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Signed up today with Kiva. It's a microlending site. People in third world countries need money to start businesses and improve their lives. You, via Kiva (which works through carefully chosen local banks and lenders around the world), can provide that money by making $25 loans. (Using PayPal.)
You look through the listings of who needs what, choose the ones you want, and lend them money. In time, they pay it back.
It's not charity, because you get repaid. But it can make a big difference in their lives. And you don't make any money off it yourself. (The local lenders charge interest - they have to cover their costs and make some money, after all. But Kiva screens out the ones who charge rates that they feel are out of hand. And they are considering ways to allow users to get some interest, as well.)
When you do get repaid (and though there is some risk of default, 99.70% have so far been repaid), you can take the money back or relend it to someone else.
There are also teams. Just for fun and socializing and such. I've joined up with a dozen of them. LJ/Fandom, FSM, Jews, MIT, Colbert... I'll spare you the full list. But some of you may be interested to know that there are teams for Browncoats, X-Philes, NaNoWriMo, and Homeschoolers, among others. There are over 4000 teams for schools and places and ideas and families and just about anything you can name. And if you can't find it, you can start it yourself.
It's pretty cool. A way to touch lives and help change the world. $25 at a time.
You look through the listings of who needs what, choose the ones you want, and lend them money. In time, they pay it back.
It's not charity, because you get repaid. But it can make a big difference in their lives. And you don't make any money off it yourself. (The local lenders charge interest - they have to cover their costs and make some money, after all. But Kiva screens out the ones who charge rates that they feel are out of hand. And they are considering ways to allow users to get some interest, as well.)
When you do get repaid (and though there is some risk of default, 99.70% have so far been repaid), you can take the money back or relend it to someone else.
There are also teams. Just for fun and socializing and such. I've joined up with a dozen of them. LJ/Fandom, FSM, Jews, MIT, Colbert... I'll spare you the full list. But some of you may be interested to know that there are teams for Browncoats, X-Philes, NaNoWriMo, and Homeschoolers, among others. There are over 4000 teams for schools and places and ideas and families and just about anything you can name. And if you can't find it, you can start it yourself.
It's pretty cool. A way to touch lives and help change the world. $25 at a time.
Tags:
- cool stuff,
- psa,
- rl
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What's amazing is that they've been expanding quite a bit recently. Often, they have more lenders than loans to fund. New loans are added constantly (as they're screened and approved by the local lenders), but mostly at the beginning of the month. And then people get paid back on the 15th. So if you look in during the latter half of the month, you'll only find a few loans to fund. Sometimes none.
But hopefully, the lending side will start to expand and catch up to the influx on the lender side.
Still... I've helped grocery stores and farms and all sorts of small businesses on at least three different continents. All in one morning. It's a strange but very cool feeling to be able to sit at the computer, click around a couple of times, and find yourself having helped to expand a little grocery store halfway around the world.