Kiva You may notice the new link on my sidebar to kiva.org. A friend of mine heard about this organization and made a few loans. I just recently went back and looked to see what was happening with her loans and see that she has made quite a few more.

People can ask for loans for just about anything so read carefully. Many want seed money to start or grow a business and others ask for money to finish builidng their house. The lender that Kiva worked with does charge interest but you do not earn interest on your loan. Read carefully as the terms are listed for the loan. The amount and repayment term. There is also information about the "lender" and their stats on successful collections, etc.

You get your money back after the loan is fully repaid and then can withdraw your money or make another loan. You can lose this money. I would look at this as a donation more or less for this very reason.

The maximum loan amount is $25 right now. Due to it's popularity they are limiting the loans to allow many others to participate. Who knew there were so many philanthropists out there?! So I have made one loan of $25. My plan is to make several others and then just keep reloaning the money as it is paid back.