kiva: changing the world, $25 at a time

A while back, Impudent Strumpet's blog reminded me to tell you about Free Rice. I hope you've all got it bookmarked and are still playing as often as you can.

Now Imp Strump has reminded me to tell you about Kiva.

Kiva is a website where you can make your own microloans directly to entrepreneurs around the globe.

Kiva's mission is to connect people through lending for the sake of alleviating poverty.

Kiva is the world's first person-to-person micro-lending website, empowering individuals to lend directly to unique entrepreneurs in the developing world.

The people you see on Kiva's site are real individuals in need of funding - not marketing material. When you browse entrepreneurs' profiles on the site, choose someone to lend to, and then make a loan, you are helping a real person make great strides towards economic independence and improve life for themselves, their family, and their community. Throughout the course of the loan (usually 6-12 months), you can receive email journal updates and track repayments. Then, when you get your loan money back, you can relend to someone else in need. [Read more here.]

The Kiva site has tons of good information on microfinancing, who gets the loans and how they use the money, as well as statistical and financial information about the organization.

I'm not sure if there's a minimum loan amount; this Toronto Star story mentions $25. That seems like a small investment to help someone change her life.

When I was in my 20s and really struggling financially, I remember when older, more established folks would say something like, "It's no big deal, only $200," or "Why don't you get yourself such-and-such, they're only around $300". At the time, an extra $200 might as well have been $2,000; both were equally out of reach. When you're scraping by to pay your rent every month, the slightest unexpected need wreaks havoc on your budget, and the tiniest amount can make an enormous difference. Someone would take me out to dinner, and I could suddenly afford to go grocery shopping.

I'm not comparing my young life in New York to a person in a developing country. But need is often a question of scale: Kiva loans are "micro" to many of us, but to the entrepreneurs, it's serious business financing. I've finally reached a point in my life where I can spare $25 from my budget, and this seems like an excellent way to use it.