Schwab Charitable microfinance guarantee program is optional and available only
to Schwab Charitable donors. Donors who agree to participate will recommend that up
to 10 percent of their Charitable Gift Accounts be set aside for a period of 24-36
months to help guarantee microfinance loans. Any funds used to guarantee microloans
will stay in their accounts, will continue to be invested for the entire period and
will be applied to the guarantee only if the microfinance program has losses in
excess of reserves. In addition, Schwab Charitable will report back to
participating donors on the social and economic impact that these microfinance loans
provide to their various recipients.

“Our clients have expressed increasing interest in supporting microfinance over the
years,” said Debra Wetherby, CEO of Wetherby Asset Management, an independent
investment advisory firm with more than $3 billion under management “We love this
program because it will enable our clients to keep their Charitable Gift Accounts
prudently invested while also putting them to immediate work in a very meaningful
way. It is a true win for everybody involved.”

“We are always looking for ways to help our donors maximize their charitable impact
and we hope this is just the first in a series of innovative charitable ways to
pledge assets held in charitable gift accounts,” said Ms. Wright-Violich.
“Microfinance is the natural first step because it has a strong and successful track
record, has proven to be sustainable and helps people move toward self-sufficiency.”


The Schwab Charitable Microfinance Guarantee Program is another in a series of
innovations from Schwab Charitable. In 2007, Schwab Charitable made charitable gift
accounts accessible to an even broader group of donors by lowering the minimum
initial contribution from $10,000 to $5,000 and the minimum grant size from $250 to
$100. In addition, its Charitable Asset Management program — a philanthropic
option that allows high net worth donors who contribute $250,000 or more to
nominate an independent investment advisor to manage their donated funds — is the
leading program of its kind. Schwab Charitable was the first leading national
donor-advised fund to offer donors the option to have advisors manage the assets in
their Charitable Gift Accounts.

For more information about Schwab Charitable or the Schwab Charitable microfinance
program, visit www.schwabcharitable.org.


About Schwab Charitable
Created as a national donor-advised fund with a mission to increase charitable
giving nationwide, Schwab Charitable has raised over $3 billion and has facilitated
more than $1 billion grants to charity since inception. In 2007, the Fund received
more than $1 billion in donations, which is expected to place Schwab Charitable
among the top ten fundraising charities in the United States and the largest in the
State of California.
About Grameen Foundation
Grameen Foundation is a global non-profit organization that combines microfinance,
technology, and innovation to empower the world's poorest people to escape poverty
through its network of partners in 25 countries. For more information, visit
www.grameenfoundation.org

About Developing World Markets
Developing World Markets is a fund manager and investment bank specialized in
microfinance and other “double bottom line” financial products that aim to deliver
both social and economic returns to investors. More information, visit
www.dwmarkets.com


Web Site: http://www.schwabcharitable.org/

Contact Details: For more information, please contact:
Morrison Shafroth
Communications Strategy Group
720-470-3653
Schwab Charitable
101 Montgomery Street
San Francisco, CA 94104