Terry,
Thanks for starting this discussion. I was also very happy to see that Muhammad Yunus had won the Nobel Peace Prize. In 1998, I began investing with the Calvert Foundation, which makes it possible for Americans to make loans to organizations like the Grameen Bank, which in turn make microcredit loans. The repayment rates are excellent, the investments are very diversified, and some large foundations and insurance companies have made big investments in the notes that would be lost before those of individual investors.
The interest might be less than the interest on a CD at a bank, but the difference will be the size of a small donation. And the entire investment will be used, again and again, to help people help themselves.
Here is their contact information:
Calvert Social Investment Foundation
7315 Wisconsin Avenue
Bethesda, MD 20814
(800) 248-0337
www.CalvertFoundation.org
Kelly