Tumblr Kiva Team

Kiva Receives Top Rating from Charity Navigator

Wed, 23 Feb 2011 15:10:00 -0800

Kiva Receives Top Rating from Charity Navigator:

We have some exciting news to share! Kiva just has received a 4 star rating (the highest rating possible) from Charity Navigator, America’s largest independent charity evaluator! This rating system works to advance a more efficient and responsive philanthropic marketplace by evaluating the financial health of over 5,500 of America’s largest charities.
“Approximately a quarter of the charities we evaluate have received our highest rating, indicating that Kiva executes its mission in a fiscally responsible way, and outperforms most other charities in America,” said Ken Berger, President and CEO, Charity Navigator.
The rating system examines two areas of a charity’s financial health - how responsibly it functions on a daily basis and how well positioned it is to sustain its programs over time. Charity Navigator aims to help donors make informed decisions, while also highlighting effective charities.
We are excited to have received this coveted rating! For more information, please see our official release .

HOW TO: Spend an Entire Year Giving to Charity

Tue, 22 Feb 2011 16:27:00 -0800

HOW TO: Spend an Entire Year Giving to Charity:

Try donating to a different charity every day for an entire year. Sounds hard, right? Well, it is, but that’s the exact goal that Carlo Garcia set for himself when he started Living Philanthropic, a one-year, one-man project to donate money 365 days in a row.

Every day, Garcia chooses a new charity and donates a small sum of money — usually around $10, but never less than $5. He then documents that day’s charity in a blog post on his Tumblr, where he describes the cause and provides some insights or personal stories to highlight its mission. Garcia, a Chicago-based actor and director, has minimal experience with blogging and social media but now relies on a suite of digital tools to spread his message, including a Twitter account, @deusexrockina, the hashtag #GiveEveryday,Facebook Page, and crowdrise profile.

Carlo Garcia, one of our tumblr Kiva members, has been featured in a story over on mashable!!

click through to read his story and support his causes!!

Congratulations, Carlo!! You are truly an inspiration to us all!

Follow him here!

tumblr: water

Thu, 10 Feb 2011 13:28:00 -0800

tumblr: water:

tumblrwater:

The world is a mess.

People are sick. Starving. Poor. Destitute. Every day I read or hear about it in the news. There are so many people that need help. There are so many needs, so many good causes.

I’ve had it pretty good in life. I don’t want to sit by and just do nothing, so I picked one cause I think everyone can agree on. I’m working to give people something they absolutely cannot do without - the most basic of health needs.

I’m working to give people clean drinking water.

More than a billion people don’t have access to safe drinking water. I don’t mean that their pipes don’t work; I mean that they have to walk hours each day to collect dirty water from stagnant ponds and muddy rivers. And the crazy thing is that for so many people, like for us here, clean water runs in lakes under their homes and village. But they don’t have the drilling equipment or the money to reach it.

Just $5,000 builds a well to serve a community of 250 people. My goal is to raise $10,000 towards two wells in the next three months.

There’s a lot of need in the world. I’m starting here. Will you join me?

Join with us, tumblrs..let’s fund two wells..enough water for 500 people…forever.

Message from Jake(Kiva team captain).

Since I’m always looking for new, honest ways to spend my money…I’ve decided to start up a tumblr charity: water project!!

Started another supporting blog for it here..clicky

Just passing along the good word, Kiva team!!

Thanks for the support!!

http://www.kiva.org/lend/270269

Mon, 07 Feb 2011 13:49:57 -0800

http://www.kiva.org/lend/270269:

staticsails:

Please help this lady. It’s kind of a shame this isn’t a straight up donation, but micro-financing does work. Please at least look at this site and just keep it in the back of your head and bring it up in conversations with your rich friends or family.

help out tumblr team!!

KIVA - loans that change lives

Mon, 07 Feb 2011 08:29:16 -0800

KIVA - loans that change lives:

oh-serendipity:

One of my best friends just introduced me to the organization, Kiva. They provide loans to beginning entrepreneurs around the globe to help fight poverty, without collecting interest from them. I think this is a better alternative than donating! Donating only allows you to help a single cause but if you loan the money, the money comes back to you and then you can keep on helping more and more people who need it! :D

come join the tumblr team!!

