The International Monetary Fund (IMF) is an organization of 187 countries dedicated to promoting global monetary cooperation and the health and stability of the international financial system. Each member of the IMF contributes through the payment of quotas, ($353 billion in 2009) which reflect that country's size in the world economy and determine its voting power (the US has a 17% voting stake). The IMF supports worldwide economic growth by granting loans and technical assistance to countries in need. The IMF and sister institution the World Bank were formed by 45 countries in Bretton Woods, New Hampshire, in 1944 in an attempt to avoid the kinds of problems brought about by the Great Depression of the 1930s.