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New Charity Vehicle Bringing Hope to Earthquake Victims in China

LITTLE ROCK, Ark., May 15 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- 15,000 deaths and over $20 billion in damages are the costs of the devastation left in the wake of the 7.9 magnitude earthquake disaster inChina. While many global citizens may feel helpless as they watch the news and view the devastation, a new philanthropic vehicle is revving up and enabling anyone with the opportunity to bring aid to those suffering inChina.

A brainchild of the Heifer Foundation, Hope Equity(R) (www.hopeequity.org) enables individuals, groups or organizations to invest in long-term sustainable giving to those suffering from the natural disaster inChina or to countless other causes they support across the globe. Dubbed the "Facebook of Charity", this new website utilizes social networking software to allow people to come together, share their stories, and help causes relating to hunger, poverty, and environmental conservation.

"The 7.9 earthquake inChina has caused poverty and devastation on an epic scale that will take the Chinese people years to fully recover," said Greg Spradlin, Vice President of Hope Equity(R). "Hope Equity(R) is rallying support for this and other causes around the world by pooling funds and resources to not only provide immediate relief, but to establish a vehicle for long-tern sustainable gifts that continue to provide aid even after the rubble has been cleared away."

With the look and feel of a traditional stock portfolio, Hope Equity(R) instead creates an online "portfolio of giving" to invest in Micro-Endowments(TM) that support ending hunger and poverty while caring for the earth. The website is currently undergoing a software upgrade slated to launch June 1, 2008. The site redesign will enable this philanthropic community to blog, receive RSS feeds, join other groups, contribute to other individuals' Micro-Endowments(TM), conduct research on various charities and causes and find fundraising tools to strengthen their "portfolios of giving".

Additionally, the work of Hope Equity(R) is supported by a separate endowment that allows gifts made through the website to remain intact. Whereas significant portions of donations given to other charitable non-profits go to support the work of the organization, all funds contributed to Hope Equity(R), remain intact and go to work towards the donor's designated cause(s).

About Hope Equity

Established in 2007, Hope Equity is an online community investing in the end of hunger and poverty through Micro-Endowments(TM). The website utilizes social networking software and the latest financial technology to provide donors with the ability to contribute to charitable causes, track the growth of their investments and interact globally with individuals interested in making a difference. Hope Equity(R) features an online Community Center where donors can utilize RSS feeds, participate in message boards, join Hope Equity(R) blogs, and sign up for news reports from the causes in which they are interested. The Community Center also provides fundraising tools enabling users to cross-promote their Micro-Endowments(TM) in other areas of social media and research additional charities.

About Heifer Foundation

Heifer Foundation (www.heiferfoundation.org) is a nonprofit organization started in 1990 for the purpose of educating people about planned charitable giving, and developing and managing an endowment to provide long-term support to Heifer Project International.

Contact: Molly Lynn Westrate

Live Wire Media Relations, LLC

703-519-1600 Ext. 105

mlwestrate@livewiredc.com

SOURCE Hope Equity

Tags: ,MLM,POL,AR-online-giving-tool

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