The Idyll Development Foundation's purpose is to make capital available to those who do not have the possibility of borrowing money through conventional lending institutions. The Foundation's purpose, in a sense, is to make capitalists out of poor people-- a hand up not a hand out. Three different approaches to invest in the poor are employed:

• Direct loans to the poor
• Loans to the poor through other institutions, and
• The purchase of equity in companies that serve the poor economically.

Examples of each type of investment follow:

I.D.F. Loan Recipients

City Sort - Philadelphia, PA. Mail-sorting business. Bodhi Tree - Saigon, Vietnam Vegetarian restaurant employing street children. TransFair - Oakland, CA Fair-trade coffee certification company. Café Campesino - Chiapas, Mexico Fair-trade coffee company. The Landless Workers Movement (MST) - Brazil. Land reclamation and land-rights activism. Susan Hutton - Media, PA. Crafted jewelry. Shorebank Neighborhood Institute - Chicago, IL. Temp agency focused on employing economically distressed workers. Idyll Development Foundation supports Fair Trade coffee

I.D.F. Investments

Indirect Investments: South Shore Bank, Rehab CD's Self-Help Credit Union First Nations The Enterprise Center Chester Community Improvement Project Direct Investments: Equal Exchange Delaware Valley Community Reinvestment Fund

A Success Story!

Craft Link -- Vietnam. Read how the Idyll Development Foundation's loan paid off in a profitable, sustainable business.

Awards & Press

Idyll selected as Most Generous Company in America by Newman's Own/George Magazine! May, 1999

Contact

You can contact the Idyll Development Foundation through Idyll, Ltd. Idyll Development Foundation c/o Idyll, Ltd. P.O. Box 405 Media, PA 19063 Tel. 888-868-6871 Learn more about Co-op America. Click here.