Kiva.org: give to charity and it may cost you nothing!

http://www.kiva.org/

FINALLY
A GREAT IDEA AND SOMETHING POSITIVE TO CELBRATE! Maybe you guys have
heard of this website? On KQED Forum and PBS Frontline they are raving
about Kiva.org, a new
web-based lending service that combines Nobel-winning microfinance
principles with the simplicity, freedom, and connectivity of
eBay/PayPal. Basically 3rd world nonprofits solicit and take loan
requests from their communities, and use their financial/networking
infrastructure in conjunction with Kiva in the USA to connect with
potential ordinary citizen lenders like us. So you can search their
listings for the country/borrower/enterprise that interests you, and
contribute as little as $25 towards financing a loan. Usually the loan
period is a year or less, and then you get refunded through PayPal/Kiva
when the entrepreneur pays back their local lending institution. Your
bank account won't know the difference as the money is withdrawn and
eventually repaid. 100% of your payment goes to the borrower's pocket,
which tops any aid organization out there. Of course we still need
charitable giving, large-scale development projects, debt relief, and
plenty of volunteers to better combat poverty. But Kiva microfinance
offers another pathway, supplement, and tool at our disposal for richer
people to assist the less privileged, and in a more direct manner.

http://www.adb.org/Microfinance/

http://www.pbs.org/opb/thenewheroes/meet/yunus.html

So
now a farmer in Ghana making $2 a day doesn't need to depend on the
World Bank or local predatory lenders (who may charge 60-300% interest)
for survival. They can get a small loan to acquire resources to make
their business more profitable, which in turn feeds their loved ones,
adds value to the local economy, and helps combat poverty far beyond
the individual borrower's sphere of influence. It's fairly
peer-to-peer, so basically we PayPal our cash to Kiva, who wires it to
the microfinance institution in the 3rd world. The local lenders are
nonprofits, so the low interest rates they charge on the borrower is
just to cover operating costs, and they do the legwork to distribute
the money and handle repayment back to us. Don't think you'll get rich
off Kiva lending though. Currently there is no return on your
investment, but the founder of Kiva thinks that loans might eventually
earn a little interest for us lenders too, if the program continues to
grow and succeed. It's an interesting alternative to sponsoring a kid
for $1 a day through Sally Struthers, yet never knowing if you really
made a difference. With Kiva you know your investment paid off because
the borrower's business grew and he/she was able to pay you back.

Although
this form of giving isn't tax-deductible, it's the same as spotting
your buddy $100 to help with the rent, and hoping he/she will pay you
back later. So far in the 18 months Kiva has been in operation, they've
had zero loan defaults and only a 6% repayment delinquency rate. Of
course that is no guarantee for the future, but it's a nobler and
probably safer bet than stocks, and you can have the peace of mind that
Kiva screens borrowers carefully and only picks reliable ones with good
business plans and a high probability for repayment. Plus your money
won't be wasted on administrative overhead, and it won't be a random
handout. You can be confident the borrower is a capable, deserving,
enterprising, and needy person, and you can even learn more about them
and follow their business' progress on Kiva's website. So for as little
as $25, you can help make dreams come true for an underprivileged
person, all from the comfort of your living room. They already have the
know-how to make a decent living, keep their family out of poverty, and
contribute to the local economy; they just need a little shot in the
arm to get their business moving at a higher gear. Jeez I am sounding
like Sally Struthers now!

Kiva
might not be able to provide potable water or anti-malaria pills, but
every bit helps. Charitable people can buy a hungry man a fish, or even
teach him to fish. Microfinance is the next step. It helps a skilled
fisherman buy a better net so he can catch more fish, feed more people,
and improve his community. Although Kiva is relatively new and I don't
know much about the inner workings of microfinance, I am sold on the
idea 100%. Can we think of a better way to spend our extra change? And
we'll probably get the money back in a year, so we can even lend it out
again to someone else! I think it holds more promise for us at the
grassroots level, and hopefully Paul Wolfowitz and the cumbersome World
Bank bureaucracy can do their part at the macro scale to reduce
poverty. Why not directly improve the life of a needy person with the
click of a mouse?

Learn more from these links:

http://www.kqed.org/programs/program-landing.jsp?progID=RD19 (Kiva was the subject of the April 6 show)

http://www.pbs.org/frontlineworld/stories/uganda601/video_index.html

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More details of the process from Kiva:

Next Steps

When the loan needs of each business you have sponsored are met, you

will receive an email containing the exact date the loan term is

beginning. This may take a while after your individual loan

transaction was made, as we may need to wait for other lenders to

contribute before the total requested loan funding is raised. Generally speaking,

businesses begin at the beginning of each month.


During the Loan Term

Throughout the course of the loan term, you may receive email updates

about your sponsored business's progress, loan repayments, etc. If,

when you created your Kiva profile, you opted to receive updates about

Kiva businesses, you will receive periodic emails informing you on how things are going with your
loan(s).

Or, if you opted not to receive updates about Kiva businesses, you can

always read the online journal for your business. If you change your

mind about your current preferences, you may update your profile at

any time on the Kiva website.


We encourage you to post your own comments in response to the journal

updates posted, as the partner representatives will be able to

read and respond to these comments.

At the end of the Loan Term

At the end of the loan term, you will receive a final email update

with a summary of your sponsored business's overall performance and

success in completing the loan repayment, as well as a complete list

of options for you to retrieve, re-loan, or donate any repaid loan

monies.



Please don't hesitate to contact us at any time at contactus@kiva.org

Thank you again for partnering with us!
- Kiva Staff

To view your Kiva loan portfolio go to:
http://www.kiva.org/app.php?page=account