January Charity of the Month: Kiva

Hi everybody! (Hi, Dr. Nick!)

I thought one good thing about having a blog might be to do a little good in the world. Honestly, I can blather on about politics all I want, but in the end your $25 is probably more valuable to some people out there than all my words combined. Thus, we are instituting a Charity of the Month, which will run on the right hand side all month, until dkon makes his choice in mid-February, at which point we'll move it down to the bottom of the column (BTW, dkon, think of something for February).

Of course, the world of giving being what it is, the first charity we'll do isn't even a charity at all, but rather a way to let people help themselves. We're going with Kiva, a microcredit lender that first came to my attention in a diary on DailyKos. What is microcredit and microlending, you ask? Well, according to Wikipedia Microcredit is the extension of very small loans (microloans) to the unemployed, to poor entrepreneurs and to others living in poverty who are not bankable. These individuals lack collateral, steady employment and a verifiable credit history and therefore cannot meet even the most minimum qualifications to gain access to traditional credit.

Kiva exists to give small loans, typically somewhere in the range $250-1000, to small businesses in the developing world. The funds come from people like us, and are loaned at reasonable interest, not given away. When loans are repaid, Kiva keeps the interest to fund their operations and you get your money back, though you are welcome (heck, encouraged) to reinvest your money in another business. I've already seen one of my contributions repaid in full, and currently have donations in to 5 more businesses. One of our readers has done about the same. From their website:

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.

Thus, the goal: make a donation of $25. You'll get it back in about a year, and whereas it may represent a good meal or a pair of shoes to you, it can represent an entire livelihood to the business being funded. Drop a line in comments, and I'll match the first two $25 donations to the charities of your choices. Anyone else willing to match donations will be effusively praised as well. Let's make a difference, folks!