Giving Back

When Jeff and I made our budget for this year, we added a line for charity. We feel very fortunate to have the many advantages that we have, and we both feel that it's important to give back. As the adage goes, "To whom much is given, much is expected."

Unfortunately, we don't have the means to make the kind of substantial gift that most of us, I imagine, would like to make. We can't start a scholarship program, fund a building, or do anything on any sort of magnificent scale (at least not yet, right?). But at the same time, we wanted to feel that the money we could give would make a difference. We wanted to make sure the money we donated went to someone in need, not to paying some secretary to surf the Web at whatever organization we donated to. So we spent time coming up with a list of causes that were important to us, and investigating various charities to determine just how the money they received was spent. We each had a few pet projects that we donated to, but together we found one way of giving that we think is really something most everyone can get behind.

Our new favorite way of donating is through an organization called Kiva. What Kiva does is gather information from microloan organizations all across the world and compile it on one Web site. (You may have heard a lot about microloans this past year, as the Grameen Foundation, a microloan organization, was the winner of the 2006 Nobel Peace Prize.) You can then browse through the site and read about people who are asking for loans. Most of the loans are for less than $1500. It's amazing what that kind of money can do in most of the world. When you find a project/person that interests you, you can click on various links to learn about them, the microloan organization through which they are applying, and the conditions in the country in which they live. Then, if you desire, you can directly become a lender to this person. You can do it either through a paypal account or through a credit card, but all of the money goes directly to the person requesting the loan. (In the checkout process, Kiva asks for a donation to the organization but you can skip this or give them a couple of bucks, your choice.)

So you're thinking, whoa now, $1500 is still a lot of money, and why yes, you are correct. The awesome thing is that Kiva is not asking anyone to fully fund any one project. In fact, they recommend that you split your money between various projects. You can donate $25 to a project...or however much you feel like. So each person is funded by a group of people, and the amazing part is that in the end, you are very likely to get your money back! This is a loan, afterall, and the recipients pay it back. (I think the default rate is under 1%!).

Once the person who you've given money to receives the full amount requested, the loan is disbursed, and then you can track the progress of their projects and their repayment process through the journal section of the Web site. Once the money is fully paid back, the amount you donate is credited back to your account. You can then take it back, but even better in my opinion, is that you can then donate it to another person/project. So with just a very small amount of money, you can help people all over the world improve their lives. I think that's pretty cool.

So I encourage you to visit the Web site and consider becoming a "banker" to people in need. It's really interesting to see the different kinds of things people are doing, and it will make you count your blessings when you see what you have in comparison to others around the world.

If you don't see a project that interests you right away, go back the next day. Most loans are fully funded in just a few days, so new profiles appear every day. Here are links to three people whose projects we've chosen to help fund.

http://www.kiva.org/app.php?page=businesses&action=about&id=8987
http://www.kiva.org/app.php?page=businesses&action=about&id=10064
http://www.kiva.org/app.php?page=businesses&action=about&id=10647