Kiva - Loans that change lives

Fri, 04 Feb 2011 07:25:02 -0800

lauraspencer:

I just became part of a group of people changing the life of Jolly Suelen - just by donating $25!

HOW?

I was able to do this through the website Kiva. Kiva is a non profit organisation which links entrepreneurs in the developing world with people in the developed world. Kiva was set up by two individuals who had travelled through the third world looking for ways to help. They came to the realisation that a huge problem was that people were not able to develop their businesses or their education because of their lack of access to finance. Local banks and loan sharks both charged extreme interest rates 100s of percentages.

So Kiva was set up as a safe and secure way for people in the first world to loan money to these people. Assessments on made by local partners of applicants and, if successful, they are then posted on www.kiva.org where individuals can browse those seeking loans and then choose to loan to someone.

The loans can be as small as $25. Each loan has a repayment plan and so your money is repaid over time. You can then choose to re loan the money over and over again - $25 never went so far!

You can also choose to make donations to Kiva. They do not take any of the loan, it all goes directly to the applicant. They therefore operate on donations from the public and sponsors.

WHO WANTS LOANS?

There are many people seeking loans throughout Kiva and you can search on the basis of area of profession eg education, hospitality, health, agriculture. The people are both male and female. There are full descriptions about the loans available on the site.

IS IT SAFE? HOW DO I KNOW IT ISNT A SCAM?

Kiva has been around now for 5 years and has facilitated over $190 million in loans. It is supported by many famous people such as Bill Clinton and Oprah Winfrey. Hop on google to find videos of these people talking about Kiva.

In addition Kiva is backed by various well known multinational companies such as Google, Visa, Ernst and Young, Youtube, Facebook and Intel amongst many more. Paypal have also become a corporate sponsor and therefore do not charge people for putting money into and out of Kiva.

FIND OUT MORE

I could speak about Kiva for hours on end! To find out more information go to www.kiva.org

You can also find information all over the internet and youtube about Kiva and how it works. Send me a message if you would like an emailed invitation to be part of this - obviously no obligations to sponsor or donate when you sign up.

BE YOUR OWN WORLD BANK!

awesome post!!

Meedan to Provide Free Arabic Translation for Kiva.org Microloan Borrowers

Tue, 25 Jan 2011 11:39:37 -0800

Meedan to Provide Free Arabic Translation for Kiva.org Microloan Borrowers:

Meedan, a leading Arabic-English translation technology company announced today it is providing free Arabic translation for microloans on Kiva.org.

The move will help expand the reach of Kiva and its lenders directly into the heart of the Arabic-speaking world, extending a global community of micro-lenders to include thousands of Arabic-speaking aspiring entrepreneurs. Under the program funded by Cisco, Meedan will provide expert translation and strategic guidance to Kiva.

“Meedan is focused on using technologies to improve cross-cultural tolerance, understanding and citizen’s diplomacy between Arabic and English speaking communities. We are honored to be working with Kiva, the world’s leading micro-lending website, to accelerate their reach into the Arabic-speaking world,” said Ed Bice, Founder and CEO of Meedan. ”There are 330 million Arabic speakers under the age of 20, so there’s a clear need to create millions of new jobs. This collaboration with Kiva helps address a critical need in the region.”

Under the 12 month program, Meedan and Kiva are making modifications to Kiva.org to support languages that are written from right-to-left, such as Arabic. In addition, Kiva’s local Field Partners in Arabic-speaking countries will now be able to more easily reach Kiva lenders around the world with the support of translation services provided by Meedan. Kiva partners with local microfinance institutions throughout the world to identify qualified local entrepreneurs and provide on-the-ground services tailored to local needs. The services of these Field Partners are critical to creating connections that help bring important support to the region.

“Kiva’s mission is to connect people, through lending, for the sake of alleviating poverty,” said Premal Shah, President of Kiva.org. “With the support of Cisco and Meedan, Kiva can now reach many more entrepreneurs in the Arabic-speaking world. It is our hope that micro-lending in the region will help enable individuals to identify their own path out of poverty, bringing great hope through the promise of opportunity.”

“This program will enable Kiva to expand its proven model to Arabic-speaking countries, and help micro-entrepreneurs access financing,” said Charu Adesnik, Cisco public benefit investment manager. “Providing micro-entrepreneurs with access to the financing they need to start, sustain, and expand their businesses, will put them on a path to sustained economic self sufficiency.”

