Yes. Most often, it's not a lack of means but a lack of opportunity that prevents the poor from opening a savings account. The costs of high minimum deposit requirements, account fees and withdrawal charges at banks fall hardest on those who have the least. When people cannot afford to pay these costs, they end up saving in ways that put them at greater risk. Sometimes the poor band together in communities to establish informal, interest-free saving and lending groups. Other times, they simply store their savings at home, where they run the risk of robbery, natural disaster or the natural temptation to spend.

Credit unions involved with MatchSavings.org take financial services to the people who need them most by sending staff members into rural communities. In this way, people who normally wouldn't have the means to open a safe and affordable savings account now have the full array of credit union products and services right in their rural community. Your contribution gives people living in these communities a boost toward achieving their individual goal and starts them down a positive path for the future.

Because only regulated financial institutions can legally take and safeguard deposits, and people living in poverty have a right to a safe place to save. Besides that, credit unions are community-owned, meaning they are local establishments that tailor their products and services to meet their members' needs. In addition to savings, credit unions offer loans, insurance, money transfers and utilities payments.

Credit unions involved with MatchSavings.org hire people from within the community to take on field officer roles. The field officers travel up to three hours into remote communities so that the credit union members there don't have to spend travel money and time to make their savings deposits or loan payments.

MatchSavings.org is implemented by World Council of Credit Unions (WOCCU), an international development agency and trade association for credit unions and financial cooperatives that has nearly 40 years of development experience in Africa, Asia, the Caribbean, Eastern Europe, the Middle East and Latin America.

You can designate gifts for a specific savings purpose to match an individual's savings in another country. Gifts are transferred to a credit union in World Council of Credit Unions' (WOCCU) partner country to match the deposits of individual savers. WOCCU has different accounts for every savings purpose offered.

Gifts designated for a particular savings purpose are used as requested until that need is fully met. Remaining funds are put to use where they are needed most. While we do our best to accommodate your wishes, we may apply your funds to match the savings of a person with a different savings purpose if all savings in your designated purpose have been matched. In all cases, your gifts will be used to match or support the savings program. 

In May 2010, the MatchSavings.org program discontinued the healthcare savings option due to lack of saver interest and cost to provide the match. The remaining balance of matches designated for healthcare will be used to match savings for housing, microbusiness or education.

No, not at this time. While many people want to get to know the individuals who benefit from their particular savings match, the tracking of individual savers would require more staff and incur additional operating expenses. In order to put the most dollars out to people living in poverty, WOCCU tries to keep operating expenses low. We also need to respect the dignity of our savings program participants. The stories presented on the Web site are with the savers' permission and are representative of people participating in the program.

Click here to view a detailed description of how MatchSavings.org works.

Your contribution is made directly to the Worldwide Foundation for Credit Unions, Inc. (WF), which transfers the funds to World Council of Credit Unions' (WOCCU) local development office in the country of your designation. The funds are earmarked for the savings purpose you selected.

When a savings group's individual accounts reach the end of the required six-month period, the WOCCU office transfers matching funds directly to the partner credit union, which deposits the money into the individual savers' accounts once they successfully complete the six-month savings period. At this time, savers receive their funds and the matching funds in the form of a voucher, goods or service. They earn interest only on the amount they contribute personally.

85% of your donation is used to make direct savings matches, and 15% of the donation supports credit union training, administration and fundraising.

World Council of Credit Unions' (WOCCU) experienced team of financial management experts and community outreach practitioners administer MatchSavings.org together with the local credit union and its staff. Program participants have never before had a savings account. Credit unions use a basic participant selection tool that rates applicants based on sources of income, number of school-age children they support and type of housing to ensure that the people who need the match incentive most have the opportunity to participate in the program.

At World Council of Credit Unions (WOCCU), we help provide people living in poverty around the world access to an array of affordable, quality and sustainable financial services through credit unions. As we strengthen credit unions across the globe, we seek to empower people by giving them ownership in financial cooperatives, organizations in which they have a vote and access to safe savings and loans to help improve their financial well being and, by extension, the communities in which they live and work. The impact we have had worldwide demonstrates that WOCCU's approach to financial empowerment is generally more successful and sustainable than simple microlending programs.

Click here to view information about WOCCU's technical assistance programs worldwide.

We do not share your personal information with any third party. It is our policy not to sell, trade or rent your personal information to anyone. We reserve the right to change our policy at any time, but you will be given the option to remove your name from our database if we do.

Click here to read our privacy policy.

Not only is it a legitimate charity, but World Council of Credit Unions (WOCCU) makes your donations work hard. Our charitable arm, the Worldwide Foundation for Credit Unions, Inc. (WF) is a registered U.S. 501(c)(3) charity. WF is listed on Guidestar.org and Better Business Bureau (BBB) and has been approved by the U.S. Government's Combined Federal Campaign (CFC) as international charity 10771. 

Yes. Gifts to World Council of Credit Unions (WOCCU) are made through our charitable arm, the Worldwide Foundation for Credit Unions (WF). WF is a U.S. 501(c)(3), therefore donations are fully U.S. tax deductible. Once you make a donation, you will be able to print and access a receipt online.