You Can Give Micro Loans to People in Third World Countries - saw this on Oprah

[Cassie 8]

Kiva was started by a husband and wife when they were living in South Africa. You can loan as little as $25 and 97% of the loans are repaid. What a way to make a difference!

We let you loan to the working poor

Kiva lets you connect with and loan money to unique small businesses in the developing world. By choosing a business on Kiva.org, you can "sponsor a business" and help the world's working poor make great strides towards economic independence. Throughout the course of the loan (usually 6-12 months), you can receive email journal updates from the business you've sponsored. As loans are repaid, you get your loan money back.

http://www.kiva.org/about

Thanks for posting this. I've heard about microloans but hadn't seen anything like this. It sounds like a way of kinda "recycling" charitable donations.

Exactly. Your money can be reused ad inifinitum, provided you are wise in your choices and don't pick ones that default. Fortunately Kiva provides a great rating system to evaluate your choices. We personally are excited that we have a chance to impact a lot of people using the same money over and over again.

[one...two...tree 2,762]

Kiva was started by a husband and wife when they were living in South Africa. You can loan as little as $25 and 97% of the loans are repaid. What a way to make a difference!

We let you loan to the working poor

Kiva lets you connect with and loan money to unique small businesses in the developing world. By choosing a business on Kiva.org, you can "sponsor a business" and help the world's working poor make great strides towards economic independence. Throughout the course of the loan (usually 6-12 months), you can receive email journal updates from the business you've sponsored. As loans are repaid, you get your loan money back.

http://www.kiva.org/about

Thanks for posting this. I've heard about microloans but hadn't seen anything like this. It sounds like a way of kinda "recycling" charitable donations.

Exactly. Your money can be reused ad inifinitum, provided you are wise in your choices and don't pick ones that default. Fortunately Kiva provides a great rating system to evaluate your choices. We personally are excited that we have a chance to impact a lot of people using the same money over and over again.

I'm excited about the potential too. I know that micro loans have been very successful in Third World countries, but many of the institutions giving the loans charge a pretty high interest rate. I'm relieved to see that no profit is made off of these loans. For all economic foreign aid that our country has given to poorer nations which ended being spent on beefing up their militaries instead of investing into the infrastructure, these loans are a big, F - U, to those corrupt governments who can't touch this money.

[Cassie 8]

Kiva was started by a husband and wife when they were living in South Africa. You can loan as little as $25 and 97% of the loans are repaid. What a way to make a difference!

We let you loan to the working poor

Kiva lets you connect with and loan money to unique small businesses in the developing world. By choosing a business on Kiva.org, you can "sponsor a business" and help the world's working poor make great strides towards economic independence. Throughout the course of the loan (usually 6-12 months), you can receive email journal updates from the business you've sponsored. As loans are repaid, you get your loan money back.

http://www.kiva.org/about

Thanks for posting this. I've heard about microloans but hadn't seen anything like this. It sounds like a way of kinda "recycling" charitable donations.

Exactly. Your money can be reused ad inifinitum, provided you are wise in your choices and don't pick ones that default. Fortunately Kiva provides a great rating system to evaluate your choices. We personally are excited that we have a chance to impact a lot of people using the same money over and over again.

I'm excited about the potential too. I know that micro loans have been very successful in Third World countries, but many of the institutions giving the loans charge a pretty high interest rate. I'm relieved to see that no profit is made off of these loans. For all economic foreign aid that our country has given to poorer nations which ended being spent on beefing up their militaries instead of investing into the infrastructure, these loans are a big, F - U, to those corrupt governments who can't touch this money.

EXACTLY, and that's probably the reason I like this program so much. I have always been a proponent of the hand up, not hand out approach, and this accomplishes that in spades. A few dollars, that wouldn't do diddly squat here in the States, does so much!

[one...two...tree 2,762]

(this article is a bit dated but still relevant)

Tuesday, August 8. 2006

Kiva.org Gets the Press It Deserves for Microcredit Investment

A relatively new organization, Kiva.org, has been receiving a lot of press lately for its distinctive approach to microcredit (including The Wall Street Journal, BusinessWeek, BBC News, NPR and The Village Voice). Kiva offers the general public the unique opportunity to back a micro-business by underwriting a loan via Kiva’s website. Pictures and payment updates posted by Kiva’s partner micro-banks in countries around the world make the process compelling and fun.

Interest is building for Kiva’s “peer to peer” (P2P) network that is “paypaling international development”. Now, all you need is a credit card to sponsor a particular micro-loan with a face on it, and you get your principle back after the loan.

According to a recent BusinessWeek article, Kiva has processed $200,000 in loans to date among 450 entrepreneurs since its start in March 2005. In the simple process, lenders are repaid the full amount of their loan, without interest, at the end of the loan period – usually 6 to 12 months.

In the interest of disclosure, this newspaper Microcapital.org is a division of Prisma Microfinance, which is among the founding local microfinance partners of Kiva. In this way, we can attest to the power of Kiva.

Before Kiva, the only option for the individual wanting to support micro-businesses with $500, was to give it away. Kiva has changed all that. Now, with an amount as small as $25 dollars, you can support micro-businesses and the micro-banks that serve them as the businesses they are, not as charities. While Kiva has just begun, it represents a very important step in the maturation of microfinance, a step worthy of glowing press.

http://microcapitalmonitor.com/cblog/index...Investment.html

[Sheriff Uling 3]

Considering what happened with Oprah and her school in Africa, I do NOT believe that we should follow any advise concerning money and third world countries.

[Hilarious Clinton 452]

Heard this on BBC radio a while ago. It seems like a good idea.

[Cassie 8]

Considering what happened with Oprah and her school in Africa, I do NOT believe that we should follow any advise concerning money and third world countries.

Considering that this is a completely different kettle of fish, I am willing to participate in Kiva's program.

Edited November 25, 2007 by Cassie

[SteveLaura 0]

For other alternative gifts this Xmas, why not consider something from Heifer International? (They also have a 'hard copy' of their catalogue that you can order for free.) If you have a 4-8 year old, maybe they'd be inspired to help by reading 'Beatrice's goat'.

[one...two...tree 2,762]

For other alternative gifts this Xmas, why not consider something from Heifer International? (They also have a 'hard copy' of their catalogue that you can order for free.) If you have a 4-8 year old, maybe they'd be inspired to help by reading 'Beatrice's goat'.

That's awesome, Steve!

[Cassie 8]

For other alternative gifts this Xmas, why not consider something from Heifer International? (They also have a 'hard copy' of their catalogue that you can order for free.) If you have a 4-8 year old, maybe they'd be inspired to help by reading 'Beatrice's goat'.

That's awesome, Steve!

World Vision (A Christian humanitarian organization) has a similar catalog -- you can buy animals, school supplies, warm clothing, fishing kits, etc etc to be used where needed. Again, practical ways of helping.

Edited November 26, 2007 by Cassie

[Ta Ta 1]

That sounds like an awesome way to help.