In the first week of the program, Kiva posted and fully funded eight Arabic loans, including entrepreneurs from Lebanon and Iraq working in a diverse variety of businesses — from hairdressing, tiling and transport to sales, fishing and tailoring. Kiva lenders have enthusiastically embraced these loans. The first Arabic loan to come onto the site was fully funded within 12 hours of being posted to Kiva.org.

About Meedan

Meedan was founded in 2005 and incorporated as a nonprofit charitable organization in 2006. We have been working since 2005 on technologies and programs to improve cross-cultural tolerance, understanding and citizen’s diplomacy between web users in the United States and the Middle East. Meedan is headquartered in San Francisco.

The Gift of Changing Lives

Wed, 19 Jan 2011 13:17:52 -0800

orderuporganizing:

Before the holidays, on the Order Up Organizing Facebook page, we listed some clutter-free gift ideas. There were lots of ideas ranging from food, to gift cards, to Netflix subscriptions. While I like to think she was following along with those posts, on Christmas morning my sister surprised me with a gift that most definitely should have made the list.

A Kiva gift card! If you are not familiar with Kiva, it’s an organization that allows you to lend money to microfinance companies in developing countries (and in the US). These companies, in turn, lend money to small business owners and students. (Here’s how Kiva works.)

I didn’t know they offered gift cards!

I just used the money Megan put on the card to help two young women with their food businesses. One of them is in Rwanda and the other Peru.

It’s such a fantastic opportunity to help others to help themselves.

Thanks Megan!

Have you loaned money on Kiva? A small amount can make a huge difference in someone’s life.

No Handouts: Kiva Co-founder Jessica Jackley Talks About Poverty, Money, and Love

Wed, 19 Jan 2011 10:08:11 -0800

thelavinagency:

In her recent TED Talk, the always-upbeat Jessica Jackley explains the motivations that led her to start KIVA, and why the unique connections created between lenders and lendees separates microfinance from traditional charity. What makes microfinance different? Respect and love. Jackley explains that people living in poverty are not just looking for handouts. They want the same power that we so often take for granted: the ability to borrow money to build something bigger. When we give not just money, but also love, we just might be able to “make tomorrow better than today.” From the massive success of KIVA to ProFounder, her new crowdsourcing loan project that is targeted to small businesses, Jackley’s pioneering thinking and unerring enthusiasm puts her at the forefront of today’s social entrepreneur speakers.

Kiva Hits $100 Million In Microloans in just four years!

Wed, 19 Jan 2011 10:07:36 -0800

Kiva Hits $100 Million In Microloans in just four years!:

wavelengthconnect:

Julie Hanna of KIVA, is flying over to talk to us at On Your Marks. Read about KIVA’s fascinating growth before hearing it from the horse’s mouth!

Kiva - VOTE to help us win BIG!

Mon, 17 Jan 2011 15:06:24 -0800

Kiva - VOTE to help us win BIG!:

Kiva is in the running for $200,000 as part of the American Express Members Project ! This funding would mean big things for Kiva in 2011. To be awarded this honor, we need help from our supporters far and wide! All it takes is a vote from you, casted each week through the AMEX Take Part website.
Voting is easy and takes less than 2 minutes to complete. You do not need to be an American Express cardholder, but you must be 18 or over. Once registered, you can stay logged in, and simply visit the site each week to vote. For more info on the registration process, click here .

We realize it may be hard to remember to vote each week, so we have set up a calendar item for you (see below). This item will automatically link to your calendar and post a reminder each Tuesday afternoon through February 15. Once the contest has ended, the item will be automatically removed from your calendar.
There are some impressive organizations nominated in our category called “Community Development”, so your votes are very important. In the past, results have depended on a small margin of votes, so spread the word!

Start voting today and help us help others!
Questions about the Members Project or the voting process? Contact us .

MLK Jr., Xenophobia, Immigration, and Microcredit | KIVA.org

Mon, 17 Jan 2011 14:53:02 -0800

MLK Jr., Xenophobia, Immigration, and Microcredit | KIVA.org:

by Rachel Gittinger

Today, we honor Martin Luther King Jr., a man who stood for justice and equality in face of great adversity. We are reminded that despite progress since the civil rights movement, both the USA and the world continue to face xenophobia and other divisive forces. Fundación Mujer demonstrates that microcredit can be one tool that effectively counters these challenges and offers opportunity to the oppressed.

