Kiva.org
My brother, makaer, recently pointed me to kiva.org, a site that is doing some interesting stuff with microfinancing. I've been reading about how much microloans are helping communities in developing countries, and Kiva has come up with, what I think, is a compelling way of helping people get involved.
From their site:
"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."
So tonight I did my first donation of two people/businesses.
Kiva also has a great gift option on their site. You can give someone a gift certificate for Kiva and after they loan the money out and get repaid, the recipient can actually take it out and spend it themselves. However, the trick is that it's likely to be so rewarding and fun, they will just loan it out again. I'm thinking of giving these out for the holidays.
From their site:
"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."
So tonight I did my first donation of two people/businesses.
Kiva also has a great gift option on their site. You can give someone a gift certificate for Kiva and after they loan the money out and get repaid, the recipient can actually take it out and spend it themselves. However, the trick is that it's likely to be so rewarding and fun, they will just loan it out again. I'm thinking of giving these out for the holidays.