The Center for Agriculture and Rural Development (CARD), Inc. joined The Catholic Relief Services (CRS) and several of its partners: the National Secretariat for Social Action (NASSA), Center for Agriculture and Rural Development (CARD), Negros Women for Tomorrow Foundation (NWTF) and Ad Jesum Development Foundation, Inc. (AJDFI) in establishing RISE on April 14, 2000. RISE was born out of a vision for a society where justice and solidarity are the driving forces for social action and economic development. It further envisioned assisting women in the battle against poverty by giving them access to credit and savings services. RISE was further envisioned to venture into retail lending to address the financial needs of its target audience.
