Campus Based Micro-Loan Programs

I will round out my week with yet another blog about campus-based Social Innovation (or Social Entrepreneurship, or Community Empowerment, or plain old charity).  Earlier this week, I mentioned my work with a Social Innovation Incubator on my college campus and the fact that student organizations were pitching their ventures to panels of older folks (of which I was one) who would decide which organizations would gain support.  I did not mention that one of the organizations is involved in making micro-loans to low-income members of the surrounding community, particularly people who are homeless.  Coincidentally, today the Chronicle of Higher Education reported that campus-based micro-loan programs are an increasing trend across the country.  I suppose this means that our local group may be effective (there is plenty of evidence that they are) but they are not necessarily on the cutting edge of innovation.