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.
Kiva partners with existing expert microfinance institutions. In doing so, we gain access to outstanding entrepreneurs from impoverished communities world-wide. Our partners are experts in choosing qualified entrepreneurs. That said, they are usually short on funds. Through Kiva, our partners upload their entrepreneur profiles directly to the site so you can lend to them. When you do, not only do you get a unique experience connecting to a specific entrepreneur on the other side of the planet, but our microfinance partners can do more of what they do, more efficiently.
Kiva provides a data-rich, transparent lending platform. We are constantly working to make the system more transparent to show how money flows throughout the entire cycle, and what effect it has on the people and institutions lending it, borrowing it, and managing it along the way. To do this, we are using the power of the internet to facilitate one-to-one connections that were previously prohibitively expensive.
Child sponsorship has always been a high overhead business. Kiva creates a similar interpersonal connection at much lower costs due to the instant, inexpensive nature of internet delivery. The individuals featured on our website are real people who need a loan and are waiting for socially-minded individuals like you to lend them money.
I’ve been loaning money to entrepreneurs on Kiva for a few years now and I find it incredibly rewarding to read their profiles and so far I’ve not had a single person default on paying back the loans. Every time the loan gets paid back, I continue to recycle it to loan out again and again. It’s such a fantastic way to make a contribution.
Below is a short video clip of a recent “field visit”. In keeping with Kiva’s committment to transparency and accuracy, Kiva “Fellows” are periodically sent in to the field to work directly with field partners and clients funded through the website.
When you place your first loan, I also highly suggest checking the box when you create each loan to donate an additional 10% to the Kiva.org organization as I trust that the funds are used honestly and help them in their cause.
This video of Kris dancing at an Indian wedding is one of my favorite clips of all time.
I can’t deny how much I freaking love this song (if anyone knows what it is I would die for the artist’s name)
I love the way these guys dance
We’ve got some names for some of their moves, such as the “lightbulb dance” and moves such as the “head bobble” that are really prime moves to bust out when you’re out with friends at the club.
I love how Kris jumped in there and joined the party. At first they were all looking at her a little funny as she was the only American and she wasn’t wearing the traditional wedding clothes and I’m not sure they really knew who she was or who she came with but after a few minutes they all warmed up to her and it was one happy family.
My favorite guy is the one in the green shirt. His energy rocks!
This book transformed my life, my marriage, my business and my entire paradigm.
Visit http://www.SpeakYourPeace.com to learn how I’m helping to spread this information and help millions of others integrate this conflict resolution philosophy into their lives.
For those of you who have ever felt a little bit hesitant each time we throw something in the garbage or the recycle bin, you’ve got to check out “The Story Of Stuff” with Annie Leonard.
The Story of Stuff is a 20-minute, fast-paced, fact-filled look at the underside of our production and consumption patterns. The Story of Stuff exposes the connections between a huge number of environmental and social issues, and calls us together to create a more sustainable and just world. It’ll teach you something, it’ll make you laugh, and it just may change the way you look at all the stuff in your life forever.
Please watch it and share it with everyone you know.
I highly encourage you to donate to this organization to help them with their cause. I’ve given sizable contributions to them and I know they are very much in need of funding to spread the awareness of this film.
Humanity Ascending is a groundbreaking documentary series featuring author, futurist Barbara Marx Hubbard. In this transformational series each DVD presents vital elements to awaken the codes for our own conscious evolution and offers direction, meaning and a vision toward our birth as a new humanity.
This movie is one of the most incredible films of our time and Barbara is an incredible futurist and visionary. You can pay to view the film online for $4.95 or you can buy the hard copy of the DVD (recommended).
Kris and I became a Co-Producer and donated money to help produce the 2nd film in the series of 7 that are due to be released over the next couple years.
