Kiva.org

I'm just writing a short blurb about Kiva.org. This site allows you to make small loans to companies and individuals in the developing world that are trying to better themselves and their lives and might have no chances of getting loans through "traditional" banks. There are partner groups that work with Kiva, such that you as an individual can donate money via a credit card/PayPal to an individual or company that is seeking a loan. Depending on where that individual is, the partner that works in that area of the world will get the money from Kiva and it will be given to the individual. Then, over a time that is stated to be around 6-12 months, the individual will pay back the money to the "partner" that received the money directly from Kiva and the partner will return the money to you as the loaner through Kiva. You can also receive business updates from the company that you are loaning the money to, to allow you to see their progress! The minimum loan amount is $25, so there's not a huge amount asked to just get in and try to help. This small minimum amount means that practically everybody should be able to help out, if in just a small way! Click here to read a lot of different things that have been said in the media about Kiva.