Give it Up People!

Ok. I know it's the time of the year that people are begging for money for every cause and charity and disfigured cat out there.

But.

This is a great idea to make your charity dollars go as far as possible towards the greater good. Seriously.

Last year I received a nice Christmas bonus for work and I felt I should share the love. I found an organization called Kiva and I fell in love.

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.

Here's how it works (click on photo to enlarge):

It's fun because you can watch these people's progress and once they've paid back their loans (Kiva's default rate is surprisingly low. Of the $2,494,210 of loans with completed loan terms, the default rate is 0.2%.) you can use the exact same money to help another business.

Just throwing it out there ...