Kiva.org - 100 % recommended !

[casinokoenig]

Hi there ,

I would like to share a site with you im member of for two over two years now - www.kiva.org .

Its a site where you LEND money to people (you give microloans to them) and the best thing is you can choose wich project you support.
(f.e. i prefer som1 that needs money to buy medicine for a medicine store than someone who needs money for a pig farm..)
So you decide where your loan goes to.

I like comparing it to loan money to a friend - you dont take interest there aswell and it helps the friend and he repays you on a certain date.

Over the time i deposited ~ 2000 $ at the site wich i lent to 317 different projects and since every month i get repayments in my account and i can relend the money again my total impact was almost 8000 $ -
that means the 2000 $ i put in helped peoples projects worth ~8000 $!

Its actually money i dont need atm and i yes i lose the interest on that money but i dont mind about that since i feel obligated to share my wealth as long as im doing fine in life.

If i should need the money again i can cash it out again to moneybookers or to a bank account or other options - see site for that info (loans get repaid monthly over 12/18/24 months).

Standard/minimum loan you make is 25 $ per person/group.

Theres a 99% repayment rate - personally out of my 317 loans only one loan wasnt repaid wich gave me a total loss of 23 $ within 2 years...


If anyone has any questions about this or how to do it just pm and i will be happy to help you.

Just have a look at the site itself ( www.kiva.org) for all the information.

At the moment you even get your first 25 $ loan for free just for signing up wich means you dont have to deposit but you can actually help someone for free !


I have to saythat i am in no way affiliated to this site - its simply that i fully believe this is a great idea (actually greater than making donations imo) !




Another site i want to add here as a side note is vittana.org - you give student - loans - they study - get more educated - get more income.
Same principe as kiva.org : lend - get repaid - relend/cash out

Thanks for your attention and hope to see you around at Kiva soon ( im in the Agnostics,Freethinkers etc.. Group - here you can meet people chat talk about loans etc.)


Cheers, Chris/Vienna

Ps: Sorry for bad spelling/grammar -> English aint my mother tongue (German here...)

 

[Jasminebed]

Thanks for sharing. It's amazing in third world countries what a small amount of money can buy a person a piece of equipment to make a life for themselves. A sewing machine, or a cell phone you charge your neighbours to use. A big pot to start a soup business. An electric saw to start a home repair business.

I first heard of microlending back in 2006 when Muhammad Yunus won the Nobel Peace prize for his pioneering work in the that field.

Good to hear Kiva provides a way for private citizens to follow his lead.

I'll be sure to check them out.

 

[casinokoenig]

"Hi koenig:

I signed up with Kiva, looks like the free trial is for someone that got an email invite. Maybe you want to update your thread to ask if someone wants an invite.

Even without an extra chance to help someone, I iwill help someone this way. Maybe not 300 someones, but every help is a help.

I'm feeling a little overwhelmed to choose someone though.

What are some of your criteria?

Cheers,
Jazzy "

Hi there Jazzy !

I hope its ok i posted your PM here ?


I didnt know you have to be invited to get the free loan.

So all interested people just fire me a pm and i ll send you a link for signing up - its free and doesnt commit you to anything, as said you get free 25 you can loan to someone !



And now to your second question regarding the loan criteria - on Kiva i joined a group that is called "Atheists, Agnostics, Skeptics, Freethinkers, Secular Humanists and the Non-Religious" , there are many other groups aswell btw. and you dont have to join any of them if you dont want.

So f.e. in my group people want to help without "selling" something religious - wich i generally thought is good - so sometimes i just look for non religious institutions to give my loan to.
There are other reasons , maybe a loan is not fully funded and expiring soon - i might choose that one aswell.


Greets, Chris

 

[oldtrvlagt]

it's interesting that you posted this as I've been seeing adds for kiva on television lately and have been curious. It's nice to know of someone that has first hand experience! I'll have to check them out! Thanks!

 

[casinokoenig]

Just an update- currently Kiva.org offers 25 free loan for both the referer AND the new member - so basically you just sign up , refer one friend and you both get 25 free wich you can loan someone you choose !

Greets ,

CK

 

[vinylweatherman]

Just an update- currently Kiva.org offers 25 free loan for both the referer AND the new member - so basically you just sign up , refer one friend and you both get 25 free wich you can loan someone you choose !

