How to Know You Made a Difference

Filed in archive Inspiration on October 13, 2009

© jetalone


In times of "slow" economy, every cent matters. Even the money we put towards charity (if we manage to spare any), needs to be quantified somehow. We want to know that the money we gave gets put to good use and matters.

One of the online charity projects that has revolutionized the industry is Kiva. Kiva is a micro-lending charity. That means you aren't just giving money to help fill a need, you are financing someone's business. You log on to Kiva, browse through all of the stories of people who need help and have a great idea. Then pick one entrepreneur to make a loan to. This is not a donation, its a loan. In other words the goal is to have your loan repaid.

After a period of time, the entrepreneur repays your loan. You then have the option to either invest in someone new, donate directly to Kiva or withdraw your funds. Also, you can see updates of what exactly your loan did for that person and how they are using it to invest in themselves and pay you back.

On the Kiva website you can browse through hundreds of stories. The donations range for a few hundred to thousands of dollars. You can pay part of the loan or even join a contributing team to raise funds directly. The possibilities and reach of Kiva is endless and completely recreating the way our world views charity.

Be sure to go to Kiva's website to learn more about how they work, they explain everything from how the money transfers, to how they keep payments on schedule. You can also read some of their powerful success stories, to get you ready for that giving time of year.

Have you ever donated to Kiva? What was your experience?