Microfinance Field Study

Want to spend some time in a beautiful place while helping connect local entrepreneurs with the financial resources they need to start or grow their businesses?

Philanthropist.org allows socially-minded investors to sponsor entrepreneurs directly for as little as $100. We host several Workateering trips per year during which volunteers travel to the developing world and assist local entrepreneurs to access capital by collecting and uploading their business ideas to the Philanthropist.org platform. The entrepreneur profiles you create will be posted on Philanthropist.org where they can be found and funded by investors! Philanthropist.org believes these established entrepreneurs and small business owners are best equipped to help others by providing jobs and economic opportunities in their communities.

Corporate sponsorship opportunities are available! Participating in a Philanthropist.org profiling trip is a great team-building opportunity! Please fill out a Fellowship Application Form

The Work

Each participant workerteer is expected to interview and fill out a questionnaire for at least 10 entrepreneurs who match our profiling criteria, or to follow up on prior loans that were made. The questionnaire is designed to take approximately 30-60 minutes to complete. Participants must bring a laptop and a digital camera in order to enter the entrepreneur’s information, including uploading a digital photo. All tours and instruction are in English, but your interviews will be conducted with the help of translators and facilitators. Spanish skills are a plus.

The Destination

Upcoming profiling trips will take place in La Isabela in the Dominican Republic. Ringed by magnificent beaches and set amongst breathtaking terrain, La Isabela is located on the northern coast of the island of Hispaniola, about 25 miles east of the Haitian border. It was settled in 1494 and is the site of the first European town in the new world, and the foundation of the first permanent church in the new world is still standing.

The Faculty

Philanthropist.org team members will lead the Profiling trip as well as an experienced guest lecturer. While the trips are designed to be hands-on and to provide a rewarding experience, they are also designed to be educational, with the guest lecturer providing local knowledge and instruction in his or her area of expertise.

The Accommodations

Profiling trips often take us to impoverished areas of the world. As such, while we aim for the best the region has to offer, rooms are clean and comfortable but participants should not expect luxury accommodations. Accommodations are double- or triple-occupancy.

The Itinerary

Profiling trips are five days in duration, from Thursday, October 7th to Monday, October 11th. A rough outline of events is as follows:

• Day 1: Travel to La Isabela, Orientation, Guest Lecture, Dinner and Networking
• Day 2: Setup, Profiling of Entrepreneurs, Wrap-up, Dinner
• Day 3: Setup, Profiling of Entrepreneurs, Wrap-up, Dinner, Live Entertainment
• Day 4: Optional Activities, or Enjoy the Resort
• Day 5: Tour of La Isabela and Museum, Return Travel to the United States

The Cost

The all-inclusive cost for the trip is $3,700, or $2,700 without airfare (participants purchasing their own airfare are required to confirm to the scheduled itinerary and must coordinate travel plans with Philanthropist.org). Scholarships are available to those who qualify. In addition to the cost of the trip, all participants must either provide proof of medical cover in the destination country or purchase trip insurance and health insurance at a cost of approximately $300.

All-inclusive trips include round trip airfare on JetBlue from Boston (Logan International Airport) or New York (JFK International Airport), room and board (including most meals), local transportation in the Dominican Republic, tuition/reading/profiling materials, and tours and instruction from the guest lecturer.

To Apply:

For more information or to apply to participate in an upcoming trip, fill out a Field Study Application Form, and we will be in touch with you shortly.