Costa Rica is a country known for keeping the peace. In fact, they are often referred to as the “Switzerland of the Americas”. In 1948 the army was abolished and military spending was directed into social programs such as education. Today, Costa Rica has one of the highest literacy rates in Central America, at 94.9% (CIA World Factbook). This, among other historical characteristics, has allowed Costa Rica a development unique to that of its Central American neighbors. For example, as peace-loving social democracy, Costa Rica was spared some of the bitter wars and American involvement that plagued many other countries in Central America during the 70s and 80s. However, the news is not all positive. Costa Rica’s black population still faces discrimination. In fact, they were not bestowed citizenship until 1948. Limón, the Caribbean province where the black population is concentrated, remains the poorest province in Costa Rica. Racial slurs and xenophobia are still quite common, both towards the blacks and other minority populations, such as Nicaraguan immigrants.

In 2010 Costa Rica had a GDP per capita of $11,400 compared to a mere $2,900 in Nicaragua. (CIA World Factbook) This economic disparity has created a transnational migration. Currently, there are an estimated 300,000-500,000 Nicaraguans, both legal and illegal, working in Costa Rica. (CIA) Nicaraguans continue to arrive in search of work, hope, and opportunity in Costa Rica. Some come for seasonal work such as produce harvesting, while others are here to stay. This seems to be the limit to Costa Rica’s tolerance. These workers, legal or not, are often abused, forced to take jobs paying well below the minimum wage, and work under conditions that no Costa Rican would consider accepting. They were once welcomed, but recent economic struggles have prompted Costa Ricans to accuse Nicaraguans of stealing jobs and over-burdening the welfare system in search of health and education services. Sound familiar? Nicaraguans face the same issues that plague the Latino immigrants crossing the border into the United States.

Microcredit institutions in both countries can help to level the playing field. Here in Costa Rica, Fundación Mujer does not discriminate based on nationality, and many of their clients are hard-working Nicaraguan immigrants. One success story in particular is that of Doña Emelina. In 1987 she arrived in Costa Rica, desperate for a doctor capable of diagnosing and curing the illness that plagued her 4 year old son. Emelina arrived in Costa Rica with nothing and she began working as a seamstress to provide for her two children and pay the medical bills. She eventually solicited a loan from Fundación Mujer to expand her business. She has received 5 micro-loans. Today, her son is healthy and designs clothing for the business. She recently received an international contract to produce the uniforms for a Central American department store and employs between 7 and 10 workers. She hopes that the training and work that she provides will allow each of her employees with both the means and inspiration to reach their own life goals.

Martin Luther King Jr. dedicated his life to advocating for a social climate that allowed each individual the opportunity to pursue their dreams. Neither politics nor personal attack changed his convictions about the dignity of humanity, and the rights of each individual to be treated with respect. Costa Rica currently faces the same challenge. Since November, an ongoing border dispute with Nicaragua has threatened the peace, and caused a surge in racism towards Nicaraguan immigrants. It is leadership of just individuals and institutions, such as Fundacion Mujer, that counters this racism and continues to treat these immigrants with the respect, dignity, and opportunity that they deserve.

Kiva - Lend > Ana Julia from El Salvador New Loan!! Help out!

Mon, 17 Jan 2011 08:47:01 -0800

Kiva - Lend > Ana Julia from El Salvador

New Loan!!

Help out!

intervista: In grade 12, for my World Issues class, we had this...

Sat, 15 Jan 2011 08:17:11 -0800

intervista:

In grade 12, for my World Issues class, we had this project where groups would fundraise for entrepreneurs on the microfinance loaning site, Kiva. Somehow my group decided that posters/flyers were necessary so I took the responsibility of making them. That said, I strongly recommend checking out the site and making a loan (it’s only $25 and you’ll get it back so you can keep on loaning if you want)!

April 2010

forafghanistan: Via mmemagpie Madame does Nice Things: Kiva...

Sat, 15 Jan 2011 08:16:31 -0800

forafghanistan:

Via mmemagpie
Madame does Nice Things: Kiva Loan for January

A little bit bout this loan:

This is Zakya, the leader of the Zakya Akbari group. A 34-year-old married mother of five children, two sons and three daughters, she lives in Kabul Afghanistan where she has run an embroidery business for more than three years.