Greets ,

CK

From where does Kiva get all this free money to give out to new members and their referrers? Although the money is for microlending, it has to come from somewhere, and since the best outcome is getting your money back, there seems no scope for making any profit that could fund these joining incentives. As such, the pot may be limited, hence we see some people having their initial experience tarnished because the were "promised" an additional $25 to lend out, but are denied it when actually registering. This could actually put people off proceeding to lend out their own money, as it will make them more suspicious.

If an organisation makes no profit, it shouldn't have the funds to dish out joining incentives.

This is the first I have heard of it, but as soon as I read about the "free chip" style joining offer, I became suspicious - not a good start. When someone then got the "bait & switch" treatment when they actually joined, my suspicions grew - an even worse start.

 

[Jasminebed]

The "free loans" are not repaid to you... they are sponsored by either an anonymous or named donor. You get to choose the recipient, and incur no risk, and see how things work. For instance, I could make 100 "free loans" available by either a direct donation, or by making the 100 loans repayable to me. So you would choose the lender, but I would get the repayments, or not get them if the borrorer failed.

Partner banks and organizations do charge low or minimal interest rates, and through Kiva sponsorship people that would not qualify for conventional loans are able to receive loans.

None of the loans generate profit for the lender, at best you get to help someone interest free and get repaid. But a $1000 or $1500 loan can be a huge step up for a person in a third world country, and Kiva allows a number of people to join together to lend that $1000 or whatever.

Different loans have different loan terms, and partnerships with groups that offer business coaching and support often have the best repayment rates.

Once a loan is repaid, you can either choose to take your money back, or lend it out again.

It's a charitable organization, not a profit making one for lenders, although some partner banks do charge interest, and some it comes back to Kiva to run business workshops etc.

Microlending (not specifically Kiva) won the Nobel Peace Prize, it's a way to give a hand up not a hand out to businesspeople in the second and third world.

Since I have a particular interest in food, I've choosen small restaurant or food stand operators for my loans, and I get a notice every month when a loan repayment is made, and it's credited to my lending fund.

Agriculture, arts, retail and sometimes home improvement loans for employed people are some of the options.

One of my loans was a sponsored "free loan", and repayments from that go back to the original person who deposited and gave me a chance to choose a receipient.

The other two are coming back to me... all three have no defaulted payments.

 

[vinylweatherman]

The "free loans" are not repaid to you... they are sponsored by either an anonymous or named donor. You get to choose the recipient, and incur no risk, and see how things work. For instance, I could make 100 "free loans" available by either a direct donation, or by making the 100 loans repayable to me. So you would choose the lender, but I would get the repayments, or not get them if the borrorer failed.

Partner banks and organizations do charge low or minimal interest rates, and through Kiva sponsorship people that would not qualify for conventional loans are able to receive loans.

None of the loans generate profit for the lender, at best you get to help someone interest free and get repaid. But a $1000 or $1500 loan can be a huge step up for a person in a third world country, and Kiva allows a number of people to join together to lend that $1000 or whatever.

Different loans have different loan terms, and partnerships with groups that offer business coaching and support often have the best repayment rates.

Once a loan is repaid, you can either choose to take your money back, or lend it out again.

It's a charitable organization, not a profit making one for lenders, although some partner banks do charge interest, and some it comes back to Kiva to run business workshops etc.

Microlending (not specifically Kiva) won the Nobel Peace Prize, it's a way to give a hand up not a hand out to businesspeople in the second and third world.

Since I have a particular interest in food, I've choosen small restaurant or food stand operators for my loans, and I get a notice every month when a loan repayment is made, and it's credited to my lending fund.

Agriculture, arts, retail and sometimes home improvement loans for employed people are some of the options.

One of my loans was a sponsored "free loan", and repayments from that go back to the original person who deposited and gave me a chance to choose a receipient.

The other two are coming back to me... all three have no defaulted payments.

I see, but how did we get to this "bait & switch" impression that a "free loan" to just try them out is advertised, but some people are then told they can't have it, and have to "try it cold" with their own money because they have "gatecrashed" by joining direct, rather than having received an invite.

