Dr. Arun Agrawal to Speak at World Wildlife Fund

Washington, D.C. (Vocus) September 25, 2009 -

Dr. Arun Agrawal, Professor and Associate Dean for Research of Natural Resources & Environment at the University of Michigan, will speak on "Community, Carbon and Livelihoods of Forest Commons - Win-Win vs. Tradeoffs Relationships" at World Wildlife Fund (WWF) today, Thursday, September 24, 2009 at 4:30 p.m. The lecture is part of the Kathryn Fuller Science for Nature Seminar series, which brings distinguished scientists from a variety of fields to Washington, D.C. to present cutting edge research of central importance to international conservation.

Forest commons - forests used in common by a large number of diverse users - comprise nearly 18% of global forest area and make crucial contributions to livelihoods, carbon sequestration, and biodiversity conservation, in addition to many other local and global ecosystem services. The contribution of forest commons to local livelihoods far exceeds their territorial extent--more than a billion people are estimated to depend at least partially on different kinds of benefits drawn from forest commons.

Using original data for more than 100 forest commons from ten different countries, Dr. Agrawal will examine the relationship between carbon sequestration and the contributions of forests to livelihoods. His analysis suggests that larger patch size of community forests, and greater autonomy to communities in managing are positively associated with win-win carbon and livelihood outcomes on community forests. The findings of the study provide some guidance for organizations interested in improving carbon sequestration and livelihood outcomes at the same time in relation to community forests.

Dr. Agrawal's research and teaching emphasizes the politics of international development, institutional change and environmental conservation. He has written extensively on indigenous knowledge, community-based conservation, common property, population and resources, and environmental identities. Dr. Agrawal's recent interests include the decentralization of environmental policy and the emergence of the environment as a subject of human concern. He has focused on South Asia, although recent projects include other developing countries in Africa and Latin America.

Dr. Agrawal has been awarded the Arthur Greer Memorial Research Prize. He has a Ph.D. in Political Science from Duke University, a M.A. in Political Science from Duke University, a M.B.A. in Development Administration and Public Policy from Indian Institute of Management, and a B.A. in History from Delhi University.

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A Little Lather Goes a Long Way: Soap Hope and The PLAN Fund Announce New Anti-Poverty Partnership

Dallas, TX (PRWEB) October 2, 2009

All-natural soap bars are this year's newest fuel for ending poverty. Soap Hope (http://www.soaphope.com), a leading online retailer of all-natural, high-quality soaps and body care products, and the PLAN Fund (http://www.planfund.org), a Dallas-based microlending organization, today announced their new partnership, in which Soap Hope will invest its annual profits to support the mission of the PLAN Fund.

Founded in 2008 by Dallas entrepreneurs Salah Boukadoum and Craig Tiritilli, Soap Hope operates under what the team calls the Good Returns model, in which a business invests resources in organizations that impact the lives of those in need. The businesses in turn receive a reciprocal benefit through increased community visibility and market awareness. Soap Hope is the first in what the founders expect will be a series of companies that embrace the Good Returns model.

"Good Returns redefines the relationship between private enterprise and charitable activity," explains Tiritilli. "We use every resource of the company - capital, communications channels to customers and the media, and Soap Hope's products themselves - to expand the capacity of nonprofits that are focused on ending poverty. We want to see every business deploy its resources this way - think of the progress we can make toward ending poverty worldwide."

Soap Hope deploys 100 percent of its profits through one-year, interest-free loans to local, national and global microlending programs that focus on women entrepreneurs in need. The PLAN Fund was chosen as one of this year's recipients; the investment will be used to grow the number of microloans made to aspiring, low income entrepreneurs in the Dallas area.

"The PLAN Fund is a natural fit for us," says Boukadoum, "They provide their constituents with capital, training and support - not handouts. It's the kind of organization that can help people, families and whole communities become self-sufficient."

The PLAN Fund's mission is to increase economic stability and self-sufficiency within Dallas County's low and moderate income communities by developing small business entrepreneurs, especially women, through hands-on business training, business development services and micro-credit.

