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Oct 18, 2003

"I am not interested in what men can say with their words, I am interested only in what they can say with their silence." --Emmanuel Sorenson

Mildred Robbins Leet is an unusual philanthropist. She's not wealthy. And for 25 years, she's given away just $50 at a time. But her "micro grants" have helped transform thousands of lives around the globe. They buy fishing rods or frying pans, a farm animal, a sewing machine or a barrel of seeds, enabling "the poorest of the poor" to launch their own businesses. Leet, an 81-year-old New Yorker, started Trickle Up with her husband and 1000 dollars from their savings. Funded by donations, the company has spawned an estimated 115,000 businesses and disbursed more than 3 million dollars.