It gives me the impression that there are two types of member, an upper class that have been invited, and a standard class that has heard about the scheme and decided to give it a try. Someone trying for the first time is not to know the inner workings of how this free loan system works, and whilst the concept has won a Nobel prize, it does not mean that a given organisation doing it has. This is the internet, and some scammers are probably already looking to profit by setting up fake microloan sites and drawing in money based on the Nobel prize won by the concept.

The UK is plagued by scammers pretending to be legitimate charities, and we are told to be very sceptical when we hear of a new charity asking for donations, and not take it on trust that just because they are saying they are funding a good cause, they are actually following through.

The biggest scam here is the fake clothing collection con, who post collection bags asking for good quality clothing to "help Eastern Eurpoean countries" and it turns out they are mainly helping themselves by SELLING the clothes for profit, with only the Eastern Europeans least in need being able to afford to benefit from the donations. They have even taken to taking bags left for other charities now that many people have grown wise to the scam and only leave donations out for the well known organisations.

These scammers are beneficial in one way, I haven't had to buy any bin liners for ages

 

[Zepher]

Just an update- currently Kiva.org offers 25 free loan for both the referer AND the new member - so basically you just sign up , refer one friend and you both get 25 free wich you can loan someone you choose !

Greets ,

CK

Hi Chris

I'd definitely be interested in helping out a couple of needy people through Kiva.org, though I am unable ( and a little unwilling/skeptical at this specific moment until I know how it all works - see VWM's posts ) to deposit any funds myself. The free $25 offer for me to lend to someone needy, and have it repaid to the original donor, sounds good though and I am willing to give it a shot and do something small for humanity, and obviously take it from there. Please PM a referer link ( let me know if you need my email address and other details ) and I will be happy to join.

Regards,

Z

 

[Zepher]

No replies? Jazzy you wish to offer me a referal?

Z

 

[zanzibar]

I see, but how did we get to this "bait & switch" impression that a "free loan" to just try them out is advertised, but some people are then told they can't have it, and have to "try it cold" with their own money because they have "gatecrashed" by joining direct, rather than having received an invite.

It gives me the impression that there are two types of member, an upper class that have been invited, and a standard class that has heard about the scheme and decided to give it a try. Someone trying for the first time is not to know the inner workings of how this free loan system works, and whilst the concept has won a Nobel prize, it does not mean that a given organisation doing it has. This is the internet, and some scammers are probably already looking to profit by setting up fake microloan sites and drawing in money based on the Nobel prize won by the concept.

The UK is plagued by scammers pretending to be legitimate charities, and we are told to be very sceptical when we hear of a new charity asking for donations, and not take it on trust that just because they are saying they are funding a good cause, they are actually following through.

The biggest scam here is the fake clothing collection con, who post collection bags asking for good quality clothing to "help Eastern Eurpoean countries" and it turns out they are mainly helping themselves by SELLING the clothes for profit, with only the Eastern Europeans least in need being able to afford to benefit from the donations. They have even taken to taking bags left for other charities now that many people have grown wise to the scam and only leave donations out for the well known organisations.

These scammers are beneficial in one way, I haven't had to buy any bin liners for ages

My goodness you are suspicious. You have obviously been playing at online casinos for a long time!

It isn't a scam, there aren't 2nd class members, and it is all above board. Its not a bloody online casino!

Like Jasminebed said, a company donates say $100,000 to Kiva and they distribute the money as "free" donations to encourage members there to spread the word and increase their userbase. The company that loaned the $100,000 eventually gets most of it back and they enjoy some good publicity in the meantime. They have a little countdown thing that shows how many of the loans are left. Later if you decide you like it, you can choose to donate some of your own money which is eventually returned to you as repayments are made by the people you are lending to. There is no trickery or obligation and if you don't sign up and make a free loan, somebody else will eventually. It is the only charity I donate to because I can see and control exactly who my money is going to.

 

[Zepher]

My goodness you are suspicious. You have obviously been playing at online casinos for a long time!

It isn't a scam, there aren't 2nd class members, and it is all above board. Its not a bloody online casino!

