Five Talents

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Natural calamities, outbreak of diseases, and conflicts have left behind a galore of problems. People living below the poverty line in developing countries are often the worst it. Five Talents is an organization that not only provides them with a means of livelihood, but also gives attention to spiritual and holistic development.

What is Five Talents?

Five Talents aims to combat poverty and transform lives of the poor and needy by training them for jobs and empowering them by using innovative savings and micro-credit programs. It also stresses on spiritual development of individuals. Five Talents works in partnership with the Anglican Communion but does not restrict its assistance and work to Christians.

Five Talents focuses its resources and funds on group savings and lending. Micro-enterprise development encompasses several aspects of Five Talents programs and is an efficient way in helping people break out of poverty using a small sum. Needy entrepreneurs in developing countries are given educational opportunities and technical assistance by Five Talents. It also works towards holistic development of these entrepreneurs.

Where post-conflict and post-disaster expertise is needed, a Church anchor takes steps for addressing problems. Another distinct facet of their microfinance services is the Five Talents Business as Mission program. It develops training materials which professionals use on short-term mission trips to train budding entrepreneurs. Through training, Business as Mission professionals teach Five Talents program entrepreneurs a solid business, marketing, and administrative skills, all from a biblical perspective.

What is the history of Five Talents?

At a global meeting of Anglican leaders in England at the 1998 Lambeth Conference, Five Talents was commended in order to improve the standard of living of the poor in developing countries. The deplorable conditions of people affected by diseases and natural calamities promoted action by the founders and Anglican leaders. The vision was to not only provide financial assistance but also to maintain their dignity by making them self reliable. Five Talents takes its name from The Holy Bible.

What is the business model of Five Talents?

Mainly relying on donations, Five Talents offers many ways to donate apart from conventional forms and online payment. People can create specific jobs in particular countries for a certain sum. For example, you can donate $ 250 to enable a family to purchase a sewing machine which would then be their livelihood. In return, you get a certain number of e-cards you can send to family and friends. People can also make a donation of stock by contributing stocks to Five Talents International. Those interested can set up personal fundraising pages while training for a marathon, or taking part in a bike race, etc and raise funds. By selecting Five Talents as ‘charity of choice’ while shopping at certain stores, shoppers can ensure the store donates to Five Talents. There are also the methods of Government Employee Contributions, Planned Giving and Bequests, Family Foundations, Donor Advised Funds, becoming a member of X-OUT Poverty Golf Classic, etc.

What is the impact of Five Talents?

Five Talents has its presence in multiple countries across Africa, Asia and Latin America while having an admirable loan repayment rate of an average 95%. It is currently supporting 12 programs in 11 developing countries. Since its founding, Five Talents has managed to make a difference in the lives of nearly 500,000 men and women and almost $ 4.5 million have been invested.