MICROCAPITAL STORY: iTunes, Independent Online Distribution Alliance (IODA) and Natalie Portman Team Up for ‘Big Change: Songs for FINCA’ Compilation, Proceeds to Benefit International Microfinance Organization FINCA

Independent Online Distribution Alliance (IODA), a digital distribution company for the independent music community and one of Fortune magazine’s 25 Breakout Companies of 2005, has collaborated with actress Natalie Portman (of ‘Star Wars’ and ‘V for Vendetta’ fame) to compile tracks for a 16-song benefit compilation called ‘Big Change: Songs for FINCA.’ The compilation is currently available for download at the iTunes Store for USD 7.99. This is the first-ever charity album offered by iTunes. Net proceeds will benefit the Village Banking Campaign, FINCA’s charitable fund raising campaign.

FINCA International, or the Foundation for International Community Assistance, is a non-profit microfinance organization which was founded in 1984. It has 21 affiliated host-country institutions around the world (i.e. FINCA Afghanistan, FINCA Peru). According to its 2005 Annual Report (pg 18), FINCA has approximately USD 79.6 million in total assets. In 2005, FINCA disbursed over USD 323 million in loans to more than 375,000 clients worldwide. The average loan size is USD 360.

Ms. Portman is an Ambassador of Hope for FINCA and co-chair of the Village Banking Campaign. She has visited FINCA programs in Uganda, Guatemala, Mexico and Ecuador. This October, she toured college campuses nationwide, including Berkeley, Stanford, UCLA, Columbia, Princeton and her alma mater Harvard, speaking to students about microfinance and its potential to alleviate global poverty.

An avid music fan, Ms. Portman hand-picked nine of the songs on the compilation from IODA’s catalog. She also asked Norah Jones, the Shins and other musician friends to contribute to the indie rock charity album. She is credited as an executive producer on ‘Big Change.’

Big Change: Songs for FINCA
1. Be Good (Tokyo Police Club)
2. My Night With the Prostitute From Marseille (Beirut) (exclusive)
3. Plaid Lined Jacket (Tom Brosseau)
4. Tudo Bem Malandro (Curumin)
5. Australia (The Shins – Bjorn Yttling Mix) (exclusive)
6. Ain’t No Reason (Brett Dennen)
7. Turnaroundturnmeon (Sean Hayes)
8. Oh Yes, Another Mother (Thee More Shallows)
9. The Beast (Angus & Julia Stone)
10. Paddy’s Gone (Antony & The Johnsons)
11. Idle Ties (Vetiver)
12. Broken (Norah Jones)
13. There’s Always Something Happening (Devendra Banhart) (exclusive)
14. What Is a Soul? (M. Ward) (exclusive)
15. Forgiveness Figg (Bethany Hotel Blues) (Wooden Wand)
16. How We Landed (Rogue Wave) (exclusive)