"Most businesses operate as though profits and responsibility are competing interests in a zero-sum game. We started Soap Hope to prove otherwise and to serve as a model for the Good Returns approach," says Boukadoum of the company's purpose.

With the Good Returns model, Soap Hope supports empowerment and self-sufficiency through local and global microfinance initiatives. Microlending programs that focus on women extend even further to support their children and neighbors, lifting entire communities out of poverty. Micro lenders typically focus on borrowers who don't have access to funds through traditional sources such as banks, offering individuals in poverty a chance to succeed. Through September, 2009, out of 502 business loans the average size of loans at the PLAN Fund has been $ 1,475.

"Our relationship with Soap Hope brings a spectrum of new opportunities to The PLAN Fund," says Anthony Pace, executive director of The PLAN Fund. "It's not just contributing capital; it's a whole program of resources and awareness-building."

Under the arrangement, Soap Hope promotes the mission of The PLAN Fund by including educational materials in customer orders, posting information in its online store and raising awareness of the PLAN Fund through its social media campaigns on its blog, Twitter and Facebook.

The PLAN Fund goes beyond microcredit by providing education, leadership development, support and networking opportunities to ensure that investments are secure and members become self-sufficient.

"Microlending is most successful when the lender also provides education and support," says Tiritilli. "The PLAN fund excels in this area."

Members of the PLAN fund participate in hands-on training classes and peer-support programs. The classes educate members on basic skills necessary for a successful business, including cash flow analysis, sales forecasting and marketing, and pricing and cost analysis.

"With our holistic business and personal training support program, and micro-lending, it is proven we can enable people to become more successful and sustainable entrepreneurs," says Pace.

Soap Hope was created to be a socially responsible company from end to end. All products are made from 100 percent natural ingredients, packaging comes from reused materials, and all profits are deployed to support microfinance initiatives.

Purchasing all-natural body care products from Soap Hope not only benefits local business entrepreneurs through the PLAN Fund, but also supports independent soap makers and reduces consumer carbon footprints. The model of Good Returns at Soap Hope leaves the consumer with only one decision to make: which soap to buy.

About Soap Hope

Texas businessmen, Salah Boukadoum and Craig Tiritilli, founded Soap Hope in 2008 after the sale of their technology company. Located in Dallas, TX the company promotes environmentally friendly business practices and invests 100 percent of its profits into micro lending funds for women entrepreneurs. The company is best known for carrying high-quality, handcrafted products to its online customers. Soap Hope sells products from Indigo Wild, Hugo Naturals, A Wild Soap Bar, Pangea Organics and Fraiche. Soap Hope's products are 100% all-natural; free of all artificial preservatives, colors, and fragrances; paraben-free; and cruelty-free.

Visit http://www.soaphope.com for information on the company and products or contact Salah Boukadoum at 888-893-SOAP or salah at soaphope dot com.

About The PLAN Fund

The PLAN Fund, http://www.planfund.org, is a non-profit 501c3 whose mission is to increase economic stability and self-sufficiency within Dallas County's low- and moderate-income communities by developing small business entrepreneurs, especially women, through hands-on business training, business- development services and micro-credit.

For more information on the PLAN Fund contact Anthony Pace at 214-942-6698 or apace at planfund dot org.

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Former Wasatch Team Launches Grandeur Peak Fund Family-- Grandeur Peak Global Opportunities and International Opportunities Funds Launch Today, October 17, 2011

Salt Lake City, UT (PRWEB) October 17, 2011

Grandeur Peak Global Advisors, the firm founded by former Wasatch portfolio managers Robert Gardiner and Blake Walker, announced today the launch of two new mutual funds: the Grandeur Peak Global Opportunities Fund and the Grandeur Peak International Opportunities Fund.

The Grandeur Peak Global Opportunities Fund (GPGOX/GPGIX) will be a portfolio of 100-150 global equities, with a strong bias towards small and micro cap companies. Investments will include companies based in the U.S., developed foreign countries, and emerging/frontier markets. The portfolio has flexibility to adjust its investment mix by market cap, country, and sector in order to invest where the portfolio managers believe the best global opportunities currently exist. See the Prospectus for additional fund detail.

