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Kiva.org - ehMac.ca Team, loan money, change lives! (Ongoing) $15,375 loaned to date!

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125K views 146 replies 20 participants last post by  18m2 
#1 ·
I've been active on Kiva.org since January, 2008. Kiva.org lets you lend money to a specific entrepreneurs in the developing world - empowering them to lift themselves out of poverty.

I've created a new ehMac Kiva Team in which I'm hoping many ehMac members will join and loan money to help change lives.

To start the group off and to really kick things into gear, I've loaned $1,250 US to about 45 different entrepreneurs. You can view their individual profiles here.

Let's see if we can hit $2000 loaned by the end of tomorrow. :)
Click here for ehMac's Kiva.org Team.
 
#2 ·
I gave it a shot, but the system seems bent on having my pay with PayPal. I tried to pay by credit card 5 times and it asks me to use PayPal instead. When I decline, it then erases my credit card info and starts over.
 
#3 ·
Paypal is helping out with Kiva.org and not charging any fees to Kiva for all transactions. They've processed a million dollars in transactions just this past week for them. That's about $25,000 in saved credit card fees for Kiva right there.

I've been using PayPal for 6 years now with no problems but if you don't use PayPal, oh well. :) (Please do not make this a thread about PayPal)
 
#8 ·
SINC, you should probably find out a bit more about Kiva before you give your opinion on the matter. It's not a charity per se, you are not giving money away to people, you are loaning money. The logistics are, website visitors need to provide money (As low as $25) electronically, and when the loan is repaid, that money goes back to you electronically which you can then withdraw, or re-loan to another entrepreneur. Repaying your loan back on your Visa is not logistically possible. Kiva does millions and millions of electronic money transfers. The site would not be possible without a system like Paypal who were so excited about the project, agreed to wave ALL service charges.

Kiva is not suspect at all, the program has been hailed as a genius way to micro-finance people who want to pull themselves up by their bootstraps and start a business rather than receive a simple handout. The repayment percentage is over 97%.

I will post some more informative YouTube videos that talk about Kiva.
 
#6 ·
Kudos, Mayor, on this initiative. Although Kiva is not technically a charity, but a micro-lending organization, contributions to this and charitable organizations tend to peak at Christmas and fall off at this time of year.

I can understand why they'd prefer the 'no administration fee' aspect of using Paypal, because if you make a loan using VISA to pay, Kiva won't get the full loan amount, and I can imagine VISA is using their usual onerous % deduct, especially as most transactions will be fairly small. (Minimum is 1.6%, but I've seen VISA charge well into the double figures in transaction fees, especially where there are lots of transactions of low amounts.) Choosing a method which maximizes the effect of the contribution only makes sense.
 
#7 ·
Choosing a method which maximizes the effect of the contribution only makes sense.
In this case, it makes no sense. When I filled out my credit card payment, it actually authorized PayPal to access that credit card information. The site then informed me that I still had some money in my PayPal account and would I please use that instead. When I declined, it killed the transaction.

I think KIVA sounds like a great idea, and I am not suggesting people don't donate. I'm explaining how the transaction worked for me in case others are having the same problem. It offered me the option to pay by credit card, but really wanted only PayPal.
 
#11 ·
I think it's a wonderful thing to help others around the world, but since charity begins at home, and given the uneasy feeling I have about that forced payment plan, I will continue to support our local food bank with daily donations (7 items per week for years now and cash at Christmas). Good luck with your project as well.
 
#12 ·
Fair enough SINC.

It's important to stress though, that this is not simply charity. It's a loan that is intended to be fully repaid. You could loan $100 and in about 6 months (Depending on the specific loan) you have a 97% chance you will get every penny back, which you could then add to your local food bank. :)
 
#13 ·
Ok.. I KNOW we can get a few more people than 3 on the team. :)

There are so many people to help out, like Shamama Feyzullayeva from Azerbaijan.



Shamama Feyzullayeva is an enterprising woman. She is always happy to do good work. When she was young, she had a big desire for self-improvement. For about 10 years, she has been running a sheep-breeding business. This activity allows her to support her three children, who are the reason for her being. She has raised them with the help of her husband. Her three children are enrolled in school. Shamama lives with them and with her parents. For this reason, she wants to increase her investment capital to be able to keep supporting them. Shamama has recommended her as a client with a good loan history, so AqroInvest trusts her. With your support, she will be able to buy new animals.

There are so many profiles and people to help.
 
#15 ·
Woo hoo! 4 people on the team and $1300 loaned so far to 47 entrepreneurs.

Latest loan:



Mrs. Balkissou BAKO-YAYA was born in 1948 in Ghana, and has five (5) people in her care. Her husband, a retired chauffeur, is unable to contribute enough to the household expenses. With her small business selling okra, a highly valued vegetable, Mrs. BAKO-YAYA bears the responsibility of meeting the many family expenses. Not having enough financial means, she is asking for a loan to supply herself regularly with large quantities of okra. The income drawn from this business will allow her to take care of her family and thus improve their living conditions.

We are one of the top lending teams for Mrs. Balkissou!

This is a real profile of a real person that has received a direct loan from us to help them sell vegetables and earn for her family.

It's such an amazing program, I'm really hoping more ehMac members will get involved! :)
 
#16 ·
Update on ehMac.ca Kiva.org team!

Just an update on our ehMac.ca Kiva.org team!

- To date, we have 10 Members on the team! :clap:

- We have made a total of 83 loans so far!! :clap::clap:

- We have loaned $6,100 in loans so far!!! :clap::clap::clap:

- As of January, 2008, every loan I have given has been 100% repaid! :clap:

I encourage more ehMac.ca members to get involved! Let's try to get to 20 members and $10,000 loaned by the end of the year! :)

Join the ehMac.ca Kiva.org lending team today!!!
 
#18 · (Edited)
" ... Repaying your loan back on your Visa is not logistically possible. ..."

Repaying your loan to your Paypal account, after donating via Paypal with funds from a CC, is entirely logistically possible. Excuse ... REJECTED.

It's just more meaningless drivel used by eBay/Paypal to justify accessing your Bank Account rather than a CC for payments of any kind, because eBay/Paypal make more money that way.

Now, if they would come clean and just say out loud that they don't want to pay CC merchant fees when they are donating the usual Paypal fee, then fine. But, they prefer to hide behind any excuse they think we will buy instead of just telling the truth in the first place.

Not a knock on Kiva ... and I don't meant to suggest it's not a good reason to participate, but definitely the Standard Operating Procedure for eBay/Paypal, whom prefer obscurity over transparency every time.
 
#30 ·
Make that 14 members. Just signed up and made four donations to groups and individuals of my choice (I could not find Mrs. Bako-yaya). I figure that if I pick a continent each week, by Hanukkah/Christmas, all of my gift giving will be done and spread around the world.

Great site, Mr. Mayor. Kudos.
 
#35 ·
Besides loaning them a couple of hundred dollars, I also donated to the organization to help with their work. I guess that does not count. :(
 
#39 ·
Just went shopping on Kiva for Gift Certificates for Christmas gifts.

Even though I purchased them as a team member, they do not seem to count towards the team total....neither does the extra loan to help cover KIVA's costs.

Too bad. Sorry team.

But I will direct my gift recipients to the EhMac team - should they wish to consider joining, despite not having Macs. (Gotta do something about that too;))
 
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