A gift in your will can make a big impact.

A bequest is simply a gift that is written in your will. It can be a gift of cash, property shares or other investments. By leaving a gift in your will to Opportunity you can transform the lives of many people living in poverty.

Leave a lasting legacy - bequests

“We’ve spent many years working in partnership with Opportunity International, seeing it grow from a small pioneer to a leader in microfinance. We love how it provides a real and sustainable way for poor entrepreneurs to work their way out of poverty. It’s important to us that the legacy we leave continues well after us. Our children have been part of our engagement and one aspect of our legacy is to provide them with an avenue to continue to engage in building up poor communities. We can think of no better, more enriching long-term gift to leave them.”

Philippa and Andrew Tyndale

Here's how it works:

By helping a mother buy a sewing machine to start a tailoring business or a father to buy seeds to plant a vegetable garden, small loans enable people in poverty to earn an income and provide for their families.

As each business grows, loans are paid back and lent out again. And with 97% of loans repaid, the cycle continues, year after year. Each successful business feeds a family, employs more people and eventually helps to empower a whole community.

For each dollar you invest in our work with the poor more than one dollar will end up in the hands of those who need it most. This multiplier effect works in three ways: the leveraging of microfinance institution funds, the recycling of client loans and the ripple effect through local communities, allowing your bequest to make the largest impact possible.

When you leave a bequest to Opportunity, you leave a lasting legacy that will change the lives of many for years to come.

The impact of your legacy – helping people like Alena

For Alena, a client of one of Opportunity’s partners in Indonesia, receiving a loan and support has transformed her life. After the death of her husband seven years ago, Alena thought she might not be able to support her children, who were aged between five and 18. Her relatives lived far away and her eldest daughter was disabled and needed special care. With limited capital, Alena sold small quantities of vegetables door to door, struggling to earn the income she needed to support the daily needs of her children. Alena desperately needed help.

With the help from Opportunity’s partner TLM, Alena has been able to improve her business and nearly double her daily income. She is becoming more capable of meeting the needs of her family. Alena now dreams of establishing a permanent kiosk in the future, so that she may continue to support her children to receive an education.

By making a bequest to Opportunity in your will, you can reach out to people just like Alena, transforming their lives from ones of desperation, to ones of hope.