Kiva: A Charity Poker Players Will Love

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In light of the recent charity tournament hubbub, I figured I’d share with you a charity that I think is cool and will tend to appeal (I think) to many poker players. Mind you, there’s no poker tournament involved, so you won’t have that opportunity to make sure everyone knows that you care about starving children in Africa more than they do. Nevertheless, I think it’s a cool charity that I wanted to share.

It’s called Kiva. They play matchmaker for “interest-free microlending,” which is making interest-free business loans to entrepreneurs in developing countries. Typically, the business owners will repay the loans within a 6-18 month period. An example will best explain how it works.

(Banner changes once her loan gets funded, so don’t get thrown if this shows a different person.)

Maria Isabel Chi Puc lives in Mexico and started a store selling shoes. She is asking for a loan of $700 to expand her merchandise, and she promises to repay it in 6-12 months. The loan is interest-free for her (the charitable part), and Kiva reports that overall these microloans have repayment rates greater than 95%.

If you wanted to loan to her, you could do so in increments of $25, $50, $75, or $100. So Maria’s $700 request will eventually be fulfilled by perhaps a dozen or more different people. As she repays, the lenders will get credits on a pro rata basis for their share of the principal. Once the loan term is complete, you can either withdraw the money or lend it to someone else. (There’s some float between when the money is repaid and when you can withdraw, which I assume is how the for-profit partners that screen the applicants make their money. I’m just guessing there.)

You pay through PayPal, so you can either use your existing account or just use your credit card, so it’s easy.

I think it’s a cool idea, and you can get started for just $25 if you want. Check Kiva out and watch a video about Kiva from the New York Times.

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