Kiva Review
To a person like me Kiva.org has the right idea. I never liked the idea of just sponsoring a child to make them dependent on me to make a living for them. Kiva.org gives people around the world a similar opportunity we enjoy here in the western world.
If you follow my blogs (which you can do if you want Twitter) you will constantly hear me talking about teach a man to fish, well in this case after the man or woman has learned how to fish give him or her a chance to make money or feed his or her family from what he or she has learned.
Nothing is perfect but Kiva.org works for me; when I first heard about Kiva I said to myself this is what charity is supposed to be. Nothing is perfect but this is the right direction from my view so I support Kiva.org
What is Kiva.org
Taken from the about section of the Kiva.org website:
Kiva empowers individuals to lend to an entrepreneur across the globe. By combining micro finance with the internet, Kiva is creating a global community of people connected through lending.
Kiva was born of the following beliefs:
* People are by nature generous, and will help others if given the opportunity to do so in a transparent, accountable way.
* The poor are highly motivated and can be very successful when given an opportunity.
* By connecting people we can create relationships beyond financial transactions, and build a global community expressing support and encouragement of one another.
What is Micro Finance?
Taken from the Kiva.org website:
“Microfinance is the supply of loans, savings, and other basic financial services to the poor.” (CGAP)
As the financial services of Micro Finance usually involve small amounts of money – small loans, small savings etc. – the term “MicroFinance” helps to differentiate these services from those which formal banks provide.
Why are they small? Someone who doesn’t have a lot of money isn’t likely to want to take out a $5,000 loan, or be able to open a savings account with an opening balance of $1,000. Hence – “micro”.
Although I still am a member of World Vision I like the direction of Kiva.org a lot more. Another thing to note is you can even support businesses in your local area or country through Kiva.org personally I don’t give to any people that live in developed countries but there are many people that do and if you need startup capital for a business idea you have, Kiva.org might be the right solution for you.
MicroPlace.com vs. Kiva.org
Microplace.com is backed by eBay whereas Kiva.org is not backed by a major corporation. It’s up to you which one you want to go with both have a similar cause and mission. I guess for some seeing the EBay symbol makes them feel more comfortable donating money, for others not so much.
I initially didn’t want to add my personal views but the comment below has caused me to change my mind. I did not want to add too much of personal thoughts about microplace.com because I tend to look at things from a capitalistic standpoint. Yes I am a capitalist and proud of it! but when it comes to charity and helping out the less fortunate I DON’T LIKE having major corporations or financial institutions in the mix. Yes interest is charged to these people but in the case of Kiva.org it’s used to cover operational costs, whereas with Microplace.com well you can look that up yourself.
I actually do not like microplace.com but at the same time I appreciate what they are doing. I appreciate what they are doing in terms of at least they are doing something for change. At least they are treating people in less fortunate countries similar to how we are treated in North America.
Microplace.com is for profit Kiva.org is nonprofit you can look up the details on your own if you want but in a nut shell that’s it. I don’t like the direction Microplace.com is going in but I’m smart enough to also know someone would have probably tried to do it eventually anyway. Kiva.org is also not innocent in all of this as they initially wanted to be for profit as well but were unable to do so.
My personal thoughts on Kiva.org and Microplace.com
I really did not want to get into this but none the less here it goes charity in my mind is charity I do a lot of investing in “silver” why? Because silver is consumed whereas gold is NOT consumed that is something “material” I have chosen to invest in.
When it comes to a person in a less fortunate situation than I am in I am NOT going to exploit them nor will I help a major corporation exploit them. Do you understand what I mean? None the less I don’t want to tell someone don’t support microplace.com just because I have these feelings about this situation. If you look up major corporations worldwide this is what they do. I was reading about Jamaica a few minutes ago and their airline is being bought out and Jamaica is in major debt because of these corporations, sure the Jamaican governments is to blame also but see this is what corporations do.
It’s what they are built to do and the only way to stop them is not to support them unless you feel they’re needed in that particular position in society. So in this instance I don’t see the need for a Microplace.com. You are financially poor and want to create a business to help support your family and local community of course I will loan you some money if I have it. I don’t want interest back from you I want you to be able to make a living for yourself and your community. If interest is charged to you it is because we need to cover certain costs that go into giving you this money, the interest is not charged to make me money it’s charged so we can continue to provide this micro financing service. I can feel comfortable saying that to a person face to face. That’s just me!
Now above is just my personal feelings it doesn’t mean I’m right or I’m wrong it’s just how I feel about the situation it does not mean microplace.com is not a good place or a good idea I just prefer kiva.org.
To get a more in-depth look at what i am talking about i think you should check out the FAQ at Microfinance.com and the article from kiva.org
https://www.microplace.com/learn_more/microfinancefaq
http://fellowsblog.kiva.org/2010/01/07/bad-roads-interest-rates-and-mfi-sustainability/
Get our Investment back
Imagine helping a person and also getting your money back that’s what I call good charity and that’s also how you can recycle your money and help others at the same time. That’s how I like it below there is the link to Kiva.org and Microplace.com check them both out and see which one works for you hey you never know maybe both will work for you.
I’m curious why your review of MicroPlace is so short – you only point out that it is backed by eBay – in fact, there are a LOT of differences between these companies and their offerings…
very true Doug when i initially wrote the article i just wanted to raise awareness about these places and didnt really want to get into specifics none the less I’ve updated the article
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