FINAL UPDATE: only 2 out of 5 got funded. Sad that some really great loans expired. Details below.
Kiva.org is a wonderful organization that links lenders like us, who can lend as little as $25, with farmers, students and small businesses all over the world who need microloans. They do wonderful work, though not without occasional controversies. There was debate over their expansion of loans to people in the U.S. There was debate about the religious nature of some of their lending partners (Christian and Muslim mainly). There was some debate about the practice of backfilling loans (lending to fill a loan already given, so that money can be freed up for a new loan). etc. But I find overall they are wonderful and though I avoid certain kinds of loans, there are plenty of loans I do like and am proud to give.
But the need often outstrips the ability of lenders to lend. So even some good loans expire before being funded. I am considering starting an occasional series on dKos highlighting some of the loans about to expire...I can't do all, but will try to pick some that catch my eye.
Below are my first selections...please consider lending to some of these worthy farmers, students and small businesses whose loans are about to expire before they are fully funded. (All have less than 24 hours to go)
Final results
Here is a kind of loan I like: helping a food stall. Maybe it is the fact that I live in NYC where food stalls can sometimes serve amazingly good and cheap food. But I feel that it is a good way to lend money...helping someone feed average people as they go about their daily routine
Eusebia
La Paz, Bolivia Food | Food Production/Sales
FUNDED!!!
UPDATE1: 82% filled at 11:20 AM (already big move!)
UPDATE2: 84% filled at noon
UPDATE3: 86% filled at 12:30 PM
UPDATE4: 94% filled at 1:00 PM ALMOST THERE!
UPDATE5: FULLY FUNDED 1:20 PM!!!!!!
Eusebia, 58, is married with children who are already independent. She works selling food in her fixed stand located in the Cota Cota zone. This loan will be her first sequence in the institution and Eusebia will use it to buy ingredients like grocery items and oil at wholesale used to prepare her dishes.
Her reason for requesting this loan is her lack of capital. The business challenge Eusebia faces is the rise in price that has occurred and ingredients becoming scarce sometimes. She will use profits to continue buying ingredients to make her dishes. Eusebia’s a very hardworking woman who feels happy and grateful to the institution for the support provided because this loan will help her improve her business.
Now the next one I really wanted to see fully funded...a caterer in New Orleans is very attractive to me. New Orleans still needs so much help, and again (as with the one we funded above) I personally love helping businesses that feed people! Sadly, this one didn't get funded.
Lonnie
New Orleans, Louisiana, United States Food | Catering
EXPIRED
UPDATE: 26% filled at 11:20 AM
same at noon
same at 1 PM
same at 2 PM
UPDATE6: 27% filled at 5:30 PM
same at 7 PM
same at 8 PM
same at 10 PM
EXPIRED
About Accion Texas Inc.
Accion Texas Inc. (www.acciontexas.org) is an award-winning nonprofit organization with a mission to provide credit and loans to small and start-up businesses that have limited or no access to credit from commercial sources. Established in 1994 in San Antonio, Accion has helped Texas and Louisiana entrepreneurs strengthen their businesses, stabilize and increase their incomes, create employment, and contribute to the economic revitalization of their communities. Learn more at www.acciontexas.org.
Here is one I like because it helps a family repair and insulate their house, not only helping them but reducing their use of coal for heating. Ulaanbaatar is one of the most polluted cities in the world, partly because of inefficient cars and partly because of the need to burn huge amounts of coal to heat homes in the bitterly cold winters. Insulation is one of the best ways for families to save money and reduce their carbon footprints in Mongolia. Sadly, this great effort expired.
Delgertsogt
Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia Green | Housing | Personal Housing Expenses
EXPIRED!
UPDATE1: 17% filled at 11:20 AM
UPDATE2: 18% filled at noon
same at 1 PM
same at 2 PM
UPDATE6: 19% filled at 5:30 PM
UPDATE7: 20% filled at 7:00 PM
same at 8 PM
same at 10 PM
EXPIRED!
Mr. Delgertsogt, who is 27 years old, lives with his wife, two children, and father-in-law in an old house on a plot of land in Ulaanbaatar, capital city of Mongolia.