Like Jasminebed said, a company donates say $100,000 to Kiva and they distribute the money as "free" donations to encourage members there to spread the word and increase their userbase. The company that loaned the $100,000 eventually gets most of it back and they enjoy some good publicity in the meantime. They have a little countdown thing that shows how many of the loans are left. Later if you decide you like it, you can choose to donate some of your own money which is eventually returned to you as repayments are made by the people you are lending to. There is no trickery or obligation and if you don't sign up and make a free loan, somebody else will eventually. It is the only charity I donate to because I can see and control exactly who my money is going to.

Thank you for your post mate, and for giving more detail on how it works. Jasminebed graciously sent me a sign up link, and this evening I will be signing up and reading about how it all works, and finding a needy person to help out. Sign up people, this is a good cause, and you can even do it without it costing you even a penny - and yet you would still be doing your bit of good in the world. As Tesco here in the UK says, 'Every Little Helps'.

 

[vinylweatherman]

My goodness you are suspicious. You have obviously been playing at online casinos for a long time!

It isn't a scam, there aren't 2nd class members, and it is all above board. Its not a bloody online casino!

Like Jasminebed said, a company donates say $100,000 to Kiva and they distribute the money as "free" donations to encourage members there to spread the word and increase their userbase. The company that loaned the $100,000 eventually gets most of it back and they enjoy some good publicity in the meantime. They have a little countdown thing that shows how many of the loans are left. Later if you decide you like it, you can choose to donate some of your own money which is eventually returned to you as repayments are made by the people you are lending to. There is no trickery or obligation and if you don't sign up and make a free loan, somebody else will eventually. It is the only charity I donate to because I can see and control exactly who my money is going to.

So, how can someone sign up and be told they can't take part in the free loan scheme purely because they are not in the "club" so to speak and have been sent an invite. Why can't ANYBODY, whether invited by another member or not, simply sign up, use the free loan advertised to give them a feel for how the scheme works, and then decide whether to put their own money in.

In some ways it IS like an online casino, where a free chip is shown on the webpage, but you are then told you are not eligible because you " didn't sign up through the right affiliate".

An organisation like Kiva should be doing it's best to make new visitors feel comfortable with the idea, and first impressions are the most important. If you know about the organisation, it's reputation, etc, of course you will defend it, but I had never heard of this particular organisation before, and I have not even heard of this particular application of community loan schemes. The schemes I have heard of work within the UK, and match savers to borrowers who can't get credit elsewhere at a decent rate. Unlike Kiva, the loans attract interest, albeit a low rate, and are offered as an alternative to just putting your money in a long term savings account.

Anything on the internet can look above board, but turn out to be less reliable. This is not just confined to online casinos, there are all kinds of internet businesses selling goods and services, and whilst many are perfectly legit, there are many scammers who operate scams by posing as fake online stores. Sometimes they just take the money and run, but other times they sell counterfeit goods or unlicensed copies of protected content such as fake software and music.

For a site like Kiva, it would be a case of asking where are they based, what jurisdiction governs their activities, etc. Many people will say they have used it, and nothing has gone wrong, yet many people say the same about their own experience with a rogue casino.

Maybe Kiva should be vetted in consideration of it becoming the charity equivalent of an accredited casino, becoming one of the meister's "approved" charities.

I already donate heavily to charity, my profligate neice God forbid she finds out about what happened earlier this year

 

[Jasminebed]

Free loans are usually on a first come first served basis as they are tied to funds from a business or individual designated for that purpose. Sometimes there are loans available to anyone, sometimes by invite.

It's very highly rated on Charity Navigator

You do not have permission to view link Log in or register now.

From Wiki:

In March 2012, Reid Hoffman, LinkedIn’s Co-Founder, lent Kiva $1 million. Kiva then allowed 40,000 people to lend $25 for “free.” Lenders still choose a borrower, but the borrower will pay back Hoffman instead of the lender who chose them. Kiva hopes that the “free” users will lend to more of their projects, and thus increase their overall user base.

My "free" loan is one of the Hoffman loans. I was someone that thought I could just get a "free loan", but that was based on casinokoenig's post, not something put forth by Kiva. He needed to invite me. I joined anyway. I did get a free loan when I invited another person who did join, as did they.

If Zepher doesn't get his free loan based on my invite, I hope he will let us know.

 

[vinylweatherman]

Free loans are usually on a first come first served basis as they are tied to funds from a business or individual designated for that purpose.

