Kickstarter

Hi, this is Gayle Ferraro, director of a documentary that follows Nobel Peace Prize winner Professor Yunus as he brings his unique and revolutionary microfinance program to the U.S. In ‘To Catch a Dollar’ I followed the stories of some of the first women borrowers as Professor Yunus’s established his micro-loan program in the U.S., Grameen America.

The Film

The film follows Nobel Peace Prize winner Professor Yunus as he brings his unique and revolutionary microfinance program to the US. We witness the birth of Grameen America and the compelling stories of the first women borrowers; from the challenges they face to the successes they achieve, as they learn to sustainably lift themselves and their families out of poverty by starting and growing their own businesses with the education, support, and non-collateral microloans they receive.

Why this Issue

I first learned about micro-finance when I shot my first film, Sixteen Decisions (2000), in Bangladesh and followed 16-year-old Selena. She was given over to child labor at 8 years old, married at 11 years old and soon thereafter found herself an illiterate mother of two who took a Grameen business microcredit loan to raise chickens and clean rice. By becoming a recipient of a Grameen Bank loan, the program/business/organization started by Dr. Muhammad Yunus, Selena not only was able to pull herself out of poverty through the loans, but as a bank member, her children were able to attend preschool for free.

In my career as a filmmaker I have seen many instances of microloans allowing women all over the world to get a leg up and support themselves and their families. I saw how these loans helped women in every different situation and wondered if it could work in the U.S. I decided to tell the inspiring story of Grameen America.

The Campaign

In order to spread the message and raise awareness about financial literacy, entrepreneurship, and how microfinance can help more Americans who are currently living below the poverty line, we need your help to bring the film to theaters, colleges and communities across the U.S. One of our goals is to have the film and campaign grow into a social action movement. But we have run out of resources and need your help.

http://tocatchadollar.com