The investment market has a high barrier to entry. It's generally open only to high net-worth investors, while people who can only spare, say, $100 or so are left out entirely. MicroPlace, an eBay-owned platform that matches people who want to invest even small amounts of cash with socially responsible institutions around the world, changes that. Much like Kiva crowdsources loans, MicroPlace crowdsources investments. And now MicroPlace is bringing its services to the U.S., starting with the California FreshWorks Fund.
The Fund, which is a public-private partnership between the California Endowment and over a dozen partners, has gathered up $200 million to give to food vendors in California food deserts, or places that lack easy access to fresh food. The FreshWorks Fund is offering cash for projects that range from food trucks to large grocery stores. It's an ambitious undertaking, to say the least, and MicroPlace is offering anyone who can spare $20 a chance to get involved.
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Jean Case at the 2013 Yale Philanthropy Conference
