Features
Buying love for a cause
By Ilana Schwartz ’17
February 20, 2015
Were you dateless for Valentine’s Day? That may have been an issue for some, but for others, they found dates at Hamilton Microfinance’s Second Annual Date Auction last Thursday.
Hamilton Microfinance is a student organization that issues microloans to local entrepreneurs to stimulate business activity in the Greater Utica area. Loans can be up to $5,000 dollars, depending on what the loan applicant needs. By making loans rather than grants, Microfinance helps the entrepreneur build a credit history. The target audience is largely the refugee population in Utica because many of the refugees have barely begun building credit scores.
In order to fund these businesses, Microfinance has held several creative fundraisers throughout the year. In the fall they had their Pumpkin Challenge, where members of the Hamilton community had the opportunity to guess the weight of a 1524.5-pound pumpkin for a dollar per guess. The challenge raised over $1,000 to be used for future loans.
This semester, Microfinance hosted an even more successful fundraiser–the Second Annual Date Auction. About 70 students gathered in the Sadove Living Room ready to pull out their wallets and bid on fellow classmates. It was a night of excitement and laughter with bidding wars, great food and even a singing performance from one contestant.
This year’s date auction raised record donations of about $1,300, almost triple the $532 raised at last year’s Annual Date Auction. The highest bid was for Jen Lengvarsky ’16, which was $135. Cat Crandall ’15 came in second, going for $106 and Oliver Magnusson ’17 came in third for the price of $105. The highest bidders received a $50 Nola’s gift card, while others received a Chipotle, Fresh Mex or Opus gift card to use on their date.
This money is going to be added to Microfinance’s loan funds. Last semester, the club made their first successful loan of the year to Lourdes and Zandro Alvarez, who used the money to open a thrift shop in downtown Utica. The store, called Kelly’s Closet, had its grand opening on Saturday, Jan. 17. The loan money went towards minor construction and startup costs such as signs and clothing racks.
Not just any entrepreneur can get a loan, though. There is an intense selection process that the club members take part in. Club members read through business plans, meet with loan candidates and work together to decide which projects will have the highest returns.
Before the fall semester this year, Hamilton Microfinance was pretty much unknown on campus. But with the use of bold fundraising techniques, like the date auction and pumpkin challenge, Microfinance has made a name for itself and become one of the more well-known organizations on campus.
On Thursday, students had their wallets out for a good cause, while also getting that special someone to spend Valentine’s Day with! This was the most successful fundraiser hosted by Hamilton Microfinance thus far, but the fundraisers certainly will not stop here.
Microfinance is not only a way to improve your knowledge about how to start a business, but it is a great way to help the people around us, especially those that are local. If you are interested in learning more about the organization, please email micro@hamilton.edu.