There are many problems that face this World, famine, poverty, illnesses and war to name just a few, the sad thing is that much of these problems are avoidable. A lot of the problems that many countries in the world are facing has come at the hands of greedy people looking to line their pockets and become rich and influential. Thankfully for us all, there are also several rich and influential people who are seeking to change the fortunes of many, one such person is Joe Johnson Mercy Foundation’s chairman and founder. Today we’re going to take glimpse into the career of Dr.Johnson and his excellent charity, The Mercy Foundation.
Dr Joseph Johnson
Currently holding the position of CEO of commercial real estate brokerage firm The Welfont Group, Joe Johnson has had entrepreneurial spirit in his blood since a young age. Before he could even hold a drivers license, Johnson already had his own landscaping company that employed several staff and had bought industrial machinery for their operations.
Johnson backed up his entrepreneurial vision with education and studied an MBA and Ph.D. in Organizational Leadership and Entrepreneurship, all whilst continuing his business looking after real estate properties which he continued after leaving college.
Joe currently has more than 25 years of experience as a venture capitalist, a leader, an entrepreneur and an industry expert in real estate and he has helped The Welfont Group reach great success. In 2009 Johnson started the Mercy Foundation, an innovative charity that is seeking to improve lives across the World.
The Mercy Foundation
This is an organization that differs somewhat from many others and it is a method of social entrepreneurship that is helping improve thousands of lives. The essence of the charity is to provide micro loans to people so that they can start or maintain businesses and lift themselves out of poverty without the worry of huge interest charges that the banks and private companies would attach to loans. The creative side of this organization is the way in which it fundraises. Taking advantage of the IRS ruling which states that no taxes are paid on profits of real estate sales, the organization looks to purchase commercial real estate property that is not being used. Sellers welcome the opportunity to sell their unwanted properties and then the charity sells this property in order to generate revenue to fund their micro loans.
The micro loans have helped people all over the World from Georgia to Nicaragua, South Africa to Brazil and its loans have a 98% success rate when it comes to paying back the loans. The funds that the Mercy Foundation has given out has been increasing each year as more people look to lift themselves out of their situation as opposed to relying on handouts. This form of charitable work has made a great difference in many people’s lives and it looks set to continue helping those in unfortunate situations in the coming years.