He has been working as an assistant in a building company for two years. His wife is a cook by profession but currently is staying at home looking after their children. His father-in-law is a sentry at a university and gets a retirement pension.
The house they live in has deteriorated over the years, and it needs some serious repair as winter approaches. So Delgertsogt is requesting a loan of MNT 4,300,000 to purchase building and insulation materials, such as bricks, cements, planks, fiberglass, and foam. Using those materials, he can finally repair and insulate his house, thus creating a comfortable and warm place for his family.
Also the renovated house will enable the family to burn less coal for heating, and reduced coal usage has positive impact on environment as fewer pollutants will be released into atmosphere.
Additional Information
More information about this loan
This loan is part of Credit Mongol's green loan program, which helps clients to gain access to electricity through solar panel kits, as well as other products for improving their heating and ventilation systems, reducing pollution and health problems caused by burning fuel.
About Housing Loans
Many poor families cannot afford housing that meets their needs. When you make a housing loan on Kiva, you give people access to flexible capital to obtain or improve their homes. Better housing means better health, sanitation, and even educational outcomes for children. A house can also be much more for entrepreneurs who run businesses out of their homes. In this way, housing and small business loans on Kiva share a common purpose: to alleviate poverty and enable families to enjoy more stable lives.
Education is one of the most important ways to help someone better their lives and their future...AND the future of their country. Here is a loan to help a young man finish his education as an architect. This one got funded!
Jhonny
La Paz, Bolivia Education | Higher education costs
FULLY FUNDED
UPDATE1: 32% filled at 11:20 AM
UPDATE2: 34% filled at noon
same at 1 PM
same at 2 PM
UPDATE6: 35% filled at 5:30 PM
UPDATE7: 37% filled at 7:00 PM
UPDATE8: 40% filled at 8:00 PM
UPDATE9: 41% filled at 10:00 PM
FULLY FUNDED
Jhonny dreams of becoming an architect but, without a degree, knows it may never be possible. Jhonny is currently attending the Universidad Mayor De San Andrés working towards his degree in business. He expects to graduate in January 2014 but, without a loan, is unsure how he will be able to continue affording his education. He says that his alternative is to take time off from school to work and save money until he can return. Jhonny shares that it is important to him to graduate on time, so he can enter the job market as soon as possible.
With this loan, Jhonny plans to cover the cost of his graduation fees. Often there are fees for earning your title in architecture before graduating. With a degree in business, he expects to earn $22 a day.
Unfortunately, Jhonny's parents never had the opportunity to complete their high school education. Without the opportunity for a higher degree, his parents never had the chance to move up. Growing up, finances have always been tight. With five other siblings, Jhonny is unsure how he would be able to finance his education on his own without the assistance of a Vittana loan.
When I traveled to Israel it was during a period when the peace process was still very much alive, after the assassination of Rabin but before violence started again. Everyone we talked to, Jewish, Arab, Palestinian, said they hoped peace last. They all had the same reason: Peace is good for business. A very smart and practical view. Here is a loan that helps a Palestinian business. I feel this is one way to help the peace process...help make all groups involved have more of a stake in peace. Sadly this one expired.
Mahmoud
Jenin City-West Bank, Palestine Clothing | Clothing Sales
EXPIRED
UPDATE1: 40% filled at 11:20 AM (already moving from when I first posted)
same at noon
same at 1 PM
same at 2 PM
UPDATE6: 43% filled at 5:30 PM
same at 7 PM
same at 8 PM
same at 10 PM
EXPIRED
Mahmoud is a 62-year-old married man from Jenin city. He is a father for six sons and three daughters. Mahmoud has a clothes store for women in the city. It is a profitable business, but always needs development and improvement. Mahmoud's wife is an employee in the public sector. She gets a very low income, but she helps her husband with part of the family expenses.
Mahmoud requested a $1,500 USD loan from FATEN. This loan will help him to buy more stock at a very low price for his clothes store. This will improve the store and also increase his income.
Mahmoud appears in the photo while he was in his store.
Please help one of more of these small businesses. You are not giving away the money. You are lending. It will be paid back to you in time and you can then relend or withdraw your money. Win-win.