OT: But good stuff :)

What a great idea. I wish your recipient prosperity and good luck. Congratulations to you for being so generous.

Sunny, I'd be afraid of that website. I'm ashamed to admit that my years of working with criminals makes me skittish about such. For example, there was a time when you'd get a plea from your state's highway patrol needing contributions to their families relief fund. They didn't tell you that only

3% of the contributions actually reached the hands of the families. Maybe we need somebody a whole lot more 'aware' than we to investigate. I'm not one little bit happy with my misgiving. Polly

I have to comment on the cop beggers. Not all of them are authorized by the police they are begging for. It is just that that weeny donation legally allows them to say they are begging for the police. I found this out when I got a call myself. I shouldn't get any begging calls from the police organizations at all. My brother is a disabled former police officer, and that puts me in the circle of immediate family that the orgs themselves clearly state it is inappropriate to call. So I made a couple of calls of my own and thus learned some things.

I do encourage everybody to check into such places before making donations to be certain of where your money is going. Sometimes it is a pleasent surprise, sometimes you learn to go another route if you want to donate to a particular cause.

NightMist

I checked it out. This is legit. Each loan is "insured" by a partner in the community where s/he lives. The loan applicants are screened. Nicholas Kristoff of the New York Times and Bill Clinton are both fans of the Kiva micro bank and have publicly encouraged support of the site. I found information about the site in a publication put out by the mission branch of my church. It's watched, monitored, examined and so on. If you ever were going to trust a charity, I think this one is trustworthy. All the money you donate goes to the loan applicant. Kiva asks for $3.68 on each $25 loan for administrative costs, but whether you pay that or not is entirely up to you. This is the purest form of me being able to reach out and hand a few dollars to somebody in a part of the world where the cost of a Moda Jelly roll can change a life.

Anyway, the best thing I can say is if it makes you uncomfortable then steer clear of it. And as for my generosity -- not really. I watch my nickels and dimes, but $25 is easily carved out of my other "expenses" and I'll never miss it. Six mocha granitas -- minus the calories, LOL.

Thanks for letting me post about this organization here. I appreciate it very much and know that online giving isn't for everybody.

Sunny

Sunny,

Thanks so much for posting about this. I went to the website and became a "lender" myself. I recently won $500.00 in a raffle, and was happy to lend half of that to someone else. If I get repaid, I will continue to lend it out. What a great organization. And what a great bunch of quilters we have here!!

Sandy in NE PA

I'll second that! I'm glad you posted about this, Sandy. Kiva is a great site and deserves lots of notice.

I first found it a while back (maybe through a post on rctq) and put some money in. Now I keep "relending" it every time it is repaid. I really like how the loans are individualized so you know who it is going to. Somehow that works better for me instead of giving money to a faceless organization.

FWIW, Kiva also has "gift certificates" - I did this last Xmas for my parents. IMHO it's a perfect idea for people who don't need more "stuff".

Allison

Sandy wrote:

In reference to legitimate charity solicitations versus scams, this is what I always do: If it is a charity I usually support, I do so, but only via the USPS and never via a web site or phone call. If it is a solicitation for something I am not familiar with, I ask for a copy of their IRS designation as a tax-deductible charity and copy of the annual filing with the state Attorney General's office. Legitimate groups are required by law to provide both on request. I suspect that some of the scammers have put me on a special leave-this-lady-alone list since I seldom hear from them twice. Those who call me a second time and who have not sent me the information as required by law get this from me -- I listen politely, write down what they say, get their names, addresses, and any other information, and then decline to contribute. Instead, I forward that information to the US Attorney and to the state Attorney General. I am not a scrooge or general curmudgeon, and tend to be quite generous, but am infuriated when scammers take advantage of people. Not only have they stolen money and acted outside legal channels, but also the money they have taken could have gone to legitimate groups who actually help people!