Wanted: Kiva for Manchester, NH
Friday, January 8, 2010 at 7:46AM When making charitable contributions, I want to achieve a sort of balance.
For while it is certainly necessary to give to those organizations, like the New Hampshire Food Bank, that meet people's immediate needs, I feel that giving solely to these types of organizations is a Band-Aid solution in that does little, if anything, to alter the underlying structures that permit our fellow human beings to suffer in the first place.
This is why I'm a big fan of a organizations like Kiva, the world's first person-to-person micro-lending website. Through Kiva, I can lend money - as little as $25 - to cash-and credit-starved aspiring third-world entrepreneurs whose businesses plans have been vetted by professionals. By doing so, I am helping allieve poverty by giving a person the opportunity to achieve economic independence and stability for herself and her family.
And while this is great for Adenike Ajoke, a Nigerian woman who needs capital to buy more sarongs and cosemetics to sell, I can't use the site to help my neighbors here in Manchester, NH, to help themselves by starting their own businesses.
The best I can do is donate (or lend, but the minimum loan is $1,000) to the New Hampshire Community Loan Fund, a nonprofit that lends to New Hampshire individuals and nonprofits that might not otherwise have access to credit, especially through its MicroCredit-NH program, which provides loans of up to $15,000 to micro-businesses (less than five people) owners or aspiring entrepreneurs.
But unlike Kiva, I can't lend money to particular people for particular ventures through any of the Loan Fund's programs - loan officers make those decisions. As such, it lacks the appeal of Kiva: it's not personal.
And while reading about success stories made possible by organizations like MicroCredit-NH is great, I want to personally help someone help themselves here in Manchester, NH, whether it's an immigrant or refugee just off the proverbial boat or the seventh generation American across town.
We already have what we need here in Manchester, NH. We just need to be able to tap into it.
Reader Comments (2)
I remember hearing about this type of service that was being used in Africa. Very nice idea, and I hope it works well.
I think what you're looking for is: www.prosper.com
The system works well, I think -- but I've only looked into it from the lender's perspective, not the borrower's side of things.
Their guidelines vary by state and in NH you must have 70k+ yearly income to be an active lender.