麦克阿瑟基金会帮助加州穷人和移民家庭

AS IT IS 2016-10-03 MacArthur Foundation Honors California Man for Helping¹ Poor 麦克阿瑟基金会帮助加州穷人和移民家庭

A private group has recognized a California man who helps poor people and immigrant families.

The John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation announced last month that Jose Quinonez is receiving one of its "genius” grants. He was one of 23 people to get recognized.

Quinonez was born in Mexico, but moved to the United States as a boy.

Today he is a financial service innovator². Quinonez set up a not-for-profit organization called the Mission Asset Fund. Its job is to create a fair financial marketplace for hardworking families.

Borrowing money is a big step for people who want to start a business.

Quinonez says his goal is to make loans available to individuals who have limited finances. He said about seven percent of Americans do not have a bank account and do not show up on the credit rating system. Without a credit history, it is difficult for them to borrow money, get a job or start a business.

Quinonez is using money lending traditions from Latin America, Asia and Africa to help those in need. He organized "lending circles," where groups of neighbors and others combine their money to make small loans.

Each individual has to attend a final education class, and persuade others in the lending circle to repay the money.

Quinonez says more than 99 percent of the loans are repaid.

He and the Mission Asset Fund follow borrowing and repayment³ activity. They report results to major credit rating agencies. This information gives the individual a proven repayment history. A good credit history makes banks more willing to make loans to these clients in the future.

Jose Quinonez’ work with the fund and minorities in San Francisco helped him earn a MacArthur Fellowship.

A number of other organizations are now using Mission Asset Fund as a guide to setting up similar programs in other cities.

MacArthur Fellows are chosen for their creativity, past successes and potential. They get $625,000 over five years in an effort to give them the financial freedom to follow through on their projects.

The MacArthur Foundation is one of the largest private foundations in the United States. Its website says the group “supports creative people, effective institutions, and influential⁴ networks building a more just, verdant⁵, and peaceful world.”

The foundation also honored a number of people for their work in other areas. This year’s class of MacArthur fellows include a human rights lawyer, an expert on languages, a microbiologist, computer scientists and a poet.

Words in This Story

genius – n. a very smart or gifted person

grant – n. an amount of money that is given by an organization or company to be used for a purpose

innovator – n. a person who does something in an new or unusual way

client – n. someone who pays a person or organization for services

potential – adj. having the ability to become real

institution - n. an established organization

verdant – adj. green, with growing plants

1 helping   

n.食物的一份&adj.帮助人的，辅助的

参考例句：

• The poor children regularly pony up for a second helping of my hamburger. 那些可怜的孩子们总是要求我把我的汉堡包再给他们一份。
• By doing this, they may at times be helping to restore competition. 这样一来, 他在某些时候,有助于竞争的加强。

2 innovator   

n.改革者；创新者

参考例句：

• The young technical innovator didn't lose heart though the new system was not yet brought into a workable condition. 尽管这种新方法尚未达到切实可行的状况，这位青年技术革新者也没有泄气。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Caesar planned vast projects and emerged as a great innovator. 恺撒制定了庞大的革新计划。 来自英汉非文学 - 文明史

3 repayment   

n.偿还，偿还款；报酬

参考例句：

• I am entitled to a repayment for the damaged goods.我有权利索取货物损坏赔偿金。
• The tax authorities have been harrying her for repayment.税务局一直在催她补交税款。

4 influential   

adj.有影响的，有权势的

参考例句：

• He always tries to get in with the most influential people.他总是试图巴结最有影响的人物。
• He is a very influential man in the government.他在政府中是个很有影响的人物。

5 verdant   

adj.翠绿的，青翠的，生疏的，不老练的

参考例句：

• Children are playing on the verdant lawn.孩子们在绿茵茵的草坪上嬉戏玩耍。
• The verdant mountain forest turns red gradually in the autumn wind.苍翠的山林在秋风中渐渐变红了。