Gift Idea

For the second time this month, I have given a Kiva gift certificate as a birthday present for friends. I would love to receive such a gift and so I hope that the recipients like this, too.

This is how Kiva works:

Choose an Entrepreneur, Lend, Get Repaid

The below diagram shows briefly how money gets from you to an entrepreneur, and back.

1) Lenders like you browse profiles of entrepreneurs in need, and choose someone to lend to. When they lend, using PayPal or their credit cards, Kiva collects the funds and then passes them along to one of our microfinance partners worldwide.

2) Kiva's microfinance partners distribute the loan funds to the selected entrepreneur. Often, our partners also provide training and other assistance to maximize the entrepreneur's chances of success.

3) Over time, the entrepreneur repays their loan. Repayment and other updates are posted on Kiva and emailed to lenders who wish to receive them.

4) When lenders get their money back, they can re-lend to someone else in need, donate their funds to Kiva (to cover operational expenses), or withdraw their funds.

KIVA for Father's Day

Kiva is the world's first person-to-person micro-lending website, empowering individuals to lend directly to unique entrepreneurs around the globe. Read more here.

I just ordered a gift certificate for my father-in-law for Father's Day, which is being emailed to him right now. I hope he and his wife will be interested in participating in this micro-loaning venture for some person and will follow through to do this. To me, this would be an exciting and interesting endeavor.