Saving the world through microlending
So, you're a fishmonger in a small African country. You want to move up in the world by maybe getting a little store instead of selling fish on the street, but stores cost like $500 for a few months' rent, and where the heck are you going to get that kind of money without a store? It's a catch-22. Takes money to make money and all that.
That's where kiva.org comes in. Kiva's mission is to let you make microloans to the working poor. You lend to a poor businessman's business, they email you regular updates on how they're doing, and over 6 months to a year or so, you get your money back (no interest, you greedy jerks, this is for a Cause!).
But Brandon, won't people just take the money and run, you ask. Nope, Kiva's got a 100% return rate so far, although I'm certainly not guaranteeing you'll ever see the money again. But Kiva's got a network of local lenders who vet applications pretty well.
So why is this great? Well, first, it's not a handout. Loans don't encourage you to take the money and eat it. They encourage you to use the money to become self sufficient. Teaching a man to fish instead of giving him a fish. Why else is this great? Because a year from now, you get your fish back. You get all the warm fuzzies of charity giving, but you'll probably get your money back from a now happier, less poor, seafood exporter. Why does this suck? You don't get to count it as a charitable donation for tax purposes. Isn't this a net loss because of inflation? Yes. Why should I do it anyway? Because it's the right thing to do, you jerk. How do I get to kiva.org if I'm too lazy to type "kiva.org" into the URL line? Well,
<--Click this, you jerks!
Disclaimer: Brandon makes no promises you will get warm fuzzies from saving the world nor promises you will ever see your sweet, sweet money ever again.
That's where kiva.org comes in. Kiva's mission is to let you make microloans to the working poor. You lend to a poor businessman's business, they email you regular updates on how they're doing, and over 6 months to a year or so, you get your money back (no interest, you greedy jerks, this is for a Cause!).
But Brandon, won't people just take the money and run, you ask. Nope, Kiva's got a 100% return rate so far, although I'm certainly not guaranteeing you'll ever see the money again. But Kiva's got a network of local lenders who vet applications pretty well.
So why is this great? Well, first, it's not a handout. Loans don't encourage you to take the money and eat it. They encourage you to use the money to become self sufficient. Teaching a man to fish instead of giving him a fish. Why else is this great? Because a year from now, you get your fish back. You get all the warm fuzzies of charity giving, but you'll probably get your money back from a now happier, less poor, seafood exporter. Why does this suck? You don't get to count it as a charitable donation for tax purposes. Isn't this a net loss because of inflation? Yes. Why should I do it anyway? Because it's the right thing to do, you jerk. How do I get to kiva.org if I'm too lazy to type "kiva.org" into the URL line? Well,
<--Click this, you jerks!
Disclaimer: Brandon makes no promises you will get warm fuzzies from saving the world nor promises you will ever see your sweet, sweet money ever again.