With significant experience in embroidery, Zakya hopes to expand her business in order to support her entire family. With this loan she wants to buy more white cloths and other materials necessary for her business. She would like to thank both AFS and Kiva lenders for their support to people around the world.

Kiva & Dermalogica Launch joinFITE.org

Fri, 07 Jan 2011 07:24:51 -0800

In partnership with Dermalogica and strategic partners, today Kiva.org is launching joinFITE.org to provide microloans to women entrepreneurs in low-income regions of the United States and 56 other countries.
A novel aspect of the campaign is its engagement of retail consumers as microlenders. Dermalogica, for example, will contribute $1 every time a consumer goes to the joinFITE.org Web site and enters a code printed on FITE-themed packaging that the company is using for five of its best-selling products. The resulting micro loan is made available to a designated entrepreneur within hours.
“We know the collective impact of consumer action and socially responsible business practices can create sustainable and far-reaching change,” said strategic partner actress Geena Davis. “Together, we can maximize our effort to empower women and girls around the world.”
”Empowering women tends to lead to faster economic growth,” said strategic partner co-author of Half the Sky and New York Times columnist Nicholas Kristof.
Press:

A New Microlending Fund for Women Entrepreneurs, BusinessWeek
Dermalogica Puts Kiva’s Microloans in Women’s Manicured Hands, FastCompany
Kiva.org partners with Dermalogica on microloans for women, CNET
Kiva.org Takes on a New FITE, Premal Shah on the Huffington Post

A Christmas Poem From Kiva

Sun, 02 Jan 2011 20:11:15 -0800

timothyjohnsoniii:

‘Twas the Night before Christmas…

…and all across the map,
Not an entrepreneur was resting,
Not even a quick nap.

They have work to be done,
Opportunities never sleep.
With visions of better lives,
Their commitment runs deep.

This holiday season,
Kiva simply wishes to say:
Of you, our lenders and borrowers,
We are proud every day.

Kiva wishes you Happy Holidays, and a safe and healthy New Year.

(source: Kiva.org Holiday Newsletter)

(therecipe:im-a-crazy-breed) How the Global Food Market...

Tue, 21 Dec 2010 15:34:29 -0800

(therecipe:im-a-crazy-breed)

How the Global Food Market Starves the Poor

This is 9 mins long, and it goes by quickly. I suggest watching this for a quick primer (or refresher) on the global food situation, and there are even a few tidbits of advice on what we, the rich, can do to alleviate some of the horrid conditions elsewhere. However, I have one problem: the video mentions that humans have an old proverb that says ‘give a man a fish, and he’ll eat for a day, give him a fishing pole and he’ll eat for a lifetime’. This part sort of implies (maybe it doesn’t but it got me thinking so I wanted to share my thoughts) that countries who have starvation and undernourishment need to be taught how to be ”better” farmers. I agree that we need local communities and local farmers providing for one another but the reason that they can’t is because of rich corporations and governments have stolen the land that was once used by the locals so that we can have coffee any time we want, so that we can have pineapple year round, etc.

Homo sapiens all over the world know how to live, and know how to protect their land and how to rotate crops, we need to allow them and give them back what is theirs. They don’t need our wicked “education”, they need their rights and their power, and their land. This food, and water crisis, has been created by us.

So what can we do?
1. Care.
2. Support real fair-trade products as much as we can.
3. Alter our diet by eating less resource-demanding foods.
4. Learn and spread information; spread empathy, compassion, and humanity.
5. Learn about the corporations you support when you buy ANYTHING.
6. Erase all boundaries and differences (nationalism) in your heart and realize that we are all one race, and nobody deserves more than anyone else.
7. Whatever your heart tells you to do.

Give Kiva as a holiday gift! (via krazyasianinmn)

Mon, 20 Dec 2010 07:52:28 -0800

Give Kiva as a holiday gift!

(via krazyasianinmn)

Kiva - Lender > Adriane Is the Kiva Gift Certificate winner...

Thu, 16 Dec 2010 12:29:44 -0800

Kiva - Lender > Adriane

Is the Kiva Gift Certificate winner this month!

she’s known around here on tumblr as prettymess..go check her site out!