The Grandeur Peak International Opportunities Fund (GPIOX/GPIIX) will be a portfolio comprised of 100-150 small and micro cap growth companies outside of the United States. Said co-portfolio manager, Blake Walker Given the vast number of high quality, growing, and underfollowed small/micro cap companies abroad, we believe this is the single most interesting segment of the global equities landscape for the coming decade. See the Prospectus for additional fund detail.

Robert Gardiner, Grandeur Peak CEO and Portfolio Manager, said In a world where business is increasingly global and country boundaries continue to blur, we believe the best long-term investment opportunities can be uncovered by investors who are fully canvassing the world to find and consider each company within its global context. Mr. Gardiner continued Our vision for global investing includes disciplined screening to find interesting companies in every part of the world, thorough hands-on research to sort the wheat from the chaff, and careful monitoring of valuations in an effort to maximize investment results. We are long-term investors, looking for smaller companies that we believe have great growth potential over the next five years and beyond.

Co-Portfolio Manager and Chief Investment Officer Blake Walker added, Our bias is towards small and micro cap companies because we believe we can find faster growth among these firms, and often at better valuations due to the lack of analyst coverage. The universe of impressive yet underfollowed small and micro cap companies around the world is extensive and growing every day. There are a tremendous number of high quality companies with strong growth potential which are simply too small to catch the eye of Wall Street analysts and larger mutual funds.

The Grandeur Peak Global Opportunities and the International Opportunities funds will each have a management fee of 1.25%. This is the lowest management fee of any fund that Mr. Gardiner or Mr. Walker has managed. The Funds also have an expense cap in place to help control the impact to shareholders of the significant start-up and global expenses. Please read the Prospectus carefully before investing. Note, the Investor Share Class has a minimum investment of just $ 2000, while the Institutional Share Class has a minimum investment of $ 100,000.

Eric Huefner, president and co-founder, described how investors can purchase the new funds: Investors can go to http://www.grandeurpeakglobal.com to open a Grandeur Peak Funds account on-line, or to download an application. Applications can also be requested by calling 1.855.377.PEAK (7325). We are working with Schwab, Fidelity, TD Ameritrade, Pershing, Vanguard, and other third party intermediaries to get selling agreements in place as quickly as possible. We hope our funds will be available on these and other platforms shortly.

About Grandeur Peak Global Advisors

Grandeur Peak Global Advisors is comprised of a highly seasoned and collaborative research team taking a bottom-up approach to investing using disciplined global screening, rigorous company due diligence, and close attention to valuation to find what we believe to be the best investment opportunities around the world. Our bias is towards small and micro cap companies because we believe we can find faster growth among these firms, and often at better valuations due to the lack of analyst coverage. Grandeur Peak Global Advisors, LLC is an employee-owned investment adviser headquartered in Salt Lake City, Utah and registered with the Securities and Exchange Commission under the Investment Advisers Act of 1940.

The objective of both the Grandeur Peak Global Opportunities Fund and the Grandeur Peak International Opportunities Fund is long-term growth of capital. These funds are new and have limited operating history.

Mutual fund investing involves risks and loss of principal is possible. Investing in small and micro cap funds will be more volatile and loss of principal could be greater than investing in large cap or more diversified funds. Investing in foreign securities entails special risks, such as currency fluctuations and political uncertainties, which are described in more detail in the prospectus. Investments in emerging markets are subject to the same risks as other foreign securities and may be subject to greater risks than investments in foreign countries with more established economies and securities markets.

This material must be accompanied or preceded by a prospectus. Please read it carefully before investing.

Grandeur Peak Funds will deduct a 2.00% redemption proceeds fee on Fund shares held 60 days or less. For more complete information including charges, risks and expenses, read the prospectus carefully.

Valuation is the process of determining the current worth of an asset or company.

Wasatch Advisors is not affiliated with Grandeur Peak Global Advisors or with ALPS Distributors, Inc.

Grandeur Peak Funds are distributed by ALPS Distributors, Inc (ADI). Eric Huefner is a registered representative of ADI.

GPG000110 9/30/2012

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