Kiva.org

Greetings, friends. One of the things about settling into a routine is that the days and weeks go by before you know it and it feels like time has been flying by in the past few months. A few things to update on, but first, I wanted to help spread the word about this great idea I read about a couple months back when it was covered in the NYT.

Kiva takes the idea of micro-financing to a new level by using the Internet to connect entrepreneurs in need to potential lenders all over the world. The entrepreneurs are identified by local micro-finance partners, so Kiva just provides information -- profiles on the entrepreneurs and a space for entrepreneurs to give updates on their businesses' progress. 100% of your loan goes to the individual and it only takes a few clicks of the mouse.

I love this idea because it's a great way to help individuals and their families, and while you only get a small snippet of someone's story, it's still nice to know where your money is going. Plus, once your loan is repaid, you can go ahead and lend it to support someone else. Check it out!

Also, if you have 10 weeks or more and are interested to see what it's all about in the field, they have a fellowship program where you go to work with one of their local micro-finance partners to meet with and chronicle the progress of their entrepreneurs. How cool is that!