Kiva: doing good for not much

Yeah, it's another pitch...

Remember the Nobel Prize in 2006 - Muhammad Yunus and Grameen Bank "for their efforts to create economic and social development from below"? Those efforts were microlending: small loans to entrepreneurs - $1500, perhaps, or even less. It can turn someone's world around.

But you had to have money to lend. But now, thanks to organizations like Kiva, you can get involved in microlending with as little as twenty-five extra dollars. For the price of a DVD or a good book or a dinner, you can help someone start on the road out of poverty.

You go to the site, pick an entrepreneur (you'll see their picture, read their project, and learn how your money can help), then decide how much to lend them. Most loans are paid back within a year - and then you can keep your money in Kiva, working for others, or you can take it back and use it for yourself. It's your choice.

If you're wondering about it - here are a few reviews:

• cnet News
  
• Stanford Alumni magazine
  
• Delaware Online

But you should always remember that although Kiva's clients have a pretty good repayment rate, there are no guarantees. But that's actually one of the things that makes this so attractive (and probably so successful): if you lend out $25 and don't get it back, it's not a tragedy. And if you do - it's such a success.