So, how come they told someone they were "invite only". This is not the same as "first come, first served". If anything, the more sceptical visitor is best served by being ALLOWED to have a "dry run" with a sponsored loan before putting up their own cash, or at least be told the truth that there are currently no sponsored funds available, rather than be given the impression they have just tried to "gatecrash" an "invite only" clique.

 

[Jasminebed]

So, how come they told someone they were "invite only".

I was someone that thought I could just get a "free loan", but that was based on casinokoenig's post, not something put forth by Kiva. He needed to invite me. I joined anyway. I did get a free loan when I invited another person who did join, as did they.

If Zepher doesn't get his free loan based on my invite, I hope he will let us know.

I hope this clarifies the matter.

 

[zanzibar]

So, how come they told someone they were "invite only". This is not the same as "first come, first served". If anything, the more sceptical visitor is best served by being ALLOWED to have a "dry run" with a sponsored loan before putting up their own cash, or at least be told the truth that there are currently no sponsored funds available, rather than be given the impression they have just tried to "gatecrash" an "invite only" clique.

You're reading far more into this than is warranted. It looks to me like they are just trying to incentivise word of mouth and social channels to build up their userbase. In the past I am fairly sure that they have run promos where you could get a free loan just by signing up, referral or not. At the moment you can't. When I signed up ages ago there were no freebies.

If you signed up and didn't get a freebie, then refer a friend and you both will. Or you could probably even get creative and refer yourself on another email address and just never use the original account.

 

[vinylweatherman]

You're reading far more into this than is warranted. It looks to me like they are just trying to incentivise word of mouth and social channels to build up their userbase. In the past I am fairly sure that they have run promos where you could get a free loan just by signing up, referral or not. At the moment you can't. When I signed up ages ago there were no freebies.

If you signed up and didn't get a freebie, then refer a friend and you both will. Or you could probably even get creative and refer yourself on another email address and just never use the original account.

It IS clear, and I don't agree with their system of having an "upper class" of invited members who get the free trial, and the "lesser class" who have to go in cold.

This is the kind of marketing I expect to see from a commercial company, not a charity. A charity wants as much income as it can, it doesn't care whether this is from donors referred by word of mouth, or those who hear about it from elsewhere.

In fact, if a friend who is already a member refers another friend, this friend is LEAST in need of a "dry run" to assess the merits of the site. There is far more need for a "dry run" from someone who has had no testimony from a friend, and is trying to assess this one organisation among many.

If there is sponsor money available, it should be available to any member. It is not as if they can "game the system" and walk off with the sponsored loan, as it gets paid back to the donor, not the new member.

It looks to me that they already have enough members to support their work at present, so are restricting the incentives to existing members and their friends.

If this all grew from the initial post, rather than something on the Kiva site itself, it seems that having someone write an article for the internet about it, rather than send out invividual invites in private, has brought some negative consequences since the OP related an experience that may have been available to him, but not to anyone who decides to give it a try having read the review.

There are thousands upon thousands of charities chasing donations, many do essentially the same thing, but present themselves in a different way. People build an expectation of how a charity should behave, and the bigger UK ones seem to have taken a wrong turn and started to use the more intrusive and "hard sell" tactics seen in commerical companies. This has not gone down well, especially when it emerged that they are paying hefty commissions to their "marketing partners" that can eat deeply into any donations raised this way. This has lead to smaller local charities being favoured, but unfortunately, the larger and more aggressive charities take most of the money, yet use it inefficiently as much less ends up going into the front line services, with much more vanishing into the pockets of the marketing partners.

A UK style Kiva might be a better bet for UK people, forget the referral crap, but find a way to make any money deposited eligible for the UK Gift Aid scheme. The additional 28% the charity can claw back from the taxman could be used to provide "sponsored loans", and these should be available for any member, not just those who joined through certain channels.

 

[richie]

It is hard to know whether a charity is genuine or not from looking at a website. I think before anyone committed to something like this they should do a bit of research on it, make sure it isn't a scam. It's sad & I'm sorry to be cynical like this. I actually did some work for a charity a few years back & I left because I was appalled when one day the management decided to buy a lot of expensive office equipment & company cars using donations. It made me feel sick to be honest. I also spoke to someone who came to my door to try & get me to sign a direct debit for a big charity. She wasn't too smart & started telling me how if she can solicit enough donations she will be getting a new car & how her friend now has a private plane. I declined of course, not the best sales technique I've ever witnessed.

But VWM is right the UK is full of scams right now it is depressing. Not a day goes by when there is someone phoning me up about bloody ppi or help with claiming about an accident I can't remember having. Sadly these Lowlife are notorious for using charities to scam people. I always check a charity out and research it properly before getting involved. It is sad that it has got like this but blame the morally depraved scammers for this, it has made life harder for the genuine charities out there & there should be some kind of proper vetting of charities to ensure they are what they say they are, but nowadays you really have to have your wits about you when it comes to anything to do with money.

Sorry if I have spoilt this thread. It does look like a good cause but would advise anyone to fully check the organization out first before getting involved, do plenty of research don't just trust what you see on the website. Sorry for being so cynical.

 

[vinylweatherman]

It is hard to know whether a charity is genuine or not from looking at a website. I think before anyone committed to something like this they should do a bit of research on it, make sure it isn't a scam. It's sad & I'm sorry to be cynical like this. I actually did some work for a charity a few years back & I left because I was appalled when one day the management decided to buy a lot of expensive office equipment & company cars using donations. It made me feel sick to be honest. I also spoke to someone who came to my door to try & get me to sign a direct debit for a big charity. She wasn't too smart & started telling me how if she can solicit enough donations she will be getting a new car & how her friend now has a private plane. I declined of course, not the best sales technique I've ever witnessed.

But VWM is right the UK is full of scams right now it is depressing. Not a day goes by when there is someone phoning me up about bloody ppi or help with claiming about an accident I can't remember having. Sadly these Lowlife are notorious for using charities to scam people. I always check a charity out and research it properly before getting involved. It is sad that it has got like this but blame the morally depraved scammers for this, it has made life harder for the genuine charities out there & there should be some kind of proper vetting of charities to ensure they are what they say they are, but nowadays you really have to have your wits about you when it comes to anything to do with money.

Sorry if I have spoilt this thread. It does look like a good cause but would advise anyone to fully check the organization out first before getting involved, do plenty of research don't just trust what you see on the website. Sorry for being so cynical.

Even doing the research doesn't help. The biggest and best known charities have been caught with their fingers in the till, spending large amounts on "admin" that is not "necessary" to have to fulfill their functions. This is demonstrated by the "appalling" experience you had with management buying cars and office equipment that you didn't feel was necessary to perform their function.

Even worse is the admission that the door to door hustlers can earn enough to buy a PLANE

I always tell them I "don't do direct debit", but that I do my own research and either make one off donations, or sign up direct. They don't like it, and the charities even back them up by arguing that a direct debit pledge is better as it allows them to determine likely future revenues, which they can't predict from the occasional donation model. The aggressive fund raising also pushes out the smaller charities, as once someone has signed up to a few direct debits, they are less likely to feel like making one off contributions to the smaller charities when presented with an opportunity.

The main reason charities like direct debits is the reason WHY it helps them predict future revenue, which is inertia by the public. They tend to leave a direct debit running through inertia, even when they have changed their views on a particular charity. The fact that the debits tend to be pushed as "only £x per week" makes people think the amount is not worth bothering about, whereras they would if it was presented as £xxx per year as a one off donation.

The REAL way to judge the worth of a particular charity is the amount of gross donation that makes it through to the front line. This means admin costs have to be kept to a minimum, and this includes the costs of paying people to go out knocking on doors or interrupting your trip to the dentist. Registered charities are supposed to provide this information, but third party collection comanies are not. Often a third party will collect "on behalf" of a charity, and use the charities registration number, and the charities efficiency figures. What they neglect to state is how much of what they collect makes it through to the charity, and the arrangement is such that the money the collection company makes does NOT appear as part of the charities' own admin costs as the collection company takes their cut BEFORE sending the rest on, rather than sending the lot on and receiving a payment from the charity. The clothing collectors are notorious for using this trickery, and can take 50% or more of the value of the clothes received for themselves, and without this showing up on the charities' own efficiency figures.

If we cannot rely on registered charities, we certainly can't take a website for an overseas based charity at face value as it is even harder to do the research.

The idea itself is good, and certainly not a scam, it is merely a matter of which charity you trust to deal with your particular